Cyclical Evolution
Sorcery
Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Exile Cyclical Evolution with three time counters on it.
Suspend 3—
(Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay and exile it with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, you may cast it without paying its mana cost.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Future Sight
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #24772
Cyclical Evolution puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature for each card cycled this turn — the payoff scales hard in dedicated cycling shells and is backbreaking alongside Alaundo the Seer, who turns every foretold card into a cycling trigger. Three mana at sorcery speed is the honest cost, but in the right deck that's a minor tax on a potentially massive swing.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Cyclical Evolution is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but realistically this is a Commander card. Dedicated cycling commanders create the density of triggers needed to make the counter payoff meaningful — in most other contexts it's just an overcosted pump spell. Legacy and Vintage have far more efficient ways to grow creatures or close games, and cycling synergy isn't a competitive axis in those formats. In Commander, it belongs in exactly the shells that want it and nowhere else.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Alaundo the SeerChakram RetrieverCyclical EvolutionVenture ForthInspiring Refrain
Cast a portion of the cards in your library and hand without paying their mana costs; Infinite card draw; Infinite draw triggers; Near-infinitely large creatures until end of turn; Near-infinite magecraft triggers; Near-infinite storm count
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Alaundo the SeerChakram RetrieverCyclical EvolutionInspiring RefrainReality Strobe
Cast a portion of the cards in your library and hand without paying their mana costs; Near-infinite card draw; Near-infinite draw triggers; Near-infinitely large creatures until end of turn; Near-infinite magecraft triggers; Near-infinite storm count; Return most permanents you don't control to their owner's hand; Mass Land Denial
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Alaundo the SeerChakram RetrieverCyclical EvolutionVenture ForthReality Strobe
Cast a portion of the cards in your library and hand without paying their mana costs; Near-infinite card draw; Near-infinite draw triggers; Near-infinitely large creatures until end of turn; Near-infinite magecraft triggers; Near-infinite storm count; Return most permanents you don't control to their owner's hand; Mass Land Denial
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
The Tenth DoctorMana EchoesCyclical EvolutionRite of the Dragoncaller
Infinite ETB; Infinite colorless mana; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinitely large creatures you control until end of turn
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
The Tenth DoctorMana EchoesCyclical EvolutionIraxxa, Empress of Mars
Infinite ETB; Infinite colorless mana; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinitely large creatures you control until end of turn
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, Cyclical Evolution is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard and postage, not the card. Bulk rares with narrow, archetype-specific applications rarely climb unless the supported commander spikes in popularity, so treat this as an easy pickup for any cycling build rather than a spec target.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Alaundo the Seer
- Chakram Retriever
- Venture Forth
- Inspiring Refrain
- Reality Strobe
- The Tenth Doctor
- Mana Echoes
- Rite of the Dragoncaller
- Iraxxa, Empress of Mars
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.