To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as an overload cost), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell remains unchanged, no matter what the total cost to cast it was.
If you don't pay the overload cost of a spell with overload, that spell will have a single target. If you pay the overload cost, the spell won't have any targets.
Note that if the spell with overload is dealing damage, protection from that spell's color will still prevent that damage.
This printing is one of 2 catalogued treatments from SLD — the lineup includes Borderless alongside the standard finish. Across our catalog the Rarix library tracks every variant in the same family so collectors can compare price, scarcity and demand inside a single lineage.
Card #2249 of *Secret Lair Drop*, the set that shipped alongside the December 2025 Secret Lair Drop release.
Card type: Sorcery, color identity red, printed at rare. Rares occupy the bottom-of-pack rare slot in standard boosters. Mana cost: {1}{R} (2 converted). Keyword abilities: Overload.
Legal across the major constructed formats — Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Commander — plus Standard rotation play.
EDHrec ranks this card #2,877 in Commander, putting it in the niche-pick tier of the format's playable pool.
Illustrated by Sansyu. Rarix catalogs 34 other cards credited to this artist.
Magic: The Gathering · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · Illus. Sansyu
Card data via Scryfall. Rarix is fan-made; not endorsed by the rights holders.
Because a spell with overload doesn't target when its overload cost is paid, it may affect permanents with hexproof or with protection from the appropriate color.
If you are instructed to cast a spell with overload "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to pay its overload cost instead.
