Bituminous Blast is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom in a random order.) Bituminous Blast deals 4 damage to target creature.
Complete guide
Bituminous Blast is a versatile removal spell that offers incredible value by leveraging the Cascade mechanic. This instant-speed burn spell not only deals with a threat on the board but also lets you cast another spell for free directly from your library.
Understanding Cascade
When you cast Bituminous Blast, the Cascade ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of the Blast itself. You exile cards from the top of your library until you find a nonland card with a mana value less than 5. You may then cast that card without paying its mana cost. Whether or not you cast the new spell, the other exiled cards are placed on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Timing and Resolution
The Cascade trigger resolves before Bituminous Blast. If you choose to cast the exiled card, that spell goes on the stack above Bituminous Blast, meaning the 'cascaded' spell will resolve first. Even if Bituminous Blast is countered by an opponent, the Cascade trigger still resolves because it exists independently on the stack once the Blast is cast.
Costs and Mana Values
A spell's mana value is determined solely by its mana cost; for Bituminous Blast, this is always 5. When casting a card for free via Cascade, you cannot use other alternative costs, but you must pay mandatory additional costs. If the exiled card has an {X} in its cost, X must be chosen as 0.
When to Play It
Since Bituminous Blast is an instant, you can use it during an opponent's turn to disrupt their board state while potentially hitting a powerful mid-range spell. It is most effective when your deck is constructed with specific 0-4 mana value hits in mind, ensuring your 'free' spell provides maximum impact.
Interaction examples
Big ScoreYou cast Bituminous Blast for 5 mana. The Cascade trigger exiles cards until it hits Big Score (mana value 4). Because Big Score is less than 5, you may cast it. However, Big Score has an additional cost: 'As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card.' To successfully cast Big Score for free, you must still discard a card from your hand.
Deadly RollickIf you exile Deadly Rollick while resolving Bituminous Blast's Cascade, you check its mana value. Deadly Rollick's mana value is 4, which is less than 5, so it is a valid hit. Even though Deadly Rollick has an ability to be cast for free if you control a commander, Cascade already allows you to cast it for free. You cannot combine two alternative costs, but since Cascade is providing the free cast, you simply exile the target creature before Bituminous Blast deals its damage.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Bituminous Blast
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
A spell's mana value is determined only by its mana cost. Ignore any alternative costs, additional costs, cost increases, or cost reductions.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Cascade triggers when you cast the spell, meaning that it resolves before that spell. If you end up casting the exiled card, it will go on the stack above the spell with cascade.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
When the cascade ability resolves, you must exile cards. The only optional part of the ability is whether or not you cast the last card exiled.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell with cascade is countered, the cascade ability will still resolve normally.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
You exile the cards face up. All players will be able to see them.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those to cast the card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If the card has
in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Due to a 2021 rules change to cascade, not only do you stop exiling cards if you exile a nonland card with lesser mana value than the spell with cascade, but the resulting spell you cast must also have lesser mana value. Previously, in cases where a card's mana value differed from the resulting spell, such as with some modal double-faced cards or cards with an Adventure, you could cast a spell with a higher mana value than the exiled card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. If cascade allows you to cast a split card, you may cast either half but not both halves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Bituminous Blast
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.