Scent of Ivy
Instant
Reveal any number of green cards in your hand. Target creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of cards revealed this way.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Urza's Destiny
- Price
- $0.16
- EDHREC rank
- #17758
Scent of Ivy gives a target creature -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of green cards in your hand — a removal spell whose power scales with how deep you're running on resources. Sergeant John Benton decks are the overwhelming home for it, and outside that narrow context it's too conditional to justify a slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Sergeant John Benton
Sergeant John Benton rewards you for playing with a full grip, so the X in Scent of Ivy routinely hits four or five — enough to kill most threats — while Benton's draw effects keep refilling the hand that fuels it.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Scent of Ivy is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, Pauper, and Oathbreaker, but the only format where it sees real play is Commander, specifically inside Sergeant John Benton builds that treat hand size as a resource. In Pauper it's technically available, but conditional -X/-X that requires a full green hand can't compete with the format's efficient removal. Legacy and Vintage have no interest — those formats kill you before hand-sculpting pays off.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.16 bulk tier
At $0.16, Scent of Ivy is pure bulk — you're not paying a premium for anything here. Demand is narrow enough that the price won't move unless Sergeant John Benton becomes a breakout commander, which would be the only catalyst worth watching.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.