Scholar of the Ages
Creature — Human Wizard
When this creature enters, return up to two target instant and/or sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand.
- CMC
- 7
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Core Set 2020
- Price
- $0.22
- EDHREC rank
- #9960
Scholar of the Ages enters and returns two instant or sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand — a two-for-one stapled to a body, and the engine for some genuinely degenerate loops. The catch is seven mana and a fragile 3/3 frame, which means it lives or dies on whether you can exploit the enters-the-battlefield trigger: shell it with Inalla, Archmage Ritualist to copy the trigger, or recur Burnt Offering to immediately sacrifice and replay it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist copies Scholar of the Ages as a token the moment it enters, doubling the recursion trigger and turning a single cast into four spells recovered — that's why Scholar shows up in nearly a quarter of Inalla builds.
Orvar, the All-Form
Orvar, the All-Form cares about targeting your own permanents with instants and sorceries, and Scholar of the Ages fuels that loop by pulling those spells back out of the graveyard so you can target Scholar itself and generate yet another Orvar trigger.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Scholar of the Ages is legal across Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but it only sees meaningful play in Commander. Seven mana for a 3/3 is nowhere near competitive in Legacy, Modern, or Vintage, where the game is often decided before you untap with that investment. In Pioneer the rate is similarly unplayable. Commander is the one format where the curve extends far enough and games go long enough that the recursive value actually lands — and the combination of Wizards tribal synergies and graveyard-loop potential gives it a real home there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Scholar of the AgesBurnt OfferingShallow Grave
Infinite black mana; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite red mana; Infinite storm count; Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Ghostly FlickerPeregrine DrakeScholar of the Ages
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite storm count; Infinite mana lands you control can produce; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite blinking; Infinite landfall triggers; Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand; Infinite untap of lands you control
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Saw in HalfBurnt OfferingScholar of the Ages
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite storm count; Infinite red mana; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite black mana; Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Saw in HalfCulling the WeakScholar of the Ages
Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite storm count; Infinite creature tokens; Infinite magecraft triggers; Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand
View on Commander Spellbook ↗
Saw in HalfSacrificeScholar of the Ages
Infinite black mana; Cast a subset of spells in your graveyard; Infinite death triggers; Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite storm count; Return all instant and sorcery cards from your graveyard to your hand
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
$0.22 bulk tier
At $0.22, Scholar of the Ages is deep bulk — easy to pick up in any common-bin sweep or as a throw-in. Bulk rares with niche combo applications don't tend to spike unless a specific commander or deck archetype goes viral, so don't expect movement, but at this price the question is never cost.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.