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The Cruelty of Gix

Enchantment — Saga

Read ahead (Choose a chapter and start with that many lore counters. Add one after your draw step. Skipped chapters don't trigger. Sacrifice after III.)
I — Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a creature or planeswalker card from it. That player discards that card.
II — Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle. You lose 3 life.
III — Put target creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{B}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
rare
Set
Dominaria United Promos
Price
$1.38
EDHREC rank
#3869
Buy on TCGplayer
The Cruelty of Gix card art
The Cruelty of Gix reads three chapters when it enters — tutor a card, make an opponent sacrifice a creature, make an opponent discard — and the total cost is six mana plus giving your opponent a free search, which is a real price you have to build around. In Narci, Fable Singer decks, that drawback shrinks to near-nothing because the chapter counters feed her trigger engine, making The Cruelty of Gix one of the cleanest over-performers in the archetype.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Narci, Fable Singer

Narci, Fable Singer

71.0% of decks · synergy 0.68

Narci, Fable Singer wants sagas that advance chapter counters as fast as possible, and The Cruelty of Gix delivers three distinct chapter triggers that each move the needle on her damage-doubling engine — 71% of Narci, Fable Singer decks run it, the highest inclusion rate of any commander on this list.

02
Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil

58.3% of decks · synergy 0.56

Tom Bombadil's static ability puts a lore counter on each saga when it enters, which means The Cruelty of Gix effectively jumps to chapter II immediately — 58% of Tom Bombadil decks run it to accelerate through all three chapters in a single turn cycle.

03
Glissa Sunslayer

Glissa Sunslayer

22.5% of decks · synergy 0.22

Glissa Sunslayer already strips enchantments and counters on combat damage, so The Cruelty of Gix fills in the non-combat disruption she lacks — the sacrifice chapter handles threats that survive combat, and 23% of Glissa Sunslayer decks treat it as a flexible catch-all.

04
Ghen, Arcanum Weaver

Ghen, Arcanum Weaver

17.4% of decks · synergy 0.17

Ghen, Arcanum Weaver can swap a spent saga for a fresh enchantment at instant speed, and The Cruelty of Gix is an ideal sacrifice target after all three chapters resolve — about 17% of Ghen, Arcanum Weaver decks exploit this recycling line.

05
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

9.1% of decks · synergy 0.08

Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor already pressures opponents with hand and board disruption, and The Cruelty of Gix doubles down on that gameplan by forcing a discard and a sacrifice in the same card — around 9% of Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor decks run it as redundant attrition.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where The Cruelty of Gix earns its keep — giving one opponent a free tutor in a four-player game is a fractional cost compared to the three chapters of value you accrue, especially in saga-centric builds where the card essentially pays for itself in synergy. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; six mana for a multi-chapter saga is glacially slow in formats that end games on turn one or two. Pioneer and Modern offer more breathing room, but the opponent's chapter I search is a much steeper price when you're facing only one opponent and they can tutor a combo piece straight to hand — The Cruelty of Gix doesn't see competitive play in either format for that reason. Oathbreaker follows Commander's logic closely enough that the card functions similarly there, particularly under a black enchantment-focused signature spell shell.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$1.38 cheap tier

At $1.38, The Cruelty of Gix sits firmly in the bulk-rare tier — cheap enough to slot into any saga or enchantment build without a second thought. The price reflects its narrow competitive appeal rather than its Commander ceiling, and it's unlikely to spike unless a new saga-matters commander breaks into the mainstream.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.