Dredge

Dredge
Keyword Ability
Type	Static
Introduced	Ravnica: City of Guilds
Last used	Modern Horizons
Reminder Text	Dredge N (If you would draw a card, instead you may mill exactly N cards. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand. Otherwise, draw a card.)
Storm Scale	10
Statistics	14 cards 35.7% 7.1% 35.7% 14.3% 7.1%
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keyword:"Dredge.*\("

Dredge is the keyword attributed to the Golgari in the Ravnica block.

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 their draw and put a number of cards from the top of their library into their graveyard. The 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 with the exception of the land Dakmor Salvage from the Future Sight keyword land cycle and the card Shenanigans from Modern Horizons.

Change in reminder text

The original reminder text was 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. With the introduction of the Mill keyword in Core Set 2021, the dredge reminder text keyword was updated to use "mill".

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Dredge

A keyword ability that lets a player return a card from their graveyard to their hand. See rule 702.52, “Dredge.”

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 Friggorid deck was a common deck archetype built around this mechanic. As more graveyard payoffs and discard enablers were printed, Dredge decks become mainstays of all Eternal formats - Prized Amalgam and Crippling Chill in Modern, Bridge from Below and Breakthrough in Legacy, and Bazaar of Baghdad and Serum Powder in Vintage.

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.

Examples

Example

Greater Mossdog
Creature — Plant Hound
3/3
Dredge 3 (If you would draw a card, instead you may put exactly three 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.)

Trivia

• Darkblast is the only instant with dredge.