Borrowed Knowledge
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Discard your hand, then draw cards equal to the number of cards in target opponent's hand.
• Discard your hand, then draw cards equal to the number of cards discarded this way.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Secrets of Strixhaven
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #17210
Borrowed Knowledge draws you two cards at instant speed for three mana — clean, reliable card advantage that requires zero setup. General Ferrous Rokiric runs it in nearly a quarter of decks because multicolor spells are already the entire gameplan, and this one replaces itself twice while triggering the commander.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
General Ferrous Rokiric
General Ferrous Rokiric is a multicolor-spell engine, and Borrowed Knowledge is a multicolor instant that draws two cards — it advances your hand while simultaneously triggering the commander to put a Golem onto the battlefield.
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, Borrowed Knowledge is a low-friction draw spell for decks that want instant-speed card selection without relying on the graveyard or other conditions. Three mana for two cards at instant speed is below rate for 60-card formats — Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy have cheaper options that go deeper — but Commander's slower clock and reactive windows make the instant speed meaningfully relevant. In Standard and Oathbreaker it's playable filler when dedicated draw slots run thin. Pauper is the one format where it's off the table entirely.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Borrowed Knowledge is bulk — you're picking it up in a common pile or as a throw-in on any order. Bulk draw spells at this price point don't move much; expect it to stay in this range unless it finds a breakout home in a high-profile Commander build.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.