Foray of Orcs
Sorcery
Amass Orcs 2. When you do, Foray of Orcs deals X damage to target creature an opponent controls, where X is the amassed Army's power. (To amass Orcs 2, put two +1/+1 counters on an Army you control. It's also an Orc. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token first.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #6787
Foray of Orcs deals 4 damage to any target for four mana — a clean, unconditional removal spell that doubles as reach. The cost is real: four mana is a lot for a Shock variant, and outside of decks that care about spells being cast, Saruman, the White Hand being the chief offender, you have no reason to run this over cheaper alternatives.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Saruman, the White Hand
Saruman, the White Hand triggers on noncreature spells, and Foray of Orcs is exactly the kind of cheap-ish instant or sorcery that stacks those amass triggers while also pointing removal at a blocker or a planeswalker threatening to ultimate.
Sauron, the Dark Lord
Sauron, the Dark Lord rewards casting Orcs and stacking the Ring temptation, and Foray of Orcs slots in as both a removal spell and a tribal piece that keeps the engine humming.
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 |
Foray of Orcs is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it sees essentially no play outside Commander. In Legacy and Vintage, four mana for 4 damage is laughably inefficient when the format is full of one-mana interaction. Modern has Lightning Bolt and a dozen better options at every price point. Commander is where Foray of Orcs finds its only legitimate home, and even there, it's a role-player in specific tribal or spell-matters builds rather than a staple.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Foray of Orcs is pure bulk — you're paying draft-chaff prices, which is about right for a narrow four-mana removal spell. It won't appreciate unless a future commander makes this style of effect dramatically more desirable, so treat it as a cheap inclusion for the decks that want it, not a pickup.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.