Writ of Return
Sorcery
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
Cipher (Then you may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of the encoded card without paying its mana cost.)
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- New Capenna Commander
- Price
- $0.42
- EDHREC rank
- #10977
Writ of Return puts a creature from any graveyard directly onto the battlefield — not into your hand — for three mana with connive tacked on as the cost. That connive clause makes it self-filtering in the right decks, and the reanimation being unconditional means Kamiz, Obscura Oculus players run it as a matter of course.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus rewards connive triggers directly, and Writ of Return delivers one every time you cast it — while also pulling a high-value creature onto the battlefield to immediately threaten an attack with Kamiz's cipher and unblockable effects.
Felix Five-Boots
Felix Five-Boots wants evasive creatures in play early and often, and Writ of Return's battlefield-direct reanimation means Felix Five-Boots can rebuy a connive target while simultaneously setting up the next extra-combat or copy trigger.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Writ of Return earns its keep — 100-card singleton means graveyards fill fast, and the connive rider lines up neatly with Esper and Dimir value engines. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but competes with Reanimate and Animate Dead at lower mana costs, so it rarely sees play outside of specific theme decks. Oathbreaker offers a similar environment to Commander where Writ of Return fits niche reanimator builds, though the smaller deck size makes the connive payoff less consistent.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.42 bulk tier
At $0.42, Writ of Return is deep bulk — a pickup cost that's effectively free when ordering a pile of singles. Demand is narrow enough that the price is unlikely to spike outside a reprint in a Commander precon that actively pushes connive.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Kamiz, Obscura Oculus
- Felix Five-Boots
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.