Familiar's Ruse
Instant
As an additional cost to cast this spell, return a creature you control to its owner's hand.
Counter target spell.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Lorwyn
- Price
- $0.94
- EDHREC rank
- #6694
Familiar's Ruse counters any spell for UU — the catch is bouncing a creature you control, which in the right deck isn't a cost at all. Commanders like Gorion, Wise Mentor turn that bounce into a free trigger, making this a strict upgrade over Counterspell in those shells.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gorion, Wise Mentor
Gorion, Wise Mentor triggers whenever you cast a spell targeting him, so bouncing him to counter a threat immediately sets up another trigger the moment you recast him — Familiar's Ruse is effectively a counterspell stapled to a free Gorion activation.
Beluna Grandsquall
Beluna Grandsquall cares about casting Adventure creatures, and bouncing one to pay for Familiar's Ruse puts that creature back in hand ready to Adventure again — the drawback collapses into pure card and trigger advantage.
Goro-Goro and Satoru
Goro-Goro and Satoru builds around hasty creatures entering the battlefield, so any bounce becomes a replay of an ETB; Familiar's Ruse slots in as interaction that doubles as a reset button for whatever threat you most want to see hit the table again.
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 |
In Commander, Familiar's Ruse earns its slot exclusively in decks that can weaponize the bounce — generic blue piles should run Counterspell instead. In Legacy and Vintage, the creature-bounce cost is simply too steep against the tempo demands of those formats, where Counterspell, Force of Will, and Flusterstorm dominate. Modern has more generous options at two mana now, and Ruse doesn't see meaningful play there either. The card's real home has always been Commander, where ETB engines and blink synergies make the cost a feature.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.94 bulk tier
At $0.94, Familiar's Ruse sits at the top edge of bulk, and that price reflects genuine niche demand rather than casual filler. It won't climb meaningfully without a breakout Commander printing that specifically rewards bouncing creatures, but it's a safe pickup at under a dollar for any deck that wants it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Gorion, Wise Mentor
- Beluna Grandsquall
- Goro-Goro and Satoru
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.