Bargain is a new MTG keyword ability, introduced with Wilds of Eldraine. In this article, we’ll talk about everything you need to know about it, including:
- How does bargain work?
- How to take advantage of bargain?
- When do you need to sacrifice a permanent for bargain?
- And more!
How Does Bargain Work?
When you cast a spell with bargain, you may sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token. If you do, the spell gets a bonus effect. The bonus effects vary from card to card.
You can still cast a spell without sacrificing anything, but in that case, you’ll get a weaker version. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
Examples
Creatures
Here’s Troublemaker Ouphe, a common creature with bargain.
When you cast Troublemaker Ouphe, you can sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token. If you do, Ouphe enters-the-battlefield ability triggers. You get to exile an artifact or enchantment.
If you don’t want to (or can’t) sacrifice an artifact, enchantment, or token, you can still play Troublemaker Ouphe. It’ll just be a 2/2 without any effects.
Instants & Sorceries
Bargain also appears on sorceries and instants. One such example would be Rowan’s Grim Search.
Let’s say, you don’t want to pay the bargain cost. In that case, you just pay the three mana, and you ignore the whole “If this spell was bargained…” part. You just draw two cards, lose two life, and that’s it.
On the other hand, what happens if you did sacrifice something, like a 1/1 Goblin token? IN that scenario, you can now first look at the top four cards of your deck, and put two of them into your graveyard, and two of them back. Then you draw two cards, and lose two life.
So, the spell gets an upgrade, instead of just drawing two cards, you now get to look at four cards and pick two of them. You also get to fill your graveyard, which is often a plus.
MTG Bargain – FAQ
Here are answers to some additional questions you might have about bargain rules. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, leave a comment below. We’ll get back to you ASAP with an answer.
No, unless it’s a token creature.
Yes, you can, but you don’t get the bargain bonus.
Yes.
No, you can’t. When an opponent casts a spell, they pay all the costs, which include bargain. So, they get to sacrifice an enchantment, artifact, or token, before you could destroy it.
You can sacrifice any token to pay the bargain cost.
Yes, it is. However, that’s one of the problems with the kicker mechanic – it is just too flexible.
No, you have to sacrifice the permanent as you pay the other costs of the spell. Thus, bargain spells aren’t great against Counterspells, as you get punished twice.
The spell gets countered, you don’t get an additional effect, and the sacrificed permanent is still sacrificed.
Flavor
We like to check how flavorful the mechanics are. Does the mechanic make sense, or is it just a bit weird. Well, one of the definitions of bargain is: “negotiate the terms and conditions of a transaction.”
That’s quite nice description of the mechanic, actually. You get to negotiate how good your spell is going to be. Do you want a better spell – you need to sacrifice something extra? As such, bargain seems a delightful flavor fit.
MTG Bargain – Interactions
Before we wrap up, let’s check on some interactions with the bargain mechanic.
Sacrifice Synergies
For the most part, sacrificing your own permanents is a downside. However, almost every downside can be mitigated, or even improved in Magic.
For example, you could put bargain cards in a sacrifice deck. You’ll already have plenty of sacrifice fodder, you just have to make sure it includes artifacts, enchantments, or tokens.
Then, you just have to pair bargain cards with stuff like Juri, Master of the Revue, and they’ll get even better.
Bargain in Draft
Building around this mechanic in draft is going to be an interesting deckbuilding challenge. Best fit would be in some kind of sacrifice deck. You’ll want to have expandable cards in your deck.
For Limited, those will mostly be small tokens, or perhaps some cheap cantrip artifacts, such as Prophetic Prism. For more information, you’ll check our Wilds of Eldraine Draft Guide.
Conclusion
That’s all about MTG bargain rules. Now you should know everything about it. Hopefully, your new knowledge will help you win many games.
If you want to try your luck, and open some of the very first bargain cards, you can order Wilds of Eldraine Set boosters.
Do you want to explore more about Wilds of Eldraine? Check the following articles:
Until next time, have fun and bargain your way to victory!