Spinning Darkness
Mana cost {4}{B}{B}.
You may exile the top three black cards of your graveyard rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Spinning Darkness deals 3 damage to target nonblack creature. You gain 3 life.
Spinning Darkness is a black card, legal in Premodern, shown in its old-frame Weatherlight printing.
Price and printings: Cardmarket (€1.41) · TCGplayer ($0.67) · Scryfall
Tracked daily since 28 July 2026: on Cardmarket between €1.33 and €1.81 in that time.
How often Spinning Darkness is played
Spinning Darkness is maindecked in 2 of 131 tournament decks in this archive (2%), averaging 1.0 copies; kept in 8 sideboards (6%); used by 2 of 33 tracked archetypes.
Counting only the 75 decks that can cast black cards, 9 of them play it (12%).
See how it compares on the Premodern staples list.
Sideboard plans with Spinning Darkness
- Mono Black vs. Goblins and Elves. Against Goblins, in: all four Engineered Plague, Vendetta, Spinning Darkness and Powder Keg; out: all four Duress, both Nantuko Shade and a Withered Wretch. Against Elves, in: all four Engineered Plague, Powder Keg, Vendetta and Spinning Darkness; out: all four Duress, both Knight of Stromgald and a Diabolic Edict.
- Mono Black vs. Sligh, RG Zoo and UG Madness. Spinning Darkness costs no mana if you exile the top three black cards of your graveyard and deals 3 damage to a nonblack creature while you gain 3 life, and Drain Life, with X paid in black mana only, gains you life equal to the damage it deals, up to a creature's toughness. Against Sligh and RG Zoo, in: Vendetta, Spinning Darkness and Drain Life; out: two Cabal Therapy and a Graveborn Muse. Against UG Madness, in: Vendetta, Spinning Darkness and Drain Life; out: all three Ravenous Rats. Wild Mongrel can turn black in response to Vendetta or Spinning Darkness, and Arrogant Wurm survives Spinning Darkness.
- Pit Rack vs. Elves, Terrageddon, UG Madness, Gro-a-Tog and Sligh. Perish destroys every green creature, Spinning Darkness deals 3 to a nonblack creature and gains 3 life without mana (exile the top three black cards of your graveyard), and Plague Spitter deals 1 damage to every creature and player in each of your upkeeps, which kills every one-toughness Elf, the Squirrels together with Deranged Hermit, Goblin tokens and Jackal Pup, and your own Ravenous Rats.
Tournament decks with Spinning Darkness
- Pox Aggro: 1st Place at Magic Beijing #59 (1× sideboard)
- Zombie Tribal: 1st Place at Cloudpost PM 7/26 (2× sideboard)
- Contamination: 6th Place at Premodern & Hooters 9 (2× main + sideboard)
- Mono Black: 1st Place at MTGO Premodern League (1× sideboard)
- Basic Mono Black: 4th Place at Andre's League 10 Tappa (1× sideboard)
- Mono Black Aggro: 4th Place at Lega Milano 3/12 (2× sideboard)
- Mono B Control: 7th Place at Premodern & Hooters 8th Edition (3× sideboard)
- Pox: 3rd Place at Liga Premodern Alicante 2026 9ª Jornada (1× sideboard)
- Moneyball Black: 2nd Place at Liga Paulista de Premodern 2026 (1× mainboard)
