Summoner's Pact
Instant
Search your library for a green creature card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay 
. If you don't, you lose the game.
- CMC
- 0
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Modern Masters
- Price
- $4.57
- EDHREC rank
- #3201
Summoner's Pact puts any green creature from your library into your hand for zero mana right now — the cost is a conditional payment on your next upkeep that kills you if you miss it. In decks that win the turn they go off, that death trigger never resolves; in slower lists, Yisan, the Wanderer Bard aside, the risk is real enough to cut it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is the canonical home — Summoner's Pact finds the exact creature needed at a given verse counter, letting Yisan chain activations or grab a combo piece the same turn it becomes relevant without spending a mana that the chain needs elsewhere.
Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
Selvala, Heart of the Wilds wins through explosive mana chains, and Summoner's Pact slots in as a free tutor to grab whatever creature closes the loop — typically a large body to retrigger Selvala's tap ability or a haste enabler to attack immediately.
Marwyn, the Nurturer
Marwyn, the Nurturer needs Elves, and Summoner's Pact finds any of them for free mid-combo, letting Marwyn's controller chain through the deck without breaking the mana engine to pay a tutor cost.
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild decks use Summoner's Pact to fetch the creature that completes a land-based mana loop or establishes the lethal untap chain — zero mana means Ashaya's mana engine doesn't need to front the search cost.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Summoner's Pact is a staple in green combo decks that expect to win on the same turn they cast it — the pact trigger is irrelevant when the game ends before your next upkeep. Legacy sees it in Elves and Through the Breach shells where zero-mana tutoring is worth the construction constraints. Modern has historically used Summoner's Pact in Amulet Titan to find Primeval Titan or a missing combo piece, making it a genuine multi-format card rather than a Commander curiosity. Vintage has better free tutors and faster clocks, so Summoner's Pact occupies a niche role there. Pioneer, Standard, and Pauper don't get it, and in Oathbreaker it functions the same as in Commander — fine in dedicated combo, irrelevant outside it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$4.57 cheap tier
At $4.57, Summoner's Pact sits at the low end of the tutor market for a card that sees play across Legacy, Modern, and Commander simultaneously. That price is likely to hold — it's not a bulk throw-in, but it's accessible enough that there's no reason to hesitate on picking one up for a green combo deck that can actually use it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
- Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
- Marwyn, the Nurturer
- Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.