Melancholic Poet SOS 0090 · common
Melancholic Poet · {1}{B} · Creature — Elf Bard · Repartee — Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets a creature, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. · Power / toughness: 2/2 · "We celebrate our sadness because it reminds us of the true value of being alive."
- Price
- from $0.191 printing
- Win rate
- 56.5% GIH 47,299 instances · Premier Draft
Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026 · 17Lands - Draft
- ◆ Key pickEach creature-targeting instant or sorcery drains life through repartee, connecting targeting and infusion plans.
- Job
- Payoffs
Game-in-hand win rate, all deck colors. 26,706 wins in 47,299 card-in-hand instances.
41,231 distinct games · 13,740 distinct drafts · games recorded Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026.
17Lands file dated Jun 5, 2026 · 100-instance minimum · 17Lands public data ↗
Each creature-targeting instant or sorcery drains life through repartee, connecting targeting and infusion plans.
How this changes your picks
Rules-derived- Take it when
- Combine efficient removal with flashback and repartee payoffs; aim for early pressure backed by repeated spells. Look for support such as Lecturing Scornmage and Duel Tactics.
- What to take next
- Both the first cast and a later flashback of Duel Tactics can trigger Poet, while preventing a blocker from getting in the way.
- Wrong pick
- Spells that target only a player do not trigger repartee. Count the creature-targeting modes you can actually use.
- Mana & splash
- Count the colored sources needed to cast this card on time; a synergy payoff is not a reason to weaken an otherwise consistent mana base.
Support cards
3Interactions from the card text, not a ranking.
More
- One-pick Draft
- Each creature-targeting instant or sorcery drains life through repartee, connecting targeting and infusion plans.
Draft data
+1.1 pp vs 55.4% average · 47,299 instances
Premier Draft · Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026 · average from 582,914 games
#133 of 320 nonland cards by win rate · last seen around pick 5.3 on average (169,886 packs).
14 of 42 black cards · 3 of 12 black common cards.
29,803.8 matches
Pick and maindeck observations: Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026. Played/benched cells use matches when available; the drawn cell uses game instances.
○ Opening hand 57.0% · 20,404 instances
● Drawn later 56.1% · 26,895 instances
In hand 56.5% · 47,299 instances
Unseen in deck 56.6% · 64,567 instances
−0.2 percentage points when drawn
Compared with black 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
Silverquill Repartee Aggro WB59.0%29,317 instancesWitherbloom Lifegain Swarm BG52.7%8,015 instancesBlack–Red BR52.8%72 instances · under 100Blue–Black UB47.8%23 instances · under 100Each tick is this card’s all-decks rate (56.5% · 47,299 instances). A high card rate does not prove that splashing it will improve your deck.
Best with
Adjusted associations, ranked by confidence.
Cost of Brilliance+2.8 pp37,538 games with both in the deck · 9,749 both drawnGrapple with Death+3.4 pp15,602 games with both in the deck · 3,899 both drawnStrixhaven Skycoach+4.0 pp10,188 games with both in the deck · 2,350 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 59% of 320 nonland cards with 100+ instances, in win-rate order.
17Lands public datasets ↗ · CC BY 4.0 ↗ · Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026
Pick a printing for its prices and pull odds.
| Finish | Found in | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nonfoil | Play Booster · prerelease-silverquill · prerelease-witherbloom | $0.19 |
| Foil | Collector Booster · Play Booster | $0.21 |
Foil in a Collector Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 22 packs (4.65%) · 43.5% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Foil in a Play Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 149 packs (0.67%) · 18.3% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a Play Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 13 packs (7.83%) · 91.3% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a prerelease-silverquill · Modeled · About 1 in 4 packs (26.47%) · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a prerelease-witherbloom · Modeled · About 1 in 4 packs (26.47%) · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play Booster | Commons | 100% per position | Commons |
| Play Booster | Common or bonus-sheet replacement | 98.1818% | Common |
| Play Booster | Wildcard of any rarity | 100% | Wildcard of any rarity |
| Play Booster | Traditional foil of any rarity | 100% | Traditional foil of any rarity |
| Collector Booster | Traditional foil commons | 100% per position | Traditional foil commons |
Wizards · Collecting Secrets of Strixhaven ↗ · Oct 29, 2026
Details & sources
- Legal in
- Standard · Historic · Timeless · Pioneer · Modern · Legacy · Pauper · Vintage · CommanderLimited eligibility depends on the event and its booster pool.
- Illustration
- Elizabeth Peiró, SOS 90 · Scryfall ↗
- More like this
- Black–Red cards → · Regular printing printings →
- Sources
- Wizards · Collecting Secrets of Strixhaven · Oct 29, 2026
Scryfall USD, snapshot Oct 25
Comprehensive Rules ↗