Brilliant Ultimatum
ALAShards of Alara/#159/2008Rare
Colour IDMV 7
Current paper retail
Card Kingdom$1.99
Cardmarket€0.51
TCGplayer$1.22
ManaPool$0.76
Buylist (dealers pay)
Card Kingdom$0.80
MTGO (Cardhoarder)
retail$0.02 tix
Paper retail history (USD)
3 providers
Latest $1.99High $1.99Low $0.99▲ 33.6%
Market and collecting
Market overview
$1.22TCGplayer, USD, retail, nonfoil
Latest observation: 2026-11-10
7d▲ 1.7%30d▼ 9.0%90d▼ 4.7%
90d high
$1.43
90d low
$1.20
Paper printings priced
1
Currently 1st
Cheapest paper printing
$1.22
Shards of Alara
- Down 9.0% over the last 30 days on TCGplayer.
- Currently 15% below its 90 day high of $1.43.
- Foil copies of this printing carry a 602% premium over nonfoil.
Find this printing on eBayView on TCGplayerAffiliate. MTGPrices may earn from qualifying eBay and TCGplayer purchases.
Collect
Play
Compare printings (1 priced)
Gameplay and rules
Sorcery
Exile the top five cards of your library. An opponent separates those cards into two piles. You may play lands and cast spells from one of those piles. If you cast a spell this way, you cast it without paying its mana cost.
Card capabilities
Exile effectSorcery
Derived deterministically from card types, Oracle text and keywords. Not a strategic evaluation.
Format legality
Primary formats
Eternal formats
Digital formats
Rulings (6)
wotc1 Oct 2008
You can play a land card from the chosen pile only if it’s your turn (which it probably is, since Brilliant Ultimatum is a sorcery) and you haven’t yet played a land this turn. That means that if there are two lands in the chosen pile, you’ll be able to play a maximum of one of them.
wotc1 Oct 2008
You play cards from the chosen pile as part of the resolution of Brilliant Ultimatum. You may play them in any order. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (such as creature or sorcery) are ignored. Other play restrictions are not (such as “Cast [this card] only during combat”). You play all of the cards you like, putting land onto the battlefield and spells on the stack, then Brilliant Ultimatum finishes resolving and is put into your graveyard. The spells you cast this way will then resolve as normal, one at a time, in the opposite order that they were put on the stack.
wotc1 Oct 2008
The cards are exiled face up.
wotc1 Oct 2008
One of the piles may have zero cards in it if the opponent wishes.
wotc1 Oct 2008
If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t pay any alternative costs. You can pay additional costs, such as conspire costs and kicker costs.
wotc1 Oct 2008
The cards in the pile that wasn’t chosen remain exiled. Likewise, any cards in the chosen pile that you can’t play or you choose not to play remain exiled.
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Ranked by shared capabilities, colour identity, mana value and type. Never by strategic judgement.
Shares Exile effect, SorceryOverlapping colour identity
Shares Exile effect, SorceryOverlapping colour identity
Shares Exile effect, SorceryOverlapping colour identity
Shares Exile effect, SorceryBoth sorcerys
Shares SorceryOverlapping colour identity
Shares Exile effect, SorceryBoth sorcerys
Shares SorceryOverlapping colour identity
Shares SorceryOverlapping colour identity
About this card
Brilliant Ultimatum
Brilliant Ultimatum is a Sorcery, with mana cost {W}{W}{U}{U}{U}{B}{B} (mana value 7).
Format legality: Commander: legal, Modern: legal, Standard: not_legal, Pioneer: not_legal, Legacy: legal, Pauper: not_legal.
Current headline price on TCGplayer: $1.22 (down 9.0% over 30 days).
Frequently asked
Brilliant Ultimatum FAQ
How much is Brilliant Ultimatum worth?
The current TCGplayer USD retail price for Brilliant Ultimatum is $1.22. It is down 9.0% over the last 30 days. Over 90 days it has ranged from $1.20 to $1.43.
What is the cheapest printing of Brilliant Ultimatum?
The cheapest currently priced paper printing is from Shards of Alara at $1.22 on TCGplayer.
What set was Brilliant Ultimatum first printed in?
The earliest English paper printing that MTGPrices tracks is from ALA #159, released 2008-10-03.
Is there a foil version of Brilliant Ultimatum?
Yes. On this printing, foil copies trade at $8.56 versus $1.22 for nonfoil, which is 602% more expensive on TCGplayer.
Is Brilliant Ultimatum legal in Commander?
Yes, Brilliant Ultimatum is currently legal in Commander per Scryfall's legality feed.
Is Brilliant Ultimatum legal in Modern?
Yes, Brilliant Ultimatum is currently legal in Modern per Scryfall's legality feed.
Is Brilliant Ultimatum legal in Standard?
Brilliant Ultimatum is not currently legal in Standard per Scryfall's legality feed.
What does Brilliant Ultimatum do?
Brilliant Ultimatum is a Sorcery with mana cost {W}{W}{U}{U}{U}{B}{B}. Its Oracle text reads: "Exile the top five cards of your library. An opponent separates those cards into two piles. You may play lands and cast spells from one of those piles. If you cast a spell this way, you cast it without paying its mana cost.".









