Against All Odds
Sorcery
Choose one or both —
• Exile target artifact or creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.
• Return target artifact or creature card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- Price
- $0.23
- EDHREC rank
- #9474
Against All Odds returns two permanents from your graveyard to the battlefield — one artifact or enchantment, one creature — at instant speed for four mana, which is a legitimate two-for-one that can flip the table on the end step before your turn. Preston, the Vanisher makes it absurd, since each non-token creature entering triggers Preston, the Vanisher to create an Illusion token and immediately phase the creature out, letting you chain reanimation into a board full of 1/1 flyers.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Preston, the Vanisher
Against All Odds is close to mandatory in Preston, the Vanisher decks — dropping two non-token creatures at instant speed means two Illusion triggers off a single spell, and the phased creatures come back swinging next turn without summoning sickness.
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines doubles every enters-the-battlefield trigger in play, so the two permanents Against All Odds returns effectively yield four trigger events — making an already efficient reanimation spell substantially more explosive.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Against All Odds is legal in Commander, Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its home is clearly Commander. In Commander, four mana at instant speed for two permanent types out of the graveyard is strong utility — the modal targeting covers enough of a typical graveyard that it almost never bricks. In Modern and Pioneer, the competition from cheaper or more focused reanimation makes it fringe at best, showing up only in niche shell decks that specifically want the artifact-or-enchantment clause. Legacy and Vintage have access to far more broken reanimation, so Against All Odds doesn't register there outside of casual tables.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Preston, the VanisherFelidar GuardianAgainst All Odds
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite blinking of permanents; Exile all nonland permanents opponents control; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite landfall triggers; Infinite mana lands you control that enter the battlefield untapped can produce; Infinite mana lands you control can produce
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Against All OddsDualcaster Mage
Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite magecraft triggers; Return all creature cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield; Return all artifact cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Preston, the VanisherWispweaver AngelAgainst All Odds
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite blinking
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Against All OddsNaru Meha, Master Wizard
Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite magecraft triggers; Return all creature cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield; Return all artifact cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's WardAgainst All OddsPinnacle Monk // Mystic Peak
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite storm count; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite blinking of nonland permanents; Infinite magecraft triggers; Return all creature cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield; Return all artifact cards with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.23 bulk tier
At $0.23, Against All Odds sits firmly in bulk territory despite seeing real play in multiple Commander archetypes. Bulk rares with genuine synergy applications tend to stay cheap rather than spike unless a breakout commander drags them up, so this is an easy pickup before it finds its next home.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.