Expansion Algorithm
Expansion Algorithm: Sorcery, Secrets of Strixhaven Commander. Proliferate X times. Printings, market prices, rulings, and format legality on Mana Grove.
- Mana cost
- {X}{U}{U}
- Mana value
- 2
- Type
- Sorcery
- Colour identity
- Blue (U)
- Rarity
- Rare
- Set
- Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC)
- Released
- 2026-04-24
- Collector number
- 19
- Artist
- Serena Malyon
- Commander rank
- 7,137 (by how often it appears in Commander decks)
- Keywords
- Proliferate
Build around this card with Grover
About Expansion Algorithm
Expansion Algorithm is a Magic: The Gathering card, a rare blue sorcery from Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC), a Commander product released in April 2026. It is collector number 19 in that set, with art by Serena Malyon. It costs {X}{U}{U} (X and two blue mana) to cast, for a mana value of 2. Its colour identity is blue. It is legal in Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Duel Commander and Oathbreaker. Secrets of Strixhaven Commander is its only printing so far. The latest aggregated market price for this printing is $3.12 (normal finish, as of 2026-11-03).
Card text
Proliferate X times. (To proliferate, choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.)
"When you find an equation that works, all that's left is finding its many applications." -Zimone
Market price
Latest aggregated market price for the normal finish of this printing: $3.12 (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 Expansion Algorithm by format. Formats in which it is not legal are not listed.
| Legacy | Legal |
|---|---|
| Vintage | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
Other printings of Expansion Algorithm
The other printings are listed newest first, with the rarity and release year of each.
| Printing | Rarity | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Secrets of Strixhaven Commander (SOC) #69 | Rare | 2026 |
Official rulings
Six official rulings apply to Expansion Algorithm, newest first.
- When you proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.
- If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.
- Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.
- If you proliferate multiple times, you don't have to choose the same set of players and/or permanents to get additional counters each time.
- You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter-only the ones you want to add counters to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.
- While proliferating multiple times, players can't respond between proliferating the first time and proliferating the second time, and so on.
Similar cards
Other sorcery cards with a blue colour identity, ranked by how often they appear in Commander decks.
In these precons
Expansion Algorithm is in the decklist of these preconstructed Commander decks.