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Ill-Gotten Gains

Sorcery

Exile Ill-Gotten Gains. Each player discards their hand, then returns up to three cards from their graveyard to their hand.

CMC
4
Mana cost
{2}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Conspiracy
Price
$0.83
EDHREC rank
#13674
Buy on TCGplayer
Ill-Gotten Gains card art
Ill-Gotten Gains empties every hand and graveyard simultaneously, then lets each player refill with three cards — a symmetrical effect that stops being symmetrical the moment you're the one with the best engine waiting in exile. The catch is real: spells like Desperate Ritual hit the bin too, so builds that abuse it pair with Tinybones, Bauble Burglar or other commanders who profit from the chaos rather than commanders who need their graveyard intact.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar

Tinybones, Bauble Burglar

11.3% of decks · synergy 0.10

Tinybones, Bauble Burglar turns Ill-Gotten Gains into a repeatable advantage engine — every card exiled from opponents' hands triggers incremental damage and card filtering, so the 'symmetrical' refill lands heavily in your favor.

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

In Commander, Ill-Gotten Gains lives in storm and discard-payoff shells where wiping hands and reloading is a feature, not a drawback — the three-card refill is the smallest hand at the table, so it punishes opponents running high-curve threat packages harder than it punishes you. Legacy and Vintage allow it, but the effect competes poorly with faster disruption at those power levels and sees minimal play. It's banned in Modern and Pioneer and was never legal in Standard or Pauper, so Commander and Oathbreaker are where the card does its actual work.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.83 bulk tier

At $0.83, Ill-Gotten Gains sits firmly in bulk territory despite being the kind of niche, combo-adjacent card that often drifts upward when a popular commander gives it a real home. It holds casual value as a cheap piece for any discard or storm build, but don't expect price movement unless a high-profile deck puts it on the map.

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Sources

Mentioned

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