MTG Top 10: White Card Draw | The BEST Card Draw in the WORST Color For It | Episode 539

[@mikotagayuna8494]

I would usually be among those who lament about color identity mechanics bleeding into other colors but I'm glad card draw is being designed into nonblue colors in their own unique ways. Card draw is too important and universal in the game to be tied up to just blue and black.

[@superbaas8822]

Card draw is especially important when it comes to competing with colors who would just seek to one for one you the entire time, IE Blue's Omni-negates, or Black's Discard or Removal. Otherwise, there would be no reason to print cards that couldn't do something the turn they enter play. That was how you got Questing Beast and Elder Gargoth. Questing Beast needed to be able to answer a Teferi lock instantly, and swing through several fogs to be able to do so, and Elder Gargoth had to be pushed to the moon for not having a directly instant impact. Naturally though, Wizards needed both cards to be mythic so they could justify them in a format where Blue answered everything with 3 mana uncommons.

[@oriondye3212]

Next they need to universalize ramp and removal then because those are too important to be locked in to green and red/black respectively.

[@superbaas8822]

@@oriondye3212 Perhaps when a color other than blue can completely answer any card with a single card in their deck, typically printed at common or uncommon, for only 3 mana.

[@InsanityPlea100]

I kind of agree and kind of don't. My main problem isn't that blue gets premium draw and other colors shouldn't. My problem is actually blue. Blue seems to get viable access to almost every other color's specialties relatively frequently.

[@luxordtimet]

I'm surprised Tocasia's Welcome didn't appear. Once a turn, when a CMC 3 or less creature enters the battlefield, draw a card. That includes tokens, and white loves making tokens, and they're cmc 0

[@ethanboyd2981]

I was more surprised that Wandering Vampire wasn't in it. It does basically the same thing but has been around nearly a year longer.

[@luxordtimet]

@@ethanboyd2981 combo those two together and get two cards

[@charleskarkous3197]

Probably because they're more suited for edh and performances in that format are not considered for these top 10 videos. But yes they are some good options available in white.

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

Although white is one of my more preferred colours, I had never actually looked into card draw that often for it. If I wanted card draw in white, I'd usually opt for tutors or generic stuff instead. I will definitely consider these for my Banding tribal deck, just as Nizzahon should consider "Top 10 Vintage Cards (Minus Power 9)" as a top priority.

[@GFreeGamer]

One of the jokes going around about standard is 'Forget Eldrazi Winter, it's a White Wedding Season!'

[@raynmanshorts9275]

At first, I was iffy on the cantrips, but this video made it clear that they're primarily used in decks that can recycle them, allowing for multiple cards to be drawn off a single card, turning them from cantrips into legitimate card draw.

[@ceulgai2817]

If you're recycling them, is it fair to say you're drawing off a single card?

[@jackattackhissnack]

Cantrips are considered card draw effects (because you draw a card), but they're not good at creating card advantage. You are correct though about them being good at generating card advantage in feather decks and the like.

[@theopreston8507]

Did Thraben inspector count for the purposes of the list? I know it doesn't directly draw a card, but creating a clue arguably generates a card's worth of value.

[@kennydarmawan13]

Generating clue is not card draw. Plus, there's more utility to clues than card draw. Look at Academy Manufactor.

[@macmusial3644]

I personally would consider cards like Thraben Inspector and Palace Sentinels/Jailer as card draw, especially since the decks that run them are usually built to get multiple cards out of them, but this list is just cards that specifically say "draw a card" which is the standard for most top 10s on the channel.

[@funnymcfunfuns1455]

No. otherwise you would need to consider all the white token generators.

[@ceulgai2817]

@@kennydarmawan13 Generating a Clue is absolutely card draw. CA, maybe not, but card draw nonetheless.

[@kennydarmawan13]

@@ceulgai2817 true. but that's not the only purpose of clue generation.

[@cax1175]

White makes up most of my esper Oloro edh deck. I prefer the taxing effects that let me draw, rather than blue instants by and large.

[@erikgieseckegonzalez8955]

I'm wondering if 'Renewed Faith' or any other card with cycling was considered in the making of this list.

[@tilnation14]

My favorite white card draw is Combat Thresher.

[@Sauvenil]

Would I be correct in guessing that Mesa Enchantress didn't really ever see competitive play?

[@domri4203]

Yes

[@lohdhshs]

White be like: Perform a standing backflip. Draw 1 card and you gain 2 life

[@ApexZer0]

This is probably your newest list in terms of cards

[@MagusFlorren]

I agree

[@pkfatstephen6287]

I adore how many of these cards have come out in just the past 2yrs

[@grasshopper1153]

it looks like Wizards got the memo. they are pushing white now. white was really strong in Brothers' War. I'm kind of surprised Platoon Dispenser did not make the list. Card is busted in limited.

[@melonboi927]

It amazes me that wizards can't figure out how to give white consistent good card draw because "color identity" but they're totally okay with giving all the other colors White's traditional stuff

[@TheIndustrialRetrospective]

Symmetrical card draw IS a good thing if were talking about Underworld Dreams and/or Sheoldred

[@mrmeglomania]

Really sad to see Armistice & Inheritance didn't make the list, again.

[@viserproductions1]

I remember when wedding announcement came out last year and several people I know were talking about how bad it was lol

[@BoboTheSillyBear]

Do u have a top 10 of the top 10 best cards ever? Aside from basic lands. I would enjoy seeing how high some of the point totals could be

[@CoL_Drake]

i see wedding being played in basicly every midrange deck, but which control deck runs it ?

[@OkamiZone]

Omg haven't played paper in months, but remember picking up 4 wedding invitations for $0.99. Should I sell? Is it good in pioneer (what I mostly play)?

[@stevenrhodes8338]

I love Sram as a commander it's funny when mono white has more lands in play then green on turn 5

[@ceulgai2817]

Oath of Lieges makes this a real possibility!

[@nzsbango]

Its even more funny when you realise that "sram" in one language means "i make a shit" ;)

[@domri4203]

Do land tax and tithe count?

[@destroyerofworlds6824]

What about Welcoming Vampire?

[@jettblade]

Its been a long time needed for white to get some decent card draw. The only thing that is a shame is that it is so rare an effect that it prices much needed cards out of people's hands, at least some of the ones that you aren't committing to a specific strategy like Auras or Equipment. We have been getting more in mono-white recently which is good.

[@woodysmith2681]

White card draw would be frankly scary. White doesn't get card draw because it does more with the cards it has than most colors. Black: Sacrifice 19 creatures, lose all but 1 life, draw a ton of cards. Blue: Draw a ton of cards through some crazy shenanigans and hope you can combo because the cards you drew only draw more cards or are counter-spells by other names. Red: Things blow up, you get some more-than-minor downside, but you do get to draw cards. Green: Play a tribal deck and draw or just draw some land cards to ramp into bigger land draw spells.

[@bugymotagua]

TOCASIA'S WELCOME?

[@Sauvenil]

I built a deck around Secret Rendezvous and Turn the Earth... but i'm not normal.

[@PriusOmega]

No land tax?

[@yavivanov6650]

I don't think the wedding announcement main power is in the draw, since most of the time you draw 1-2 cards max.

[@elnatanbitensky8314]

Is Spirited Companion close to entering the list? I feel like it's much more like card draw than the cantrips.

[@ebontatro9631]

My Orzhov Aristocrats has all black card draw. 🤣 I kind of want to get Esper Sentinel and I have the new halfling cleric from Baldur's Gate

[@bchamp1]

What's the card in the frame?

[@techoutsider5631]

Esper Sentinel

[@Shimatzu95]

Honestly from an edh standpoint i consider white carddraw to be fine, if anything red is much worse off considering almost all "draw" effects it gets are exile based and you loose what you cant play immideately.

[@cax1175]

The best draw we have in colorless is a 10/10 eldrazi lol, at least if you aren't making 1/1 tokens.

[@crondog]

Wym colorless is stacked. There's the baubles, a bunch of cantrips like the Spellbombs or Astrolabe, symmetrical effects like Howling Mine, cards like Coercive Portal or Bottled Cloister that draw you a card every turn, Solemn Simulacrum, Smuggler's Copter, Sensei's Divining Top, Library of Alexandria, Bazaar of Baghdad, etc. etc.

[@justinanderson2631]

This is an intervention: White no longer has the worst card advantage. It's officially now Red. The best card draw red has now is either rummaging, impulsive, or wheels. The latter of which is being phased out while designing cards.

[@weegeelinguini3704]

Yeah, but when red gets cards like light up the stage and new urabrask you can't call impulsive draw bad

[@justinanderson2631]

@@weegeelinguini3704 So the difference between "Card draw" and "Card advantage" is that..yes! Red has enough "card draw" you can go draw cards from your deck just fine. But you can never add or go above your total hand size while doing so. Which is "Card advantage". Make sense? Thereby my initial point still stands: red is the worst color for Card advantage because you can never keep the cards you draw or you have to trade existing cards in your hand for them. Whereas literally every other color goes positive in cards

[@ceulgai2817]

@@justinanderson2631 If you use k cards to produce an impulsive draw of k+n cards, you have acheived card advantage, even if your hand size hasn't increased. This is why Future Sight effects count as CA (even if not card draw)

[@andresperez7476]

White has norn's wellspring 🐪🐫🐊

[@fmtpulmanns7593]

Land Tax?

[@thatsrealroughbud...2394]

The fact that they don't have more white one drops that have tax/fairness effects is so unflavourful and awful. A white one drop with "If another player draws a card other than their initial card draw during their turn, every other player also draws a card" or "No player may draw cards outside of their initial turn's draw" etc. You could literally have other players draw cards with them, give two 1/1 flyers for every additional card draw, allow players to drop an additional land for outside card draw each turn. Card draw is so powerful, it's outrageous that white THE "fairness and taxes" colour has little to nothing to reliably "even the odds" to everyone else's card draw is insane. Imagine ANY format where drawing additional cards would allow the other players to ramp, make tokens or draw with you. That's incredibly white and yet it's not a thing which is infuriating.

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

Wall of Omens? Edit: Hmmm, close.

[@mightyone3737]

YMMV, but I'm pretty sure from a purely technical perspective Red is much worse than White at actually drawing cards, it's best card draw stuff is either not actually card draw (impulse), is card disadvantage (card neutrality is rare in Red draw) or involves opponent's choice like Browbeat. Browbeat and Risk Factor can be good cards in a deck that can punish an opponent for choosing either, but Red has literally nothing like Esper Sentinel, it's best stuff tends to be 'Exile, play until end of next turn', which can whiff much harder than actual draw in some decks.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I think you are underrating impulse draw. Sure, it is worse than drawing normally, but Red has so many good ways to do it, and it is pretty legit

[@8-emus]

What?? No smothering tithe? I’m seriously shocked lol

[@gilchristmuir3171]

This was my initial reaction too until I realised that the Tithe is ramp, not card draw! 😅

[@superbaas8822]

Tithe does most of it's work in commander, but outside it, the loss of tempo is just too much.

[@trehenry413]

Smothering tithe, though great, does not draw you cards at all though. So it for sure would not be on this list

[@nzephier]

Smothering tithe is mana, not draw lol

[@vinnythewebsurfer]

If green was allowed to do everything itself and draw cards, and Red is allowed to draw cards thanks to impulse draw, than keeping white as the only color that can not draw cards would be beyond stupid

[@vds92]

Where's Mangara, the Diplomat?

[@sallomon2357]

I think he does actually have some points from some other top 10, but it clearly wasn't enough to make this list, pretty sad cause he screams 'card draw that feels white'.

[@irou95]

Wedding announcement is ridiculous. If fable and sheoldred weren't so oppressive everyone would complain about wedding

[@thesamuraiman]

💜⚡️

[@theeviljesii]

Green doesn't have good card draw, does it?

[@theopreston8507]

I was thinking that, but then I remembered all of the beast whisperer-type effects that draw cards when creatures or lands enter the battlefield.

[@ROMANTIKILLER2]

It has the third best in the game behind blue and black. Because of course in the last few years especially green got everything.

[@michaelcollins4534]

in commander these days green is arguably better than blue at card draw. not so sure about 1v1 i doubt its as good there

[@superbaas8822]

Green also tends to get conditional card draw, as opposed to raw card draw. Typically "When you X" or "Draw X cards where X is." Blue will still absolutely drown green in card draw, and furthermore has the control tools to ensure if anyone wants to draw more cards, they won't.

[@RibusPQR]

plus Enchantress, draw a card whenever you get an enchantment