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Burning Inquiry

Sorcery

Each player draws three cards, then discards three cards at random.

CMC
1
Mana cost
{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
common
Set
The List
Price
$2.53
EDHREC rank
#3428
Buy on TCGplayer
Burning Inquiry card art
Burning Inquiry draws you three cards, discards three at random, and makes every opponent do the same — all for one red mana. In shells built around chaos, discard, or storm-adjacent redundancy, that's an absurd rate; Zurzoth, Chaos Rider turns every opponent discard into a Devil token, and Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty refunds the mana and keeps the chain going.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Zurzoth, Chaos Rider

Zurzoth, Chaos Rider

70.9% of decks · synergy 0.69

Zurzoth, Chaos Rider converts every random discard Burning Inquiry forces onto opponents into a 1/1 Devil token with a damage trigger — three opponents means up to nine tokens from a single one-mana spell.

02
Ian Malcolm, Chaotician

Ian Malcolm, Chaotician

56.6% of decks · synergy 0.54

Ian Malcolm, Chaotician cares about random effects, and Burning Inquiry's forced random discard on all players feeds his chaotic-event triggers reliably at instant-speed for just one mana.

04
Rielle, the Everwise

Rielle, the Everwise

43.8% of decks · synergy 0.41

Rielle, the Everwise grows larger and draws cards whenever you discard, so Burning Inquiry's forced three-card self-discard is pure upside — card selection for you, disruption for opponents.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper legal
oathbreaker legal

In Commander, Burning Inquiry is a role-player rather than a staple — it belongs in specific decks that convert its chaos into asymmetric advantage, not as generic card draw. Legacy and Vintage are where it historically shows teeth outside Commander, slotting into high-speed discard and Hollow One strategies that exploit the random self-discard as a feature. In Modern it sees fringe play in the same Hollow One shells, though its stock there has faded with the metagame. Pauper has access to it, but the lack of reliable payoffs at common keeps it niche. Outside of Commander, treat Burning Inquiry as a combo or synergy piece first and a value spell never.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$2.53 cheap tier

At $2.53, Burning Inquiry sits at a fair price for a card with a narrow but genuine competitive history across multiple formats. It won't trend cheaper — demand from Legacy, Vintage, and Commander chaos builds provides a stable floor.

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Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.