Debt of Loyalty
Instant
Regenerate target creature. You gain control of that creature if it regenerates this way.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Weatherlight
- Price
- $14.72
- EDHREC rank
- #16219
Debt of Loyalty counters a destroy effect and immediately hands you the targeted creature — your opponent spent a removal spell and you walk away with their best blocker or your own creature back under your control. Three white mana for that swing in tempo is a steal, and the card sees far too little play for what it actually does.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Debt of Loyalty does its best work — multiplayer tables see constant removal flying around, and the card turns any destroy effect targeting a creature you want into a free acquisition. In Legacy and Vintage, the tempo cost of tapping out three mana at instant speed is steep against faster gameplans, and Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile simply ends the creature rather than giving you an opening; Debt of Loyalty sees essentially no competitive play in those formats. Oathbreaker shares enough of Commander's multiplayer removal density that the card is at least functional, though the lower life totals compress the game too much for reactive steal effects to consistently pay off.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Cauldron of Souls offers a repeatable persist effect that similarly saves your creatures from destroy-based removal, though it doesn't net you an opponent's creature — it's a defensive tool, not a steal. If the creature-theft angle is what you're after, Claim the Firstborn and Temporary Seizure cost significantly less than Debt of Loyalty but lack the instant-speed counter-removal timing that makes Debt of Loyalty uniquely powerful.
Price Context
Current price
$14.72 mid tier
At $14.72, Debt of Loyalty sits in mid-tier pricing for a Reserved List card with narrow but genuine applications — the supply ceiling is fixed, so copies won't get cheaper over time. It's a fair price for what is essentially a niche but unreplaceable effect, and if the card fits your strategy, waiting for a better entry point is unlikely to pay off.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.