Volrath's Curse 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
Enchant creature Enchanted creature can't attack or block, and its activated abilities can't be activated. That creature's controller may sacrifice a permanent of their choice for that player to ignore this effect until end of turn.: Return this Aura to its owner's hand.
Complete guide
Volrath's Curse is a classic blue aura that offers a versatile way to neutralize an opponent's most dangerous creature. While it functions as a flexible form of removal, it provides the creature's controller a costly way to break free. This card is particularly useful in slow, controlling decks that want to tax their opponent's resources.
A Blanket of Suppression
When Volrath's Curse is attached to a creature, it fundamentally shuts that creature down. The enchanted creature cannot attack to deal damage, cannot block to defend its controller, and cannot use any activated abilities. Remember that activated abilities are always written with a colon, such as '[Cost]: [Effect]'. This includes keyword abilities that use colons in their reminder text, but it does not stop triggered or static abilities.
The Price of Freedom
The unique part of Volrath's Curse is the built-in escape clause. At any time, the creature's controller may sacrifice a permanent—any permanent they control—to ignore the curse's effects until the end of the turn. This is a special action that doesn't use the stack and cannot be responded to. However, once the turn ends, the restrictions return immediately unless another sacrifice is made.
Strategic Recurison
For a cost of {1}{U}, the owner of Volrath's Curse can return it to their hand. This allows you to move the curse to a new, more threatening target as the game progresses. Note that if the enchanted creature is sacrificed to pay for its own freedom, the Aura will be put into the graveyard before you have a chance to activate the return-to-hand ability.
Interaction examples
Rhystic StudyIf your opponent has a creature enchanted with Volrath's Curse, they might choose to sacrifice their own Rhystic Study to allow their creature to attack for lethal damage. Since the curse allows the sacrifice of any permanent, players must often choose between their valuable utility enchantments and their creature's ability to act.
Mystic RemoraA clever player might use Volrath's Curse to their advantage by sacrificing a Mystic Remora that has become too expensive to maintain. By sacrificing the Remora to ignore the curse's effect, they remove the burden of the cumulative upkeep while simultaneously freeing their creature to block during your next turn.
During your turn, you cast Volrath's Curse on an opponent's 2/2 creature. Later, they play a massive 5/5 dragon. On your next turn, you pay {1}{U} to return Volrath's Curse to your hand, then recast it on the dragon. This demonstrates the card's strength as a repeatable piece of interaction that scales with the board state.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Volrath's Curse
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Activated abilities contain a colon. They're generally written "[Cost]: [Effect]." Some keywords are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
If the creature this card is on is sacrificed to this card, this card is put into the graveyard before the ability to unsummon it can be used.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Volrath's Curse
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.