Dimir Machinations
Sorcery
Look at the top three cards of target player's library. Exile any number of those cards, then put the rest back in any order.
Transmute 
(, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same mana value as this card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Transmute only as a sorcery.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Ravnica: City of Guilds
- Price
- $1.21
- EDHREC rank
- #11181
Dimir Machinations filters three cards deep and locks an opponent out of a card type for a turn — meaningful disruption stapled to meaningful selection. The cost is three mana at sorcery speed, which is real; Acererak the Archlich lists it specifically because the tutor mode is what pays that cost back.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Acererak the Archlich
Acererak the Archlich bounces itself until every dungeon is complete, and Dimir Machinations is one of the few three-mana tutors that can find the specific combo piece or dungeon-enabler needed to close that loop while also slowing down an opponent's interaction.
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 |
Dimir Machinations sees virtually no play in Legacy or Vintage, where three-mana sorceries that don't immediately win the game can't compete with the format's density of cheaper, more powerful options. In Commander it earns its slot in specific combo shells — particularly those running Acererak the Archlich — where the transmute clause turns it into a three-mana tutor for any three-CMC piece, which is the format's real reason to run it. The filter ability is a secondary upside, occasionally relevant as soft disruption but rarely the reason you're sleeving it. Outside of Commander, Dimir Machinations is essentially unplayed and unlikely to find a home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.21 cheap tier
At $1.21, Dimir Machinations sits squarely in the "cheap tutor tax" tier — you're paying almost nothing for a card that does genuine work in the right shell. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to spike, but narrow demand also means it won't drop further; it's a stable, low-cost inclusion for any deck that wants it.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.