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Tainted Pact
Price$32.36 – $75.08
Buy on TCGplayer

Tainted Pact

{1}{B}

Instant

Legal Salt 1.59Rank #792

Exile the top card of your library. You may put that card into your hand unless it has the same name as another card exiled this way. Repeat this process until you put a card into your hand or you exile two cards with the same name, whichever comes first.

Why is this card good?

Why it's good: Tainted Pact is one of the cheapest, most efficient tutors-into-hand in the format — for two mana, you dig until you hit the card you want. The catch is the name-matching clause, which is why it shines specifically in singleton-heavy decks: with only one copy of each card, you'll never accidentally mill yourself out (the only risk is your basic lands). Who wants it: It's a staple in cEDH and combo-focused decks, most famously alongside Thassa's Oracle — Pact your entire library into exile, then win with the Oracle's ETB. Generally any blue-black or mono-black storm/combo deck running few or zero basic lands. Commanders like Tymna, Kraum, or any consultation-style line love it. When NOT to play it: Avoid it in casual battlecruiser or lands-matter decks running multiple basics — duplicate basic names will stop the Pact early or risk exiling your whole deck. It's a precision tool for tight, optimized lists, not a fair-deck value tutor.

Related cards

Demonic ConsultationB

Same singleton-combo tutor that exiles library; pairs with Thassa's Oracle to win.

Thassa's OracleU

Primary wincon when you empty your library with Tainted Pact.

Laboratory ManiacU

Alternate empty-library payoff after exiling whole deck.

Jace, Wielder of MysteriesU

Another draw-from-empty-library wincon for the Pact line.

Vampiric TutorB

Black instant-speed tutor in similar consistency role.

Imperial SealB

Cheap black tutor providing comparable card selection.

Diabolic IntentB

Black tutor for assembling combo pieces.

Grim TutorB

Black instant-speed-adjacent tutor fetching any card.

Printings (3)

staStrixhaven Mystical Archive · #96M$75.08Buy
staStrixhaven Mystical Archive · #33M$32.36Buy
odyOdyssey · #164R$38.40Buy

Combos (4)

  • Tainted Pact + Thassa's Oracle

    → Win the game

  • Tainted Pact + Laboratory Maniac

    → Win the game

  • Tainted Pact + Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

    → Win the game

  • Approach of the Second Sun + Tainted Pact

    → Win the game

Discussion (0)