Analyze the Pollen
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may collect evidence 8. (Exile cards with total mana value 8 or greater from your graveyard.)
Search your library for a basic land card. If evidence was collected, instead search your library for a creature or land card. Reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Murders at Karlov Manor Promos
- Price
- $1.15
- EDHREC rank
- #7359
Analyze the Pollen gives you a land and a clue for two mana — that's ramp and draw stapled together at instant speed. It's not the most efficient piece of either, but the flexibility to crack the clue when you need cards makes it worth a slot in decks that want both.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Analyze the Pollen fills the role of a flexible two-drop that doesn't force you to choose between hitting your land drop and drawing into action — the clue converts to a card whenever the board demands it. Competitive Commander tables will skip it for dedicated ramp like Three Visits, but casual and mid-power builds that run Simic or any green shell appreciate the optionality. In 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, the bar for two-mana sorceries that don't win the game immediately is steep, and Analyze the Pollen won't clear it outside of niche clue-tribal or Arixmethes-style landfall brews. Standard is its most permissive home if the format's card-draw options are shallow and artifact synergies are live.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.15 cheap tier
At $1.15, Analyze the Pollen sits at a price point where the ask is low enough to justify a trial slot without much deliberation. It's unlikely to appreciate significantly — it's a utility uncommon with no scarcity angle — but it won't hurt to own a copy for the decks that want it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.