The 15 Most Powerful Grixis Spells To Slash Your Instant & Sorcery Costs (And Cast Spells For Free)
Grixis (Blue, Black, Red) is the premier color combination in Magic: The Gathering for players who want to cast massive, game-winning Instants and Sorceries without paying the hefty mana costs. As of December 24, 2025, the strategy of "cheating" mana costs in Grixis Spellslinger decks, particularly in the Commander (EDH) format, remains one of the most powerful and popular archetypes.
This deep dive will explore the essential cards—both permanent cost reducers and one-shot alternative cost spells—that allow you to chain together powerful spells like *Cruel Ultimatum* or *Temporal Trespass* for a fraction of their printed cost, ensuring your deck operates at maximum efficiency and speed.
The Core Engine: Permanent Cost Reducers (Creatures & Enchantments)
The most reliable way to consistently lower the cost of your Instants and Sorceries is by using permanents that sit on the battlefield. These cards stack their effects, meaning two copies of a card that reduces the cost by {1} will reduce your spells by {2} total. This is the foundation of any explosive Grixis Spellslinger strategy.
Creature-Based Staples for Grixis
These creatures are the backbone of any Grixis deck aiming to cast spells cheaply. They are often Wizards, which benefits synergistic commanders like *Inalla, Archmage Ritualist*.
- Baral, Chief of Compliance (U): This is the gold standard. It reduces the cost of your Instant and Sorcery spells by {1}. Crucially, it also provides a powerful card advantage engine, letting you loot (draw and discard) when you counter a spell, keeping your hand fresh.
- Goblin Electromancer (UR): The Izzet (Blue/Red) version of Baral, providing another {1} reduction to your Instants and Sorceries. Having both Baral and the Electromancer on the battlefield reduces all your key spells by {2}.
- Cormela, Glamour Thief (UBR): A perfect Grixis-colored addition, Cormela is a mana dork for the spellslinger archetype. While she doesn't directly reduce the cost, she taps for {B}, {R}, or {U} to cast an Instant or Sorcery spell, effectively providing a free mana for the spell type you care about.
- Enthusiastic Mechanaut (UR): While technically a cost reducer for artifacts, this card's Izzet identity and ability to reduce the cost of artifact spells by {1} can be leveraged if your deck uses artifact-based cost reducers like *Cloud Key* or *Foundry Inspector*.
Artifact and Enchantment Reducers
Colorless artifacts allow any Grixis deck to access this powerful effect, while blue enchantments offer a secondary benefit alongside the cost reduction.
- Sapphire Medallion (Artifact): Part of a classic cycle, this artifact reduces the cost of all Blue spells you cast by {1}. Since many of the most powerful Grixis Instants and Sorceries are Blue or contain Blue mana, this is a must-include.
- Cloud Key (Artifact): A highly flexible reducer. You can name "Instant" or "Sorcery," and all spells of that type cost {1} less. This is excellent for focusing your reduction efforts.
- Jace's Sanctum (U Enchantment): This card reduces the cost of your Instants and Sorceries by {1} and adds a Scry 1 effect whenever you cast one. This dual benefit is essential for filtering your draws and finding the next crucial spell.
- Etherium Sculptor / Foundry Inspector (Artifact): These creatures reduce the cost of Artifact spells. While not for Instants/Sorceries, they are critical for making your other cost-reducing artifacts (like the Medallions and *Cloud Key*) cheaper or even free to cast, accelerating your setup.
The Big Cheats: Alternative Cost & Free Spells
Beyond simply reducing the generic mana cost, Grixis excels at bypassing the mana cost entirely. These mechanics and cards allow you to cast spells for an alternative cost, often zero, or use a resource other than mana.
The Delve Mechanic
Delve is a Black/Blue mechanic that allows you to exile cards from your graveyard to pay for the generic mana portion of a spell's cost. In a Grixis Spellslinger deck, your graveyard quickly fills up with used Instants and Sorceries, making Delve spells effectively free or extremely cheap.
- Temporal Trespass (UUU5): A 10-mana Sorcery that grants an extra turn. With Delve, you can exile eight cards from your graveyard to cast it for just {UU}. This is arguably the most powerful Delve spell in the Grixis color identity.
- Treasure Cruise (U7): A massive draw spell that lets you draw three cards. While it was once banned in multiple formats for its sheer power, it remains a staple in Commander, often costing a single Blue mana.
- Dig Through Time (UU6): Similar to Treasure Cruise, this lets you look at the top seven cards of your library and put two into your hand. It's fantastic for finding the exact card you need to win the game.
The "Free" Spells Cycle
The Commander-specific "Free" cycle of Instants allow you to cast them without paying their mana cost if you control your Commander. Since Grixis is a top Commander color, these are essential.
- Fierce Guardianship (U3): This is a powerful Counterspell that can be cast for free if your Commander is on the battlefield. It protects your board or your combo turn when you're tapped out.
- Deflecting Swat (R2): The Red member of the cycle, which changes the target of a spell or ability. While not a cost reducer, its ability to be cast for free offers unparalleled protection and utility.
One-Shot "Cast for Free" Effects
These spells are often high-cost themselves, but their effect is to allow you to cast another powerful spell without paying its mana cost, leading to massive turns.
- Baral's Expertise (U3): This Sorcery allows you to bounce up to three permanents and then cast a spell with mana value 4 or less from your hand without paying its mana cost. This clears the way and deploys a threat or a key cost reducer like *Jace's Sanctum* for free.
- Inalla, Archmage Ritualist (UBR Commander): While a Commander, her triggered ability lets you create a non-legendary copy of a Wizard that has Haste when you cast it, effectively doubling the value of your cost-reducing Wizards like *Baral* and *Goblin Electromancer* for free.
Grixis Commanders and High-Impact Payoffs
The Grixis color identity offers several powerful commanders that specifically reward the "spells matter" and cost reduction strategies, allowing for huge, impactful turns.
Top Grixis Spellslinger Commanders
These commanders synergize perfectly with the cost-reduction strategy, turning cheap spells into massive advantages.
- Sauron, the Dark Lord (UBR): While a newer card, Sauron rewards casting non-creature spells (Instants and Sorceries) by Amassing Orcs and protecting himself with a powerful Ward ability. His presence makes your cheap spells generate a massive army.
- Zevlor, Elturel Exile (UBR): Zevlor allows you to copy your single-target Instants and Sorceries for each opponent, dramatically increasing the value of every cheap spell you cast, such as *Thoughtseize* or *Lightning Bolt*.
- Marchesa, Dealer of Death (UBR): Often built as a "high-CMC" spells deck, Marchesa benefits from casting expensive Instants and Sorceries by creating Treasure tokens, which then help pay for the next massive spell, creating a self-sustaining loop.
- Obeka, Splitter of Seconds (UBR): Obeka is famous for exploiting "end the turn" effects. While not directly a cost reducer, she allows you to cast spells with powerful drawbacks or delayed triggers and then end the turn before the drawback occurs, effectively getting the benefit for free.
Synergistic High-Cost Payoff Spells
Once you have your cost reducers in place, these are the spells that allow you to win the game.
- Cruel Ultimatum (BBRRUU): A classic Grixis finisher. It forces an opponent to sacrifice a creature, discard three cards, lose 5 life, and then you return a card from your graveyard to your hand, draw three cards, and gain 5 life. A massive swing that is devastating when cast for only {2} or {3} mana.
- Spelltwine (UB4): Exiles an Instant or Sorcery from your graveyard and one from an opponent's graveyard, then lets you cast both without paying their mana costs. This is a huge two-for-one that steals your opponent's best spell.
- Past in Flames (R3): A powerful recursive spell that gives all Instants and Sorceries in your graveyard Flashback until the end of the turn. This turns your graveyard into a second hand, allowing you to cast all your cheap spells again for a second wave of value.
- Volcanic Salvo (R6): This Sorcery deals 6 damage to two targets. Its cost is reduced by {1} for each creature your opponents control, often making it a one or two-mana removal spell in a crowded Commander game.
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