Inscription of Ruin
Sorcery
Kicker 
Choose one. If this spell was kicked, choose any number instead.
• Target opponent discards two cards.
• Return target creature card with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
• Destroy target creature with mana value 3 or less.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Magic Online Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #20023
Inscription of Ruin is a flexible black spell that can discard, reanimate, or wipe small creatures — and kicked, it does all three at once. Two mana base with a five-mana kicker is a reasonable rate for that much text, but the sweet spot is paying the full seven and burying your opponent in card advantage in a single activation.
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 |
Inscription of Ruin is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker. Commander is where it earns its slot — the 100-card singleton format rewards flexible spells that pull triple duty, and a kicked Inscription of Ruin can strip a hand piece, recur a threat from your graveyard, and clear a utility creature in one shot. In Modern and Pioneer it's too slow and too situational; dedicated discard and removal options there are cheaper and more reliable. Legacy and Vintage have the same problem at a steeper power ceiling — the competition is just too efficient for a seven-mana all-in turn.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Current pricing data for Inscription of Ruin isn't available, but it's a rare from a non-chase set that sees niche Commander play, which typically puts it in the $0.50–$2.00 range. If you need it for a reanimator or discard-matters build, it's almost certainly a cheap pickup at your local game store or from any major singles retailer.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.