Betrayer's Bargain
Instant
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature or enchantment or pay 
.
Betrayer's Bargain deals 5 damage to target creature. If that creature would die this turn, exile it instead.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Duskmourn: House of Horror
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #17546
Betrayer's Bargain gives a target creature protection from everything until end of turn — blanking a removal spell, a combat block, or a board wipe aimed at one creature — and replaces itself with a scry 1. Two mana for a reactive protection spell is playable; two mana for one that also filters is worth including in any black or white shell that needs its key creatures to survive.
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, Betrayer's Bargain earns its slot as cheap interaction that doubles as insurance — you hold it up on an opponent's turn and either counter a removal spell or lose nothing by casting it during your own turn to set up a scry. In competitive 1v1 formats like Modern and Pioneer it's too narrow: dedicated protection spells with more versatile targeting or broader effects outcompete it, and the scry 1 doesn't close the gap. Legacy and Vintage have the same problem at higher velocity — you want protection that does more. Standard is where Betrayer's Bargain is most likely to see fringe play when the format's removal suite is sorcery-heavy and creature strategies need cheap reactive tools.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Betrayer's Bargain is deep bulk — you're paying less for a playset than a single draft pick. That price reflects supply, not quality; a two-mana protection spell with scry 1 attached holds its utility regardless of what it costs on the secondary market.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.