Costly Plunder
Instant
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact or creature.
Draw two cards.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Ixalan
- Price
- $0.35
- EDHREC rank
- #3217
Costly Plunder draws two cards the instant you sacrifice a creature or artifact — no mana investment beyond the two black, no setup required beyond having a body to feed it. In sacrifice-heavy shells, especially under Ognis, the Dragon's Lash where Treasure tokens are constantly entering and leaving play, it refuels your hand at instant speed for almost nothing.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Ognis, the Dragon's Lash
Ognis, the Dragon's Lash generates Treasure tokens off every hasty attacker, and Costly Plunder turns those Treasures into two cards at instant speed — the mana you spent cracking the token pays for the spell itself, making this effectively free card draw on top of the combat engine.
Juri, Master of the Revue
Juri, Master of the Revue grows larger every time a permanent leaves play, so sacrificing a creature to Costly Plunder isn't a cost — it's a trigger that pumps Juri while replacing your hand.
Vraska, the Silencer
Vraska, the Silencer converts opponents' creatures into Treasure tokens when they die, and Costly Plunder cashes those Treasures in for two cards, keeping your hand loaded while you punish interaction.
Judith, Carnage Connoisseur
Judith, Carnage Connoisseur wants creatures dying constantly to fuel her discard-and-damage effects, and Costly Plunder slots in as instant-speed card advantage that turns any sacrifice outlet into a draw engine.
Gyome, Master Chef
Gyome, Master Chef produces Food tokens every turn, and Costly Plunder sacrifices them for two cards — turning a life-gain trinket into immediate card advantage without touching your creature base.
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 |
Costly Plunder is a Commander card first and almost exclusively. The format's singleton rule and slower pace reward instant-speed card draw that converts sacrifice fodder — tokens, excess mana rocks, bodies you were planning to lose anyway — into fresh cards. In Pauper it sees occasional play in black sacrifice shells where the common slot matters and two-mana draw-two at instant speed is genuinely competitive. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer all have access to faster and more efficient draw spells, so Costly Plunder doesn't register there outside fringe budget builds.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.35 bulk tier
At $0.35, Costly Plunder is deep bulk — you're picking it out of a dollar bin or grabbing a playset for the price of a coffee. It's not a card that appreciates; it's a card you just own.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Ognis, the Dragon's Lash
- Juri, Master of the Revue
- Vraska, the Silencer
- Judith, Carnage Connoisseur
- Gyome, Master Chef
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.