Ancient Stirrings MTG Card
2010-04-23 - Number 174
2018-03-16 - Number 159
2019-11-07 - Number 1121
2020-08-07 - Number 151
2021-03-19 - Number 355
2022-12-02 - Number 628
2024-06-14 - Number 219
2002-06-24 - Number 70944
2020-09-26 - Number A25-159
| Card sets | Released in 9 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal a colorless card from among them and put it into your hand. Then put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. (Cards with no colored mana in their mana costs are colorless. Lands are also colorless.)
Cards like Ancient Stirrings
Ancient Stirrings is a powerful tool for players looking to sift through their library for a key colorless card in Magic: The Gathering. Much like Ponder or Preordain, Ancient Stirrings allows players to look at the top cards of their library. However, Ancient Stirrings is unique in its ability to dig for a specific subset of cards – colorless ones, including potential game-changers like powerful artifacts or land cards integral for ramping up mana.
Another close relative in strategic deck filtering is Oath of Nissa. Though Oath of Nissa permits a peek at the top three cards of one’s library, grabbing a creature, land, or planeswalker card, it limits the options for colorless non-creature spells. Conversely, Ancient Stirrings grants a narrower yet impactful range of selections in decks that capitalize on colorless cards.
To sum it up, Ancient Stirrings holds a specialized niche in MTG card search mechanics. Its precision in pinpointing crucial colorless components can be a linchpin for decks that hinge on synergies with artifacts or specialized lands, setting it apart from more generalized card selection spells.
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Ancient Stirrings. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Tron | Pauper | Tron | Pauper Preliminary 2024-05-02 |
 | Mono-Green Hardened Scales | Modern | Hardened Scales | Modern League 2024-05-03 |
| Mono-Green Tron | Modern | Mono-Green Tron | Modern Challenge 32 2024-05-03 |
| Simic Tron | Modern | Mono-Green Tron | Modern Challenge 64 2024-05-05 |
 | Amulet Lotus | Modern | Amulet Lotus | Modern Challenge 64 2024-05-05 |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Ancient Stirrings enables players to look at the top five cards of their library, selecting a colorless card from among them to add to their hand. This selection process offers a significant boost in card quality, often securing a pivotal piece for your strategy.
Resource Acceleration: By digging for essential artifacts or land cards, Ancient Stirrings can effectively accelerate your resources by ensuring you hit your land drops or obtain key pieces to ramp up your mana.
Instant Speed: While Ancient Stirrings is not cast at instant speed, its low mana cost allows for a flexible playstyle. You can efficiently utilize your mana in the early game or alongside other plays, keeping your pace consistent and competitive.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Unlike some other efficient look-and-fetch cards, Ancient Stirrings doesn’t have a discard requirement, which is a positive for MTG players looking to maintain card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: The one green mana cost of Ancient Stirrings means it is limited to decks that run green mana sources – potentially excluding it from multicolor decks that can’t afford the color specificity.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While costing only one mana might seem low, in the fast-paced modern environment, even this small cost can be a disadvantage when speed is critical, and players opt for zero-cost spells or more impactful one-mana plays.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Ancient Stirrings shines in virtually any deck that relies heavily on colorless cards and lands. Its ability to dig through the top five cards of your library to find a land or colorless card makes it an exceptional inclusion for ensuring consistent access to key pieces of your strategy.
Combo Potential: This card routinely acts as the linchpin in finding combo pieces or crucial artifacts. Whether it’s assembling Tron lands or fetching up a game-changing colorless bomb, Ancient Stirrings can deftly set up the winning play.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where specific lands or colorless threats dictate the pace of play, Ancient Stirrings becomes a strategic asset. It keeps decks competitive by enabling users to adapt to and interact with prevailing metas, making it a mainstay in several top-tier decklists.
How to beat
Ancient Stirrings is an efficient card within the Magic: The Gathering strategy toolkit, prized for its ability to dig deep into a player’s library to find colorless cards. It’s a powerful option in decks that heavily utilize colorless cards, such as those built around the Tron lands or artifact themes. However, despite its utility, it can be countered effectively.
To beat a card like Ancient Stirrings, disrupt your opponent’s search and shuffle effects. Tools such as Aven Mindcensor, which limits the number of cards an opponent can look at, or Leonin Arbiter, which makes searchers pay extra to search their library, can significantly hinder the impact of Ancient Stirrings. Additionally, graveyard disruption, such as the use of Surgical Extraction or Extirpate on key colorless pieces identified by the Stirrings, can dismantle a central strategy that relies on such cards. Be mindful of timing and try to play these disruptions in response to Ancient Stirrings to maximize their effectiveness.
Overall, by anticipating key moments and utilizing strategic counters and graveyard manipulation, you can effectively neutralize the advantage Ancient Stirrings provides an opponent, maintaining the upper hand in your Magic: The Gathering matches.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ancient Stirrings MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Rise of the Eldrazi, 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 Ancient Stirrings and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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 Ancient Stirrings Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2024-06-14. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 70944 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Emrah Elmasli | ||
| 2 | 2010-04-23 | Rise of the Eldrazi | ROE | 174 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 3 | 2018-03-16 | Masters 25 | A25 | 159 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 4 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 1121 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 5 | 2020-08-07 | Double Masters | 2XM | 151 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 6 | The List | PLST | A25-159 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | ||
| 7 | 2021-03-19 | Time Spiral Remastered | TSR | 355 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 8 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 628 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce | |
| 9 | 2024-06-14 | Modern Horizons 3 Commander | M3C | 219 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Vincent Proce |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ancient Stirrings has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ancient Stirrings card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-03-19 | Objects with no mana cost, including lands that could produce colored mana, are colorless by default. |