Baleful Mastery
Baleful Mastery: Instant, Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander. You may pay 1B rather than pay this spell's mana cost. Prices and printings on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {3}{B}
- Mana value
- 4
- Type
- Instant
- Colour identity
- Black (B)
- Rarity
- Rare
- Set
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander (OTC)
- Released
- 2024-04-19
- Collector number
- 126
- Artist
- Chris Cold
- Commander rank
- 1,368 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
Build around this card with Grover
About Baleful Mastery
Baleful Mastery is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare black instant from Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander (OTC), a Commander product released in April 2024. It is collector number 126 in that set, with art by Chris Cold. It costs {3}{B} (three generic and one black mana) to cast, for a mana value of 4. Its colour identity is black. It is legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator and Penny Dreadful. It has been printed in 5 sets, from The List (2020) to Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander (2024). The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $2.90 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-03).
Card text
You may pay {1}{B} rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
If the {1}{B} cost was paid, an opponent draws a card.
Exile target creature or planeswalker.
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $2.90 (as of 2026-11-03).
The figure covers this printing only; other printings carry their own price on their own page.
Format legality
Legality of Baleful Mastery by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Pioneer | Legal |
|---|---|
| Modern | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Penny Dreadful | Legal |
Other printings of Baleful Mastery
Baleful Mastery has been printed in 5 sets. The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| The List (PLST) #STX-64 | Rare | 2024 |
| Magic Online Promos (PRM) #90068 | Rare | 2021 |
| Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX) #64p | Rare | 2021 |
| Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX) #64s | Rare | 2021 |
| Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX) #301 | Rare | 2021 |
| Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX) #64 | Rare | 2021 |
Official rulings
Five official rulings apply to Baleful Mastery, newest first.
- If you copy a "Mastery" spell and the alternative cost was paid, the copy will resolve as though the cost was paid.
- The mana value of a spell on the stack is determined by its mana cost, not any alternative costs you used to pay for it.
- In a multiplayer game, you choose which opponent takes the prescribed action as the spell resolves.
- If you choose to pay one alternative cost, you can't pay any other alternative costs. For example, if an effect lets you cast a "Mastery" spell "without paying its mana cost," you can't also choose to pay its given alternative cost.
- If an effect increases or decreases the cost of spells you cast, that cost increase or decrease is applied to the alternative cost you chose to pay. In that case, the cost was still paid for the purposes of the effect, even if you paid more or less for it when it was cast.
Similar cards
Other instant cards with a black colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
In these precons
Baleful Mastery is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.