Increasing Savagery
Sorcery
Put five +1/+1 counters on target creature. If this spell was cast from a graveyard, put ten +1/+1 counters on that creature instead.
Flashback 
(You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might
- Price
- $0.44
- EDHREC rank
- #9677
Increasing Savagery dumps five +1/+1 counters onto a creature for three mana — and when cast from the graveyard, it doubles that to ten, turning any counter-hungry threat into a one-hit monster. Skullbriar, the Walking Grave is the canonical home because those counters stick through zone changes, and Feather, the Redeemed can loop it if you engineer the right shell.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave keeps counters even after dying or being tucked, so the ten-counter flashback mode on Increasing Savagery essentially gives Skullbriar a permanent buff that survives every wrath and bounce your opponents throw at it.
Sarulf, Realm Eater
Sarulf, Realm Eater removes permanents by spending counters, so it actively wants as many counters as possible piled on as fast as possible — Increasing Savagery delivers five at once, or ten from the yard, giving Sarulf enough ammunition to nuke the board multiple times in a single game.
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 |
Increasing Savagery is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it's effectively a Commander card — the formats where you actually see it played. In competitive Legacy and Modern, five counters on a creature for three mana is too slow and too narrow when the format demands interaction rather than a creature-buff spell. Commander is where Increasing Savagery earns its slot: a 100-card singleton format with graveyard recursion, sacrifice loops, and commanders that carry counters across zones means the flashback upgrade from five to ten counters is realistically achievable and game-defining when it lands.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Feather, the RedeemedSage of HoursIncreasing Savagery
Infinite turns; Lock
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.44 bulk tier
At $0.44, Increasing Savagery sits firmly in bulk territory — easy to pick up as a throw-in or from a bargain bin. Bulk mythics rarely spike without a new commander printing that triggers demand, so expect this price to stay flat unless a breakout +1/+1 counter commander shows up in a major set.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Feather, the Redeemed
- Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
- Sarulf, Realm Eater
- Sage of Hours
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.