Borrowed Malevolence
Instant
Escalate 
(Pay this cost for each mode chosen beyond the first.)
Choose one or both —
• Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
• Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadows over Innistrad Remastered
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #26481
Borrowed Malevolence is a one-mana instant that pumps a creature +1/+1 or drops an opponent's creature -1/-1 — and with escalate, you can do both simultaneously for two mana. It's narrow enough that only specific combo and stax strategies will want it, but in those homes it's a precise, cheap tool.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Borrowed Malevolence earns its slot almost exclusively in decks that need a one-mana instant to cross a specific power or toughness threshold — think Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim sacrifice triggers, Marchesa, the Black Rose persist loops, or infect builds that need one last pip of pump. Outside those narrow applications it's too low-impact for a 100-card singleton format. In Pauper it sees essentially no play; the effect is too small for the tempo-driven commons environment. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer have better tools at every point on the curve, so Borrowed Malevolence doesn't register in those formats either.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available for Borrowed Malevolence at the moment, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a current figure. Given how narrow the card is, expect bulk-rare territory — the kind of card you pick up as a throw-in rather than a purchase.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.