Pick the Brain
Sorcery
Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it and exile that card.
Delirium — If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, search that player's graveyard, hand, and library for any number of cards with the same name as the exiled card, exile those cards, then that player shuffles.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Shadows over Innistrad Remastered
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #28947
Pick the Brain strips a nonland card from an opponent's hand and, if they're delirium-enabled, exiles every copy from their hand, graveyard, and library — a conditional but backbreaking effect. The two-mana cost is fair for the base mode and a steal if delirium is active, making this a strong include in any black deck that can reliably turn on graveyard diversity.
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, Pick the Brain earns its slot in discard-focused or self-mill strategies where delirium is trivially online — stripping all copies of a wincon or combo piece from an opponent's library is as close to a clean answer as black gets without running Slaughter Games. In Legacy and Vintage, the competition from Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, and Unmask is steep, and Pick the Brain's sorcery speed makes it a fringe inclusion at best. Modern and Pioneer are more forgiving of the two-mana ask if the delirium payoff is consistent, but neither format hosts a tier archetype that wants this over cheaper disruption. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander calculus — if your gameplan touches the graveyard, the full-exile mode is well within reach.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Pick the Brain isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the latest figures before buying. Given its niche appeal and limited competitive demand, it almost certainly sits in the bulk-rare range — worth picking up cheaply if the delirium condition fits your build.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.