Rat Out
Instant
Up to one target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. You create a 1/1 black Rat creature token with "This token can't block."
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Wilds of Eldraine
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #9485
Rat Out puts a 1/1 Rat token on an opponent's side and forces a discard — two disruptions on a single black mana. Outside of Totentanz, Swarm Piper and dedicated rat tribal shells that convert that token into a resource, the effect is too shallow to compete for a slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Totentanz, Swarm Piper
Rat Out shows up in nearly half of Totentanz, Swarm Piper decks because the token it donates is a rat — which Totentanz punishes when it dies, turning an opponent's board piece into a drain trigger and a new token on your side.
Karumonix, the Rat King
Rat Out feeds Karumonix, the Rat King's poison-stacking gameplan by adding a rat to the board count while shaving an opponent's hand, and in a deck already packed with rats it clears the minimum-effort bar for inclusion.
Wick, the Whorled Mind
Wick, the Whorled Mind cares about copying spells and triggering on discard effects, so Rat Out's forced discard doubles as a setup piece for Wick's ability while incidentally producing a body.
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
Rat Out gives Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm one more rat entering the battlefield to trigger graveyard-recursion synergies, and the one-mana cost keeps the curve low enough to chain multiple spells in a turn.
Marrow-Gnawer
Marrow-Gnawer wants rat count above everything else, and Rat Out is a one-mana way to push that number up while stripping a card from an opponent's hand before Marrow-Gnawer untaps to start multiplying.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Rat Out is a tribal piece, not a generic spell — run it if your deck cares about rats, skip it otherwise. The token lands on an opponent's battlefield, so the discard is the only direct value you capture outside of rat-synergy payoffs, and one forced discard for one mana at sorcery speed is below rate in a four-player game. In competitive 1v1 formats like Modern or Legacy, the effect is simply too small — giving an opponent a creature while trading a card and a mana is not a transaction aggressive or controlling strategies want. Pauper and Pioneer are the same story: rat tribal does not have the critical mass in those formats to make Rat Out worthwhile over cheaper or cleaner disruption. The card is a Commander-only include, and even there only in the specific shells listed above.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Rat Out is firmly bulk — a throw-in rather than a purchase. The tribal restriction keeps demand narrow enough that the price is unlikely to climb without a high-profile rat commander printing that breaks into wider play.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Totentanz, Swarm Piper
- Karumonix, the Rat King
- Wick, the Whorled Mind
- Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
- Marrow-Gnawer
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.