Drown in the Loch
Instant
Choose one —
• Counter target spell with mana value less than or equal to the number of cards in its controller's graveyard.
• Destroy target creature with mana value less than or equal to the number of cards in its controller's graveyard.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- BU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate
- Price
- $1.25
- EDHREC rank
- #1381
Drown in the Loch is a two-mana instant that counters or destroys a spell or permanent — whichever you need — as long as the target's controller has enough cards in their graveyard to match its mana value. In a deck like Captain N'ghathrod that actively mills opponents every turn, that condition is met by the midgame at the latest, making this one of the most efficient pieces of interaction in Dimir.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Captain N'ghathrod
Captain N'ghathrod mills opponents on every combat damage trigger, so Drown in the Loch scales up fast — by the time you're attacking with a Horror or two, graveyards are deep enough to answer almost anything on the board or stack.
Saruman of Many Colors
Saruman of Many Colors copies noncreature spells when you cast them while having the most cards in hand, and a control shell built around that ability fills opponents' graveyards through discard and interaction; Drown in the Loch slots in as flexible interaction that gets better the more the engine runs.
Phenax, God of Deception
Phenax, God of Deception wins by milling opponents out, and Drown in the Loch is one of the best payoffs for doing so — tap a wall, dump eight cards into a graveyard, then hold up two mana to counter or destroy whatever threatens the plan.
Anowon, the Ruin Thief
Anowon, the Ruin Thief builds around Rogue tribal, and Rogues deal combat damage to mill opponents on hit; Drown in the Loch turns that incidental milling into fuel, letting the deck answer threats with the same resource it's generating anyway.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind wants cards in opponents' graveyards to copy, so any deck helmed by him is already filling them up; Drown in the Loch rewards that strategy by becoming live removal or countermagic well before most spells of comparable power would be.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Drown in the Loch is a role-player in any Dimir graveyard-filling strategy and a near-auto-include in dedicated mill decks — the multiplayer table means three opponents' graveyards are feeding it simultaneously, and it's often fully online by turn four. In Modern and Pioneer, it sees play in Dimir midrange and control shells where self-mill or discard keeps graveyards stocked, though it requires more setup than pure universal interaction like Counterspell or March of Otherworldly Light. Legacy has better options at every point on the curve, so Drown in the Loch doesn't compete there. It's legal in Vintage but the format moves too fast for a conditional two-mana spell to matter.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.25 cheap tier
At $1.25, Drown in the Loch is firmly in budget territory — cheap enough that there's no reason to skip it in any Dimir deck that mills. The price reflects its narrow condition rather than its ceiling; in the decks where it's fully online, it punches well above what a card at this price should.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.