Scouring Sands
Sorcery
Scouring Sands deals 1 damage to each creature your opponents control. Scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Born of the Gods
- Price
- $0.20
- EDHREC rank
- #7986
Scouring Sands deals 1 damage to each creature your opponents control and then scrys 1 — a clean two-for-one of board management and card selection at two mana. In decks that care about pinging every creature for exactly 1, this is a staple; everywhere else, it's too narrow to earn a slot.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Judith, Carnage Connoisseur
Judith, Carnage Connoisseur lets you pay life to redirect noncombat damage from one target to another, which means Scouring Sands effectively becomes a one-sided sweeper — the 1 damage that would hit your creatures gets rerouted while opponents' boards get wiped.
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph triggers whenever a source deals exactly 1 damage to a permanent or player, adding 2 more — Scouring Sands hits every opposing creature for 1 simultaneously, turning a two-mana spell into a mass-removal event.
Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot
Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot triggers off sources that deal exactly 1 damage, so Scouring Sands pinging the whole board fires Taii's ability once per creature hit, generating a cascade of value from a single spell.
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, Scouring Sands is a niche role-player — nearly useless in most shells but close to mandatory in decks built around Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph or Judith, Carnage Connoisseur, where the 1-damage-to-all trigger is the entire engine. In Pauper it competes with Electrickery and Tremor for the same slot and mostly loses, since those don't cost two mana or require red-red. In Modern and Pioneer the card doesn't see meaningful play; the format's threats survive 1 damage and the scry doesn't compensate. Legacy and Vintage have no interest.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.20 bulk tier
At $0.20, Scouring Sands is pure bulk — you're not paying a premium for anything here. Pick it up without hesitation if the commander warrants it; there's no financial downside to stocking a copy.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.