Shifting Loyalties
Sorcery
Exchange control of two target permanents that share a card type. (Artifact, creature, enchantment, land, and planeswalker are card types.)
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Fate Reforged
- Price
- $0.06
- EDHREC rank
- #20957
Shifting Loyalties swaps control of two permanents — one you own, one your opponent owns — at sorcery speed for six mana, no targeting restrictions beyond 'non-land permanent.' The effect is real and occasionally backbreaking, but six mana at sorcery speed is a steep ask when Act of Treason effects exist at half the cost.
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 |
Shifting Loyalties is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the only format where it sees any real play. In 60-card competitive formats, six mana at sorcery speed for a swap effect is unplayable — those formats have either faster ways to steal permanents or simply don't care about this axis. In Commander, the multiplayer politics make the card at least interesting: swapping a high-value opponent permanent for one of your own low-value tokens or excess copies can generate significant tempo, and doing it at sorcery speed is less of a liability when the game is slower. It still sits on the fringes of Commander play, useful mainly in dedicated theft or political builds rather than as a generic include.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.06 bulk tier
At $0.06, Shifting Loyalties is deep bulk — you're paying for cardboard and not much else. The price reflects its narrow application; it won't climb unless a Commander printing dramatically spikes demand for permanent-swap effects.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.