Price$0.28 – $9.31
Buy on TCGplayerSign in Blood
Sorcery
LegalRank #230
Target player draws two cards and loses 2 life.
Why is this card good?
Sign in Blood is one of black's most efficient card draw spells: two cards for two mana at instant-adjacent value. In a 40-life format, paying 2 life is essentially free, making this pure card advantage in a color that historically struggles to refill its hand.
It belongs in basically any mono-black or black-heavy deck that isn't hyper-aggressive on life totals. It shines especially in:
- Aristocrats decks, where you can even target an opponent to drain them before a kill turn (though usually you draw yourself).
- Lifegain/Aetherflux builds that don't mind the cost.
- Control and midrange decks needing cheap, reliable gas.
The "target player" clause is mostly upside — you can finish off a low-life opponent, though that's rare.
When to skip it: decks built around life as a resource (heavy Phyrexian mana, Bolas's Citadel, low starting plans) may want pure draw like Night's Whisper instead — though that's nearly identical. Honestly, run both. There's little reason not to include this.
Related cards
Night's Whisper
Nearly identical: draw two, lose 2 life for 2 mana.
Read the Bones
Black card draw with scry, paying life.
Phyrexian Arena
Repeatable card draw at the cost of life each turn.
Painful Truths
Draw three, lose 3 life in multicolor decks.
Costly Plunder
Cheap black draw two, sacrificing a creature instead of life.
Ambition's Cost
Draw three, lose 3 life sorcery in black.
Village Rites
Instant-speed black draw two by sacrificing a creature.
Deadly Dispute
Cheap black draw two with sacrifice and treasure upside.
Printings (19)
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Played by these commanders
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