Spontaneous Mutation
Enchantment — Aura
Flash
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets -X/-0, where X is the number of cards in your graveyard.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadows over Innistrad Remastered
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #20191
Spontaneous Mutation turns any creature into a 0/1 for a single blue mana — instant speed, zero setup, full stop. It's conditional removal that scales cleanly off your graveyard, and in the right shell it punishes attackers without spending a real removal slot.
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, Spontaneous Mutation is a fringe inclusion — the graveyard condition means it's dead on arrival in decks without consistent self-mill, but in Dimir or Sultai lists that fill the yard naturally it can neutralize a general's combat threat for one mana. Pauper is where Spontaneous Mutation earns genuine respect: common-legal, instant speed, and blue decks there stock graveyards fast enough to make the -X/-0 reliably large. In Legacy and Vintage the card simply can't compete with the efficiency of Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, so it sees no meaningful play. Modern and Pioneer have similar problems — the conditional clause is a real cost in formats where graveyards get hated out regularly.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Spontaneous Mutation isn't currently available, but the card has historically sat well under a dollar given its narrow application and limited competitive demand. If you're building a Pauper self-mill deck or a Commander list that already leans on the yard, it's a safe pickup at essentially bulk price.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.