Secrets of the Golden City
Sorcery
Ascend (If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.)
Draw two cards. If you have the city's blessing, draw three cards instead.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.30
- EDHREC rank
- #14269
Secrets of the Golden City draws three cards for three mana — but only if you've hit ascend, which requires ten permanents on board. In decks that reliably hit ascend by turn four or five, it's a clean three-for-one; everywhere else, it's a conditional Divination that might never upgrade.
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 |
Secrets of the Golden City lives and dies by ascend, which makes Commander its best home — the format's longer games and token-heavy, artifact-dense boards hit ten permanents faster than any 60-card format. In Pauper it's a fringe consideration for slower blue control shells that can guarantee the city's blessing, but it competes poorly against unconditional draw at common. Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer have no interest in a three-mana sorcery with a board-state prerequisite when those formats end games before ascend becomes realistic. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander closely enough that the same ascend-friendly decks can use it, though the smaller deck size makes consistency trickier.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.30 bulk tier
At $0.30, Secrets of the Golden City is deep bulk — you're essentially paying for the sleeve. Price stability is a non-issue; this sits at the bottom of the bulk bin indefinitely, so there's no reason to hesitate on picking up copies.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.