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Relic of Sauron

Artifact

{T}: Add two mana in any combination of {U}, {B}, and/or {R}.
{3}, {T}: Draw two cards, then discard a card.

CMC
4
Mana cost
{4}
Color identity
BRU
Rarity
rare
Set
Tales of Middle-earth Commander
Price
$19.90
EDHREC rank
#1802
Buy on TCGplayer
Relic of Sauron card art
Relic of Sauron is a three-mana rock that draws a card and gains you a life every turn you have the most cards in hand — a remarkably easy condition to meet in black-heavy control shells. The cost is real: it sits on the battlefield as a three-mana investment, so commanders like Tezzeret the Seeker that abuse artifacts get more mileage out of it than midrange piles that just want ramp, and Sauron, Lord of the Rings players run it in over 83% of decks for good reason.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Sauron, Lord of the Rings

Sauron, Lord of the Rings

83.4% of decks · synergy 0.64

Sauron, Lord of the Rings rewards you for holding cards and threatening opponents, so Relic of Sauron's hand-size trigger fires almost every turn cycle — the life gain is gravy on top of the card advantage engine the deck already wants.

02
Sauron, the Dark Lord

Sauron, the Dark Lord

73.5% of decks · synergy 0.54

Sauron, the Dark Lord leans on amassing Orcs and grinding opponents out, and Relic of Sauron slots in as both a mana accelerant and a steady draw engine that keeps the hand stocked to cast threats and counter-magic alike.

03
Saruman, the White Hand

Saruman, the White Hand

56.9% of decks · synergy 0.38

Saruman, the White Hand copies noncreature spells, which means you want a full grip every turn — Relic of Sauron helps maintain that hand size while generating the mana needed to actually cast the spells worth copying.

04

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

30.4% of decks · synergy 0.11

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager sits in Grixis, a color combination that runs enough hand-refill and disruption to stay ahead on cards, which is all Relic of Sauron needs to start paying dividends alongside the commander's own discard pressure.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Relic of Sauron earns its keep — four-player games are long enough that a draw-a-card-per-turn effect compounds fast, and the hand-size condition is trivially met in any deck running Grixis card advantage staples. Legacy and Vintage legality is mostly academic; neither format wants a three-mana do-nothing-until-upkeep rock when faster mana sources exist. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander format where it's worth a second look, since the smaller deck size and faster clock still allow controlling shells to leverage the sustained card draw.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

6 decks
Myr WelderStaff of DominationRelic of Sauron

Myr WelderStaff of DominationRelic of Sauron

Infinite lifegain triggers; Infinite lifegain; Infinite card draw; Infinite untap of creatures you control; Infinite draw triggers; Infinite mana creatures you control can produce; Infinite red mana; Infinite blue mana; Infinite black mana

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Phyrexian Arena fills a similar role for around $2 — you pay life instead of winning the hand-size check, but the draw trigger is unconditional and has no hoops to jump through. If you specifically want a mana rock that replaces itself, Arcane Signet pairs with Painful Truths or Night's Whisper for less than $2 combined, trading Relic of Sauron's ongoing engine for a one-shot burst that doesn't depend on board state.

Price Context

Current price

$19.90 mid tier

At $19.90, Relic of Sauron sits firmly in the mid-tier range for a Commander staple — meaningful enough to notice in a budget build, but not the $40-plus ceiling of format-defining rocks. Its price is driven by set-specific demand rather than universal inclusion, so if Tolkien-themed decks cool off in popularity, expect some softening.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.