Underworld Breach — ruling 1

If a spell you're casting with escape has an additional cost of discarding cards or sacrificing permanents, you may exile cards discarded or sacrificed this way to pay that part of its escape cost.

Underworld Breach — ruling 2

After an escaped spell resolves, it returns to its owner's graveyard if it's not a permanent spell. If it is a permanent spell, it enters the battlefield and will return to its owner's graveyard if it dies later. Perhaps it will escape again—good underworld security is so hard to come by these days.

Underworld Breach — ruling 3

If a card with escape is put into your graveyard during your turn, you'll be able to cast it right away if it's legal to do so, before an opponent can take any actions.

Underworld Breach — ruling 4

If you're casting an adventurer card or split card with escape, you choose how you wish to cast it, then pay the appropriate cost (for the Adventure, the creature, or the half of the split card you chose) plus exiling three cards.

Underworld Breach — ruling 5

Escape's permission doesn't change when you may cast the spell from your graveyard.

Underworld Breach — ruling 6

To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as an escape cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was and no matter whether an alternative cost was paid.

Underworld Breach — ruling 7

If a card has multiple abilities giving you permission to cast it, such as two escape abilities or an escape ability and a flashback ability, you choose which one to apply. The others have no effect.

Underworld Breach — ruling 8

If you cast a spell with its escape permission, you can't choose to apply any other alternative costs or to cast it without paying its mana cost. If it has any additional costs, you must pay those.

Underworld Breach : règles, fonctionnement et interactions (MTG)

Underworld Breach 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

Each nonland card in your graveyard has escape. The escape cost is equal to the card's mana cost plus exile three other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast cards from your graveyard for their escape cost.) At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this enchantment.

Complete guide

Underworld Breach is a powerful enchantment that turns your graveyard into a second hand for a single turn. By granting your nonland cards the escape keyword, it allows you to recur threats and answers repeatedly. However, this window of opportunity is brief, as the enchantment is destined to leave the battlefield at your end step.

Granting Escape to Your Graveyard

While Underworld Breach is on the battlefield, every nonland card in your graveyard gains an escape cost. This cost is calculated as the card's original mana cost plus the exile of three other cards from your graveyard. Because this is an alternative cost, you cannot use other alternative costs like Flashback or 'without paying its mana cost' effects, though you must still pay any additional costs required by the spell.

Timing and Priority

Escape does not change the timing of when you can cast a spell; you must still follow normal rules for sorceries and creatures. When a card enters your graveyard during your turn, you have priority to cast it using escape before any opponent can attempt to exile it with effects like Tormod's Crypt, provided the stack is empty and it is your main phase.

The End Step Sacrifice

Underworld Breach has a triggered ability that occurs at the beginning of the end step, forcing you to sacrifice it. This limits the 'graveyard combo' potential to the turn you play it, or your opponent's turn if you find a way to cast the enchantment at instant speed. Note that once the spell is on the stack using escape, sacrificing the Breach will not counter that spell.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is trying to escape a card with no mana cost, such as Ancestral Vision; since the escape cost includes the mana cost and these cards have none, the cost is unpayable. Additionally, remember that land cards do not gain escape, so you cannot play lands from your graveyard using Underworld Breach.

Interaction examples

Recycling Small Creatures

Impact Tremors

Goblin Bombardment

With Underworld Breach and Impact Tremors on the battlefield, you can cast a low-cost creature from your graveyard by paying its mana cost and exiling three other cards. When it enters, Impact Tremors deals 1 damage to each opponent. You can then use Goblin Bombardment to sacrifice that creature, putting it back into the graveyard, and repeat the process as long as you have enough cards to exile.

Fueling the Escape

Goblin Bombardment

If you cast a creature spell using the escape ability granted by Underworld Breach, and that spell has an additional cost to sacrifice a permanent, you can sacrifice a creature to Goblin Bombardment first. The sacrificed creature enters the graveyard immediately and can be chosen as one of the three cards to exile to pay for a future escape cost during the same turn.

Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.

How it works : Underworld Breach

Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall

#1January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell you're casting with escape has an additional cost of discarding cards or sacrificing permanents, you may exile cards discarded or sacrificed this way to pay that part of its escape cost.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#2January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
After an escaped spell resolves, it returns to its owner's graveyard if it's not a permanent spell. If it is a permanent spell, it enters the battlefield and will return to its owner's graveyard if it dies later. Perhaps it will escape again—good underworld security is so hard to come by these days.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#3January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
If a card with escape is put into your graveyard during your turn, you'll be able to cast it right away if it's legal to do so, before an opponent can take any actions.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#4January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
If you're casting an adventurer card or split card with escape, you choose how you wish to cast it, then pay the appropriate cost (for the Adventure, the creature, or the half of the split card you chose) plus exiling three cards.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#5January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
Escape's permission doesn't change when you may cast the spell from your graveyard.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#6January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as an escape cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was and no matter whether an alternative cost was paid.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#7January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
If a card has multiple abilities giving you permission to cast it, such as two escape abilities or an escape ability and a flashback ability, you choose which one to apply. The others have no effect.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#8January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
If you cast a spell with its escape permission, you can't choose to apply any other alternative costs or to cast it without paying its mana cost. If it has any additional costs, you must pay those.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#9January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
Once you begin casting a spell with escape, it immediately moves to the stack. Players can't take any other actions until you're done casting the spell.
No other card is named in this ruling.
#10January 24, 2020· Wizards of the Coast
If a card has no mana cost, its escape cost is an unpayable cost, so you can't cast it for that cost.
No other card is named in this ruling.