Dredge
| Dredge | |
|---|---|
| Keyword Ability | |
| Type | Static |
| Introduced | Ravnica: City of Guilds |
| Last used | Future Sight |
| Reminder Text | Dredge N (If you would draw a card, instead you may put exactly N cards from the top of your library into your graveyard. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand. Otherwise, draw a card.) |
| Statistics |
13 cards 39%  39% Multicolored 15% Land 7% |
| Scryfall Search | |
| keyword:"Dredge" | |
Dredge is the keyword attributed to the Golgari in the Ravnica block.[1][2]
Description
Dredge is a mechanic of recursive nature, where the owner of a card in a graveyard with said ability can return the card to their hand by choosing to skip his or her draw and put a number of cards from his or her library into his or her graveyard. The actual number of cards that must be put into a graveyard is written on each card with Dredge. Dredge only appears on green and/or black cards as well as on the Dakmor Salvage on the Future Sight keyword land cycle
Rules
From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- 702.52. Dredge
- 702.52a Dredge is a static ability that functions only while the card with dredge is in a player’s graveyard. “Dredge N” means “As long as you have at least N cards in your library, if you would draw a card, you may instead mill N cards and return this card from your graveyard to your hand.”
- 702.52b A player with fewer cards in their library than the number required by a dredge ability can’t mill any of them this way.
Rulings
- Dredge lets you replace any card draw, not just the one during your draw step.
- Once you decide to replace a draw using a card's dredge ability, that card can't be removed from your graveyard "in response". (Replacement effects don't use the stack.)
- You can't use dredge unless you're going to draw a card and the card with dredge is already in your graveyard.
Competitive play
Ichorid
One of the most popular uses of Dredge is to use it to quickly fill your graveyard. A famous deck based on Ichorid originated from this concept. Such decks work best with cards with high Dredge values, such as Golgari Grave-Troll and Stinkweed Imp. The Extended Dredge deck was a common deck archetype built around this mechanic.
Life from the Loam
The dredge card Life from the Loam has since its release found widespread tournament use fueling a wide array of decks. Life from the Loam works as an engine producing additional targets for itself when dredging. In combination with Onslaught cycling lands it is regrowable at instant speed and Onslaught Fetch lands it gives color stability. It was also widely used to regrow other utility lands like Wasteland and Cephalid Coliseum. The card has been widely used to fuel cards requiring discard and specifically discard of lands such as Solitary Confinement, Seismic Assault and Retrace cards such as Raven's Crime.