Dark Inquiry MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2018-01-19
Set symbol
Set name	Rivals of Ixalan
Set code	RIX
Number	65
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Naomi Baker

Key Takeaways

Provides intel by revealing an opponent’s hand, disrupting their strategy and enhancing your game planning.
Limits flexibility with a fixed mana cost and sorcery speed, challenging its fit in diverse decks.
Combos well in decks that use discard synergies, making it a viable addition to control strategies.

Text of card

Target opponent reveals his or her hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card.

"Your mind is no longer yours to waste."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dark Inquiry enables you to look at an opponent’s hand, which can be crucial in disrupting their strategy while giving you valuable information to plan your moves.

Resource Acceleration: Although Dark Inquiry does not directly provide mana or tokens, it effectively slows down an opponent by making them discard a card, which can result in a form of indirect resource acceleration as it potentially hampers their ability to execute their plans efficiently.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Dark Inquiry can’t take advantage of the versatility instant speed offers. However, it allows strategic play during your main phase, ensuring your opponent has less information and fewer resources to respond on their turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Dark Inquiry prompts the player to choose an opponent to reveal their hand. The dilemma lies in the necessity to discard another card to fulfill its condition, resulting in potential depletion of hand assets, particularly detrimental during the late game or in scenarios with an already stretched hand.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost for Dark Inquiry is distinctly fixed, demanding one color-specific (black) and two generic mana. This specificity could restrict its integration exclusively to decks that are committed to generating sufficient black mana, ultimately limiting its versatility across diverse deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Dark Inquiry’s ability to influence the game state may not compute as favorably when compared against other discard spells in the format that are more economically costed and could yield a greater impact on the opponent’s resources for a lesser investment.

Reasons to Include Dark Inquiry in Your Collection

Versatility: Dark Inquiry serves as a useful tool in any deck that wants to disrupt the opponent’s hand. It’s especially effective in black-oriented control or midrange decks that value information and seek to dismantle the opponent’s strategies from the get-go.

Combo Potential: As a hand disruption spell, it pairs well with cards that benefit from knowledge of the opponent’s hand or from the discard action itself, enabling strategic plays and setting up for powerful combos in decks built around synergy.

Meta-Relevance: This card can be particularly important if your local or overall meta includes decks that hinge on specific nonland cards. Being able to target and discard key components of your opponent’s game plan is a valuable tactic in any competitive environment.

How to Beat Dark Inquiry

Dark Inquiry is a unique card in the MTG universe, allowing players to reveal an opponent’s hand and choose a nonland card from it, which the opponent then discards. A seemingly simple yet powerful effect that could disrupt the strategies of many deck archetypes. When facing off against this card, strategy and timing become your primary tools for mitigation.

To overcome Dark Inquiry, savvy deck building and in-game choices are crucial. Key tactics include maintaining a low hand size to minimize its impact or having redundant pieces of key combos. Consider stocking your deck with instant-speed spells that can be used in response to Dark Inquiry, effectively emptying your hand to safeguard your crucial spells or creatures. Another effective strategy is implementing graveyard utility, where discarded cards can be recast or serve a purpose from the graveyard, thus negating the card’s disruptive intent.

Ultimately, understanding Dark Inquiry’s role in a match helps you better anticipate and neutralize its threat. Ensure your plays are versatile and resilient against hand disruption to maintain an edge over opponents who utilize such tactics.

Cards like Dark Inquiry

Dark Inquiry offers players in Magic: The Gathering a unique way to delve into an opponent’s hand, forcing them to reveal their grip and discard a card of your choice, for a cost of three mana. Its closest relatives in the world of hand disruption include Duress and Thoughtseize. Duress comes in with a cheaper cost requiring only one mana, but it limits targets to noncreature, nonland cards, a restriction not shared by Dark Inquiry. Thoughtseize, albeit more potent, allows targeting any nonland card at the expense of two life, providing a faster but riskier alternative.

Then there’s Distress, functioning similarly to Dark Inquiry by enabling the player to choose from any card type but is more mana-efficient at two costs. It’s a worthwhile comparison to measure the balance between mana cost and the scope of cards that can be targeted. Distress offers efficiency while Dark Inquiry presents no life penalty unlike Thoughtseize, carving out a niche for itself especially in slower, more control-oriented decks.

Evaluating these counterparts, Dark Inquiry stands out as a solid choice for those willing to invest the extra mana for a more flexible, albeit slower, approach to undermining opponents’ strategies within Magic: The Gathering.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dark Inquiry MTG card by a specific set like Rivals of Ixalan, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Dark Inquiry and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dark Inquiry has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal