Gandalf's Sanction LTR 0208 · uncommon
Gandalf's Sanction · {1}{U}{R} · Sorcery · Gandalf's Sanction deals X damage to target creature, where X is the number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard. Excess damage is dealt to that creature's controller instead. · There was a crack, and the staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, and the head of it fell down at Gandalf's feet.
- Price
- from $0.262 printings
- Win rate
- 60.2% GIH 68,760 instances · Premier Draft
Jun 15–Aug 28, 2023 · 17Lands - Draft
- ◆ Key pickA high spell count without losing defense
- Job
- Payoffs
Game-in-hand win rate, all deck colors. 41,407 wins in 68,760 card-in-hand instances.
55,987 distinct games · 16,234 distinct drafts · games recorded Jun 15–Aug 28, 2023.
17Lands file dated Aug 30, 2023 · 100-instance minimum · 17Lands public data ↗
Use cheap instants and sorceries to answer threats and find cards. Fiery Inscription converts those casts into damage; Gandalf’s Sanction can remove a creature and send the excess damage at its controller.
How this changes your picks
Rules-derived- Take it when
- A high spell count without losing defense.
- What to take next
- Use cheap instants and sorceries to answer threats and find cards. Fiery Inscription converts those casts into damage; Gandalf’s Sanction can remove a creature and send the excess damage at its controller.
- Wrong pick
- Cycling Lórien Revealed fills the graveyard but does not cast a spell, so it does not trigger Fiery Inscription.
- Mana & splash
- Usually play both colors for a synergy reward. Splash only if it works with your existing cards and you already have reliable fixing.
Support cards
3Interactions from the card text, not a ranking.
More
- One-pick Draft
- Cycling Lórien Revealed fills the graveyard but does not cast a spell, so it does not trigger Fiery Inscription.
Draft data
+4.6 pp vs 55.6% average · 68,760 instances
Premier Draft · Jun 15–Aug 28, 2023 · average from 980,485 games
#33 of 251 nonland cards by win rate · last seen around pick 4.2 on average (82,010 packs).
8 of 45 multicolor cards · 4 of 20 multicolor uncommon cards.
30,099.2 matches
Pick and maindeck observations: Jun 15–Aug 28, 2023. Played/benched cells use matches when available; the drawn cell uses game instances.
○ Opening hand 53.0% · 21,654 instances
● Drawn later 63.6% · 47,106 instances
In hand 60.2% · 68,760 instances
Unseen in deck 52.9% · 64,859 instances
+7.3 percentage points when drawn
Compared with multicolor cards
Ranks require 100 observations for that metric; comparisons are descriptive, not a pick order. Pick ranks put earlier picks first.
Best decks for it
no-splash decks only · card-level in-hand rates · 100 minimum
Blue–Red UR61.8%44,038 instancesEach tick is this card’s all-decks rate (60.2% · 68,760 instances). A high card rate does not prove that splashing it will improve your deck.
Best with
Adjusted associations, ranked by confidence.
Birthday Escape+5.2 pp61,097 games with both in the deck · 22,180 both drawnLórien Revealed+4.3 pp61,672 games with both in the deck · 21,631 both drawnSwarming of Moria+3.9 pp33,363 games with both in the deck · 10,264 both drawnHow to read this
Observational, not a causal bonus. Both cards must be in the deck. Drawn means opening hand or normally drawn; each card counts once per game. Game-level approximate intervals do not account for repeated games by the same drafter.
At least 100 games in each of four drawn/not-drawn groups; adjusted for game length and screened by the lower confidence bound. Do not add these points to a card’s win rate.
Where it sits in the set
Above 87% of 251 nonland cards with 100+ instances, in win-rate order.
17Lands public datasets ↗ · CC BY 4.0 ↗ · Jun 15–Aug 28, 2023
Pick a printing for its prices and pull odds.
| Finish | Found in | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nonfoil | draft · set | $0.26 |
| Foil | draft · set · Collector Booster | $0.29 |
Foil in a draft · Modeled · About 1 in 1,075 packs (0.09%) · 3.3% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a draft · Modeled · About 1 in 30 packs (3.35%) · 70.6% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Foil in a set · Modeled · About 1 in 358 packs (0.28%) · 8.0% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a set · Modeled · About 1 in 24 packs (4.13%) · 71.7% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Foil in a Collector Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 39 packs (2.53%) · 26.5% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
How to pull it
Official rates for the whole category, not this card.
| Booster | Slot | Per pack | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft Booster | Common or foil | 33% | Main set and booster-fun foils |
| Draft Booster | Uncommons | 100% per position | Draft and Set Booster uncommon printings |
| Set Booster | Ten other Magic cards | 100% | Other Draft and Set Booster printings |
| Set Booster | Guaranteed traditional foil | 100% | Main set and booster-fun foils |
| Collector Booster | Foil uncommons | 100% per position | Foil uncommons other than Nazgûl |
Mike Turian and Adam Styborski · Collecting LOTR ↗ · Sep 22, 2023
Details & sources
- Legal in
- Historic · Timeless · Modern · Legacy · Vintage · CommanderLimited eligibility depends on the event and its booster pool.
- Illustration
- Tatiana Veryayskaya, LTR 208 · Scryfall ↗
- More like this
- Blue–Red cards → · Regular printing printings →
- Sources
- Mark Rosewater · Crafting the Ring, Part 2 · Jun 5, 2023
Mike Turian and Adam Styborski · Collecting LOTR · Sep 22, 2023
Scryfall USD, snapshot Oct 25
Comprehensive Rules ↗