Harsh Scrutiny
Sorcery
Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a creature card from it. That player discards that card. Scry 1.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Kaladesh
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #19920
Harsh Scrutiny strips a creature from your opponent's hand before it ever touches the battlefield and replaces itself with a scry 1 — all for one black mana. It's a clean, efficient discard spell that punches above its cost in any strategy that wants early hand disruption.
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, Harsh Scrutiny is a niche inclusion — hitting one opponent's hand is rarely worth a card slot when you're facing three players, and the scry 1 only partially offsets the card disadvantage at a four-person table. It finds its best home in 1v1 formats: in Modern and Pioneer it competes with Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek, which are strictly stronger because they hit any nonland card, so Harsh Scrutiny typically won't make those cuts outside of budget builds. Legacy and Vintage have even higher bars, and the creature-only restriction is punishing in formats where noncreature threats dominate. Oathbreaker, where games are faster and creature commanders are the default threat, is where Harsh Scrutiny is most at home relative to its competition.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Harsh Scrutiny is pure bulk — it costs less than a sleeve and is easy to pick out of any trade binder or bulk bin. Don't expect the price to move; there's no scarcity driving demand and stronger discard options exist at every price point above it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.