Grim Tutor
Sorcery
Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle. You lose 3 life.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Core Set 2021 Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #683
Grim Tutor puts any card in your hand for three mana — unconditional, instant-speed, no restrictions — and the 3 life is almost never relevant. The cost that actually matters is the three mana, which keeps it honest in fast formats but still earns its slot in any black deck that wants a third or fourth tutor.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth converts that 3 life into mana, meaning Grim Tutor effectively costs one black mana and no life payment that matters when you're already trading life for tempo — it's a near-free bullet finder for any combo piece in the 99.
Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
This pair runs a tight artifact-combo shell where finding the exact missing piece is worth any cost, and Grim Tutor's unconditional search makes it one of the most reliable ways for Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept decks to assemble their lines on demand.
Gwenom, Remorseless
Gwenom, Remorseless wants specific pieces to start generating poison counters at scale, and Grim Tutor's no-restriction search means it can fetch an enabler, a protection piece, or a finisher with equal ease.
Phage the Untouchable
Getting Phage the Untouchable into play without losing the game requires a very specific set of cards — Grim Tutor is one of the few tutors that can find any of them regardless of card type, making it essential infrastructure for the deck's entire plan.
Acererak the Archlich
Acererak the Archlich needs to find dungeon payoffs and loop enablers consistently, and Grim Tutor slots in as a flexible search spell that can hit whatever piece the board state demands.
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, Grim Tutor is a staple in any black deck that wants more than two tutors — the 3 life is irrelevant at 40, and three mana at instant speed to find anything is a powerful rate. In Legacy and Vintage it sees occasional play but competes directly with Demonic Tutor, which costs one less mana with no life loss, so it mostly appears as copies five and six in storm or combo shells that genuinely need redundancy. Modern and Pioneer are where the cost starts biting — three mana is a real tempo loss in faster formats, and most black decks there have more efficient options or simply don't need tutors. Grim Tutor is, in practice, a Commander card that happens to be legal elsewhere.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available right now, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the current market rate before buying. Grim Tutor has historically been expensive due to limited print runs, but it has been reprinted, so supply is meaningfully better than it once was — worth confirming the current price rather than assuming it's still the $30+ card it used to be.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
- Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh // Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
- Gwenom, Remorseless
- Phage the Untouchable
- Acererak the Archlich
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.