Card Spotlight
Isochron Scepter
A colorless 2-mana artifact that imprints an instant card with mana value 2 or less, then lets you cast a copy of it for {2} and a tap. With Dramatic Reversal imprinted, those activations can pay for themselves.
Commander Spotlight
Isochron Scepter ↗
A colorless 2-mana artifact that imprints an instant card with mana value 2 or less, then lets you cast a copy of it for {2} and a tap. With Dramatic Reversal imprinted, those activations can pay for themselves.
See Isochron Scepter's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Dramatic Reversal mana combos. The signature line: nonland mana sources that make three or more mana, plus Isochron Scepter and Dramatic Reversal, produce unlimited colorless mana (and colored mana, with the right rocks).
- Repeatable removal or card draw. Imprinting Swords to Plowshares or a cheap instant cantrip turns the Scepter into a one-sided value engine that answers or draws once each turn cycle for {2}.
- Artifact-and-combo shells. It's colorless and cheap, so it slots into almost any deck that already wants a Dramatic Reversal package or a repeatable instant costing two or less.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
Isochron Scepter is never a commander. It's an artifact, not a legendary creature, so it only ever appears as a combo or value piece inside a deck led by something else.
In the 99
This is its only home: a two-mana artifact in a deck that's already running Dramatic Reversal and a wall of mana rocks, where it turns a pile of individually fine cards into a combo finish.
Formats it's strong in
- cEDH and high-power mana-rock decks. Those pods already run enough rocks that the Dramatic Reversal loop is a real, frequently-assembled line rather than a cute trick.
- Any deck wanting repeatable cheap interaction. Imprinting a removal instant with mana value 2 or less is strong even in decks with no interest in the infinite line.
Formats it's weak in
- Low-rock, low-power decks. Without enough mana rocks on the battlefield, the combo line simply isn't there, and the card is just a slow way to recast one cheap spell.
- Decks with few good two-mana-or-less targets. The Scepter is only as good as what it imprints, and a deck with nothing worth casting twice gets little out of it.
Synergistic cards
Dramatic Reversal ↗
The imprint that turns this into an infinite mana engine once your nonland mana sources make three or more mana.
Sol Ring ↗
One of the cheapest, most common mana rocks that makes the Dramatic Reversal math work.
Basalt Monolith ↗
A rock that untaps itself for {3}, which is exactly the shape of permanent Dramatic Reversal wants to abuse.
Silence ↗
Cast from the Scepter during an opponent's upkeep, it stops your opponents from casting spells for that turn. The Scepter untaps only in your untap step, so that is one opponent's turn per turn cycle.
Is it worth the price?
The Scepter is the more expensive half of the combo, priced well above Dramatic Reversal, which has been reprinted cheaply and costs very little. It's worth owning as a flexible value artifact before you decide whether to build the full combo around it.
Frequently asked questions
What's the Isochron Scepter combo?
Imprint Dramatic Reversal, then activate the Scepter for {2} to cast a copy. The copy untaps all your nonland permanents, including the Scepter and your mana rocks. If your nonland mana sources make three or more mana in total, each loop pays the {2} and leaves at least one mana over, so repeating it generates unlimited mana. It is one of cEDH's best-known combos.
Do I need the combo to play Isochron Scepter?
No. Imprinting a strong removal spell or a cantrip and recasting it every turn is a real value engine on its own. The combo is its strongest use, but not its only one.
What ends the game once the mana combo goes off?
Nothing by itself. Isochron Scepter with Dramatic Reversal makes mana, not damage. It needs a payoff already in the deck: a big X spell, an activated-ability finisher, or simply enough mana to cast everything else in hand.