Sleight of Hand
Sorcery
Look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the other on the bottom of your library.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Starter 1999
- Price
- $1.32
- EDHREC rank
- #3577
Sleight of Hand digs one card deep for a single blue mana, letting you keep the best of two and put the other on the bottom — clean selection, no card disadvantage. It's not a powerhouse, but Geralf, the Fleshwright and similar spell-count commanders run it because cheap cantrips that don't replace themselves still trigger passive abilities while smoothing draws.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Geralf, the Fleshwright
Geralf, the Fleshwright mills opponents whenever you cast an instant or sorcery, so Sleight of Hand is a one-mana trigger that also digs for your next threat — the selection is almost a bonus on top of the damage.
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Talrand, Sky Summoner makes a 2/2 Drake off every instant or sorcery, and Sleight of Hand is one of the cheapest ways to spin that engine while finding the counterspell or finisher you actually need.
Prismari, the Inspiration
Prismari, the Inspiration rewards casting spells with a magecraft trigger, and Sleight of Hand slots in as low-cost spell density that keeps the trigger count high without wasting slots on expensive cantrips.
River Song
River Song puts cards from opponents' libraries into exile whenever you cast a spell you haven't cast before, and Sleight of Hand counts — one mana for a trigger plus the selection to set up the next unique spell.
Balmor, Battlemage Captain
Balmor, Battlemage Captain pumps the team whenever an instant or sorcery resolves, so Sleight of Hand is a one-mana pump spell that happens to also dig for your next piece — cheap enough to chain into a combat trick on the same turn.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Sleight of Hand earns its slot in spell-count and spellslinger builds specifically because it's a one-mana sorcery that filters without losing a card — something blue cantrips above two mana can't claim. In Legacy and Vintage it competes directly with Ponder and Brainstorm, which offer more powerful selection, so it rarely makes the cut outside niche shells. Modern and Pioneer are where Sleight of Hand actually holds real ground: Ponder is banned in both, leaving it as one of the premier one-mana dig spells for storm, combo, and blue tempo strategies. In Pauper it's similarly respected, filling the Ponder-shaped hole in common-legal blue decks that need consistent turn-one filtering.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.32 cheap tier
At $1.32, Sleight of Hand sits in a comfortable budget tier — cheap enough to include without deliberation, but not so low that demand is absent. The price is stable because it sees genuine cross-format play, so don't expect it to drop significantly; it's already at a floor consistent with a workhorse card.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.