Read the Bones card art

Read the Bones

Sorcery MV 3

Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.

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What it doesRulingsIn the 99Every version

What it does

Scry 2, then draw two cards. You lose 2 life. (To scry 2, look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom and the rest on top in any order.)

Rulings

5 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.

  • 2013-09-15

    When you scry, you may put all the cards you look at back on top of your library, you may put all of those cards on the bottom of your library, or you may put some of those cards on top and the rest of them on the bottom.

  • 2013-09-15

    You perform the actions stated on a card in sequence. For some spells and abilities, that means you'll scry last. For others, that means you'll scry and then perform other actions.

  • 2013-09-15

    Scry appears on some spells and abilities with one or more targets. If all of the spell or ability's targets are illegal when it tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won't scry.

  • 2013-09-15

    You choose how to order cards returned to your library after scrying no matter where you put them.

  • 2013-09-15

    The loss of life is part of the spell's effect. It's not an additional cost. If Read the Bones doesn't resolve, you won't lose life.

Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.

In the 99

Every deck whose current list includes Read the Bones, whatever its commander.

Decks running it 7
Games played 0
Win rate — Fewer than 5 completed games — not enough to publish a rate yet.
Confirmed on board 0 Games where a board photo caught it actually in play.

Most played under

Commander Decks Games Win rate
Chevill, Bane of Monsters 1 0 —
Edgar Markov 1 0 —
Gollum, Riddle Master 1 0 —
Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel 1 0 —
Silverquill, the Disputant 1 0 —
Tinybones, Trinket Thief 1 0 —
Y'shtola, Night's Blessed 1 0 —

Colors it shows up in

  • Mono-Black 3 decks
  • Golgari 1 deck
  • Orzhov 1 deck
  • Mardu 1 deck
  • Esper 1 deck

Every version of Read the Bones

16 printings, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly — a printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall genuinely publishes none for some of them.

Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Read the Bones — a name search across every version, for the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.

Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only — no individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.