Polygraph Orb
Artifact
When this artifact enters, look at the top four cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. You lose 2 life.
, 
, Collect evidence 3: Each opponent loses 3 life unless they discard a card or sacrifice a creature. (To collect evidence 3, exile cards with total mana value 3 or greater from your graveyard.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Murders at Karlov Manor
- Price
- $0.08
- EDHREC rank
- #22309
Polygraph Orb punishes opponents for lying about game actions — whenever a player is caught making a false statement about a game rule or their own actions, it generates a tangible board consequence. The cost is minimal, but so is the reliability: enforcement depends entirely on catching and challenging bluffs at your table, which makes it a social card more than a strategic one.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Polygraph Orb is a Commander card through and through — the multiplayer politics, the bluffing culture, and the longer games give it the most opportunities to fire. In 1v1 formats like Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, and Vintage, the narrow window for meaningful deception collapses almost entirely, and no competitive player would run it over nearly anything else in those slots. Standard has the card legal but the incentive to play it is effectively zero. Commander remains the only format where Polygraph Orb can generate real table talk and occasional value, and even there it earns a roster spot only in dedicated chaos or politics builds.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.08 bulk tier
At $0.08, Polygraph Orb is deep bulk — the price reflects exactly how narrow the card is. It won't appreciate; pick it up if you want it for a theme deck, but don't expect the market to ever care.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.