Sift Through Sands
Instant — Arcane
Draw two cards, then discard a card.
If you've cast a spell named Peer Through Depths and a spell named Reach Through Mists this turn, you may search your library for a card named The Unspeakable, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might
- Price
- $0.13
- EDHREC rank
- #19709
Sift Through Sands draws three cards and discards one for three mana — serviceable filtering, but not a rate worth building around on its own. The only reason to run it is the Arcane type, which unlocks The Unspeakable as a free tutor reward for casting it alongside Peer Through Depths and Reach Through Mists.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Sift Through Sands is a narrow inclusion that only makes sense in decks explicitly pursuing The Unspeakable's triggered ability — outside that shell, three mana for draw-three-discard-one is below the format's card-advantage bar. In Pauper, the Arcane synergy package is more accessible and the slower format gives you room to assemble the trio, making it a legitimate piece of Spirit and Arcane builds. Legacy and Vintage have no interest — the rate is too low and the combo payoff too fragile for formats with better cantrips and faster clocks. Sift Through Sands is a build-around common that delivers exactly what its niche demands and nothing beyond it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.13 bulk tier
At $0.13, Sift Through Sands is pure bulk — no price pressure, no scarcity, easy to acquire as a throwaway pickup. It holds that floor comfortably since demand is narrow and supply is deep.
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Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.