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Fanning the Flames

Sorcery

Buyback {3} (You may pay an additional {3} as you cast this spell. If you do, put this card into your hand as it resolves.)
Fanning the Flames deals X damage to any target.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{X}{R}{R}
Color identity
R
Rarity
rare
Set
Tempest Remastered
Price
—
EDHREC rank
#14798
Buy on TCGplayer
Fanning the Flames card art
Fanning the Flames is a repeatable direct-damage spell with a buyback cost that scales as high as your mana allows — the floor is flexible removal, the ceiling is a one-card win condition. The buyback clause is the entire point: in a long game or an infinite-mana shell, Fanning the Flames never leaves your hand, and Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss commanders who generate explosive mana through their Warrior triggers turn it into a kill in a single turn.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss

Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss

20.5% of decks · synergy 0.20

Raggadragga, Goreguts Boss rewards tapping creatures with activated abilities for mana, and the resulting mana surplus feeds directly into Fanning the Flames — buyback plus damage in the same activation, then do it again next turn until someone dies.

02
Mizzix of the Izmagnus

Mizzix of the Izmagnus

10.5% of decks · synergy 0.10

Mizzix of the Izmagnus reduces the cost of instant and sorcery spells with experience counters, and Fanning the Flames benefits doubly: the base cost shrinks while the buyback remains a fixed investment, letting you redirect the savings into a bigger damage number.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Fanning the Flames is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, and that's essentially its entire competitive footprint — it has never been legal in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, or Pauper. In Commander it's at its best: the buyback mechanic rewards long games, high mana counts, and the kind of infinite-mana combos the format is built around. Legacy and Vintage are theoretically available, but the format speed makes a sorcery-speed buyback spell a liability against combo and tempo decks. Oathbreaker can support it if the signature spell or planeswalker generates enough mana to sustain the loop, but the 20-life starting total means the damage threshold is lower and the window is tighter.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

40 decks
StormsplitterSorcerer ClassFanning the Flames

StormsplitterSorcerer ClassFanning the Flames

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite damage; Infinite storm count; Infinite creature tokens with haste; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite blue mana that can only be spent to cast instant and sorcery spells; Infinite red mana that can only be spent to cast instant and sorcery spells

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

unknown tier

Pricing data for Fanning the Flames isn't currently available in this listing, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate before buying. Given its age and narrow competitive footprint, it typically trades as a bulk-or-near-bulk rare — likely an easy pickup if you're building toward an infinite-mana shell.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.