Trial of Knowledge MTG Card
2017-04-28 - Number 73
2020-08-13 - Number 84
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Enchantment |
Key Takeaways
- Allows significant card draw, potentially swinging the game by increasing hand options.
- Facilitates resource management by letting players discard less critical cards.
- Enhances instant speed plays, providing flexibility and response capabilities.
Text of card
When Trial of Knowledge enters the battlefield, draw three cards, then discard a card. When a Cartouche enters the battlefield under your control, return Trial of Knowledge to its owner's hand.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Trial of Knowledge stands out as a card that can significantly boost your hand, granting you the ability to draw three cards upon entering the battlefield. This increase in options can often tip the scales in your favor during a match. It’s essential for keeping up the momentum and staying one step ahead of your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: After you draw cards, Trial of Knowledge allows you to discard one. This action can indirectly accelerate your resources by filtering your hand, ensuring that you keep the spells you need while discarding ones that are currently less useful or could be accessed later with other means of retrieval from the graveyard.
Instant Speed: While Trial of Knowledge itself is not an instant, it synergizes well with cards that operate at instant speed. The card advantage gained from Trial of Knowledge can provide you with more instant speed reactions, bolstering your ability to interact with the game during your opponent’s turn and keeping you flexible and responsive to threats.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Trial of Knowledge card necessitates discarding a card as part of its casting cost. This condition can leave players at a disadvantage, especially in situations where their hand is already depleted, and every card is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: This card is tied to a specific mana cost that includes blue mana. This requirement makes it less flexible as it firmly positions it within a particular color scheme, potentially restricting its integration into various deck types that may not support or benefit from blue mana synergies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that is not negligible, Trial of Knowledge demands a considerable amount of mana. There are alternative draw spells in the game which offer similar or better effects for less mana, providing more tempo and efficiency to a player’s game plan.
Reasons to Include Trial of Knowledge in Your Collection
Versatility: Trial of Knowledge is an advantageous inclusion for many deck archetypes due to its utility in drawing cards. It slots seamlessly into control or midrange builds looking for ways to refill their hand.
Combo Potential: With this card, you unlock possibilities for synergies with permanents that thrive on casting spells or using card draw for various effects. This can be a linchpin in engines designed to churn through your deck for combos.
Meta-Relevance: In gameplay situations where keeping a full hand can make or break your strategy, Trial of Knowledge ensures you maintain card advantage against opponents, making it a pertinent choice for the current meta.
How to beat
Confronting Trial of Knowledge can pose a unique challenge due to its power in card advantage. Once on the battlefield from your opponent’s side in a game of Magic: The Gathering, this enchantment becomes a portal to more options and deeper strategy for them, with a welcome boon of drawing three cards. Despite the power of card draw spells, defeating Trial of Knowledge’s advantage isn’t an impossible feat.
One effective strategy is to limit your opponent’s ability to capitalize on the card advantage gained from Trial of Knowledge. Employing hand disruption tools or spells that force discards can significantly undermine the benefit they receive. Duress and Thoughtseize are classic examples that can pre-emptively remove threats or key cards from an opponent’s hand. In another strategic vein, countering Trial of Knowledge with spells like Negate or Disallow prevents it from ever having an impact on the game, ensuring that your opponent doesn’t pull ahead in resources.
By placing emphasis on resource denial or spell negation, you disrupt the momentum that card draw engines such as Trial of Knowledge can generate, keeping you on a more even playing field in terms of card advantage and strategic depth.
Cards like Trial of Knowledge
The pursuit of knowledge is a compelling theme in Magic: The Gathering, with Trial of Knowledge contributing to the rich tapestry of card draw effects in the game. This particular card resembles other blue spells that allow players to draw multiple cards, an essential mechanism for gaining a strategic advantage. For instance, Concentrate shares the same card draw quantity, allowing a player to draw three cards. However, Trial of Knowledge comes with an additional step—requiring the sacrifice of a permanent with the Cartouche type to maximize its potential.
Another akin card is Tidings, which provides a deeper well of information by drawing four cards, one more than Trial of Knowledge. While Tidings lacks the additional condition related to Cartouches, its higher mana cost can delay its impact on the game. Hieroglyphic Illumination stands out due to its cycling ability, offering versatility in use. Even though it draws fewer cards, the ability to cycle it for just one blue mana adds a dynamic choice depending on the game’s situation.
Despite the various options for card acquisition in a blue mage’s arsenal, Trial of Knowledge provides a balanced mix of card advantage with a thematic tie to the Amonkhet set’s mechanics, making it a worthy contender in specific MTG deck builds.
Cards similar to Trial of Knowledge by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Trial of Knowledge MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Amonkhet Remastered, 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 Trial of Knowledge and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Trial of Knowledge Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by Viktor Titov.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-04-28 | Amonkhet | AKH | 73 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Viktor Titov | |
| 2 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 84 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Viktor Titov |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Trial of Knowledge has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Trial of Knowledge card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | Each Trial has an ability to return to your hand when a Cartouche enters the battlefield under your control. The Trial is returned to its owner’s hand only if it’s on the battlefield as the ability resolves. |
