Tainted Indulgence 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
Draw two cards. Then discard a card unless there are five or more mana values among cards in your graveyard.
Complete guide
Tainted Indulgence is a powerful blue and black instant that rewards players for cultivating a diverse graveyard. It offers efficient card selection early in the game and becomes pure card advantage once your graveyard reaches a critical threshold of variety. Understanding how mana values are calculated is the key to mastering this Dimir staple.
What It Does
For two mana, Tainted Indulgence allows you to draw two cards. After drawing, the spell checks your graveyard to see if you have five or more different mana values among the cards currently there. If you do not meet this requirement, you must discard one card from your hand; if you do meet it, you keep both cards, gaining a net advantage of one card in hand.
How It Resolves Step by Step
First, you perform the primary action of drawing two cards. Second, you examine your graveyard to count the number of unique mana values present. Note that lands have a mana value of 0, and any card with {X} in its cost counts X as 0. If your count is four or fewer unique values, you choose a card from your hand and put it into your graveyard. The check happens only after you have already drawn the two cards.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is assuming that five cards in the graveyard are enough to satisfy the condition. You must have five *different* mana values. For example, five cards that all cost two mana only count as one mana value. Additionally, remember that double-faced cards in the graveyard only use the mana value of their front face, and split cards use the combined total of both halves.
When to Play It
Early in the game, Tainted Indulgence is excellent for fixing your hand or fueling graveyard strategies by discarding specific pieces. Late in the game, once your graveyard contains a mix of lands (0), low-cost spells, and high-cost finishers, it becomes a two-mana 'draw two' at instant speed, which is exceptionally efficient for control and midrange decks.
Interaction examples
CounterspellIf your graveyard contains only Counterspell (mana value 2) and a basic land (mana value 0), you have only two unique mana values. When you cast Tainted Indulgence, you will draw two cards and then be forced to discard one because you are below the requirement of five.
An Offer You Can't RefuseSuppose your graveyard has a land (0), An Offer You Can't Refuse (1), Counterspell (2), a creature costing 3, and a sorcery costing 4. When Tainted Indulgence resolves, it sees five distinct mana values (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4). You draw two cards and do not have to discard anything.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Tainted Indulgence
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
“Five or more mana values among cards in your graveyard” means there are at least five different mana values among those cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a split card in the graveyard is the total mana value of both halves of that card. It does not have two mana values.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a double-faced card in your graveyard is always the mana value of the front face.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
X is 0 when determining the mana value of a card in your graveyard.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
The mana value of a land card is 0.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Tainted Indulgence
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.