Riddle of Lightning
Instant
Choose any target. Scry 3, then reveal the top card of your library. Riddle of Lightning deals damage equal to that card's mana value to that permanent or player.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Jumpstart
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #18862
Riddle of Lightning scrys 3 and deals damage equal to the top card's mana value — a two-for-one that punishes high-curve decks and rewards anyone stacking their library. Five mana is the ceiling it has to justify, and it does so cleanly only when the average mana value of your deck pushes 4 or higher.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Riddle of Lightning earns its slot in high-CMC spellslinger decks where hitting a 6- or 7-drop off the top turns it into a Lightning Bolt plus Anticipate stapled together. In Pauper it's a genuine consideration for Izzet tempo — scry 3 at instant speed is scarce at common, and the damage is gravy against aggressive opponents. Modern and Pioneer have too much efficient card selection for a five-mana sorcery to compete; Riddle of Lightning simply can't match the rate of format staples there. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters for obvious reasons.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Riddle of Lightning is pure bulk — you're paying for cardboard, not demand. It's unlikely to spike without a pushed high-CMC commander driving adoption, so grab copies freely but don't expect the price to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.