Foul Renewal
Instant
Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the toughness of the card returned this way.
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Dragons of Tarkir
- Price
- $0.25
- EDHREC rank
- #18119
Foul Renewal returns a creature from your graveyard to your hand and uses the discarded card's power as a stat penalty on a target creature — two relevant effects stapled to one black instant for three mana. It earns a slot when you need recursive card advantage and interaction on the same line, but tables with large-power creatures will squeeze more value out of the debuff half than tables that don't.
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 |
Commander is where Foul Renewal does its best work — graveyards fill up naturally, threats are large enough to make the power-reduction meaningful, and instant speed lets you hold up interaction while setting up your next play. In competitive constructed formats like Modern or Legacy, it's too slow and too conditional: dedicated removal is cheaper, and graveyard recursion is more efficient elsewhere. Pioneer is the same story — the effect doesn't map onto any aggressive or combo shell cleanly enough to compete. Foul Renewal is a Commander card through and through, and a niche one even there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.25 bulk tier
At $0.25, Foul Renewal sits firmly in bulk territory — easy to pick up without a second thought. Bulk rares with narrow applications tend to stay flat, so don't expect the price to move unless a high-profile deck pushes it into the spotlight.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.