Dig Through Time MTG Card


Significant card advantage with top seven cards selection ensures crucial resource control. Delve mechanic drastically reduces mana cost for efficient gameplay. Instant speed allows strategic response to opponents’ actions.
Card setsReleased in 11 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityRare
TypeInstant
Abilities Delve

Text of card

Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for .) Look at the top seven cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.


Cards like Dig Through Time

Dig Through Time stands out in the realm of blue card draw spells in Magic: The Gathering with its powerful delve mechanic, allowing players to potentially reduce the mana cost by exiling cards from their graveyard. This distinctive feature creates a nuanced comparison with Treasure Cruise, which also employs the delve mechanic but trades the targeted selection for a larger card draw quantity, offering a different advantage for deckbuilders.

Peering into the realm of instant-speed card advantage, there’s also Fact or Fiction. While not utilizing delve, this card presents a different type of decision-making, as the opponent sorts the revealed cards into two piles, giving players choices but with external influence. Finally, Telling Time provides an earlier peek into the deck, though it lacks the depth of draw power that Dig Through Time offers, it still presents a strategic setup for upcoming turns.

In the landscape of card selection and card advantage, Dig Through Time provides a unique blend of cost efficiency and control over card acquisition, ensuring its valued place among MTG’s vast array of card draw options.

Treasure Cruise - MTG Card versions
Fact or Fiction - MTG Card versions
Telling Time - MTG Card versions
Treasure Cruise - MTG Card versions
Fact or Fiction - MTG Card versions
Telling Time - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Dig Through Time. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Hidden StringsHidden Strings PioneerHidden StringsPioneer Challenge 32 2024-04-29
Jeskai ControlJeskai Control VintageJeskai ControlVintage League 2024-04-30
Dimir ControlDimir Control PioneerDimir ControlPioneer League 2024-04-29
Azorius ControlAzorius Control PioneerAzorius ControlPioneer Preliminary 2024-04-30 (1)
DoomsdayDoomsday VintageDoomsdayVintage Challenge 32 2024-04-28
Izzet Indomitable CreativityIzzet Indomitable Creativity PioneerIzzet Indomitable CreativityPioneer League 2024-04-30
Lurrus SagaLurrus Saga VintageLurrus SagaVintage Challenge 32 2024-04-28
WUBWUB VintageVintage Preliminary 2024-04-30
Temur Indomitable CreativityTemur Indomitable Creativity PioneerTemur Indomitable CreativityPioneer Challenge 32 2024-04-29
Sultai MidrangeSultai Midrange VintageSultai MidrangeVintage Challenge 32 2024-04-28

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dig Through Time enables a significant leap ahead in resources by allowing you to look at the top seven cards of your library and grab the two most impactful at that moment. This in-depth selection gives you a better chance at finding exactly what you need to secure your position in the game.

Resource Acceleration: Thanks to the delve mechanic, you can potentially cast this spell for a mere two blue mana by exiling unwanted cards from your graveyard. This efficient use of resources can accelerate your game plan substantially, effectively reducing the spell’s cost without sacrificing your in-hand assets.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Dig Through Time gives you the flexibility to act during an opponent’s turn, which means you can keep your options open and respond to threats or opportunities as they arise. This can provide a strategic advantage, keeping your opponents guessing about your next move.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Dig Through Time often involves delving, which means you must exile cards from your graveyard. This can be counterproductive if you rely on graveyard strategies or if your deck benefits from having a full yard for other synergistic effects.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires blue mana, which necessitates a commitment to blue sources in your mana base. If you’re running a multi-color deck without sufficient blue mana, casting Dig Through Time could present challenges.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its delve ability to reduce its cost, Dig Through Time still requires a significant mana investment. In fast-paced games or against aggressive strategies, allocating resources to cast it can be a risky move, potentially leaving you vulnerable to your opponent’s threats.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Dig Through Time offers valuable card selection by allowing you to delve and look at the top seven cards of your library, choosing the two that best suit your current situation. Its flexibility makes it an excellent fit for control, combo, and midrange decks alike, providing a late-game edge.

Combo Potential: The card’s ability to dig deep into the library makes it a potent piece in combo decks, setting up game-winning conditions or finding missing pieces with unprecedented precision, thereby facilitating faster and more consistent wins.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where Dig Through Time is legal, its impact on the game is undeniable. The card can deftly pivot between roles—whether filling your hand with answers or threats—which is highly valued in ever-shifting competitive environments.


How to beat

Dig Through Time has established itself as a powerhouse in the world of Magic: The Gathering, offering unparalleled card selection for players who can harness its delve mechanic to reduce its cost. By meticulously exiling cards from their graveyard, players can dramatically decrease the mana needed to unveil the top seven cards of their library, then handpick the two most suited choices to propel their strategy forward.

To counteract the advantages offered by Dig Through Time, it is essential to apply pressure early in the game. This means fast-playing threats and maintaining a clock on the opponent, reducing their window to set up a graveyard loaded with enough fuel to efficiently delve. Additionally, graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can severely cripple this strategy by removing essential resources needed for delve. Moreover, proactive hand disruption tactics can extract Dig Through Time before it becomes a critical turning point. Through strategic deck building and timely gameplay, Dig Through Time’s potential can be dampened.

Thus, while Dig Through Time may offer a glimpse into a wealth of possibilities, skillful countermeasures and rapid aggression can ensure that such a deep dig yields little more than a handful of sand for your opponents.


BurnMana Recommendations

Considering the strategic depth that Dig Through Time introduces to MTG, this card is a treasure trove for players looking to advance their gameplay. By harnessing its delve mechanic, you gain card selection power that can be pivotal in critical game moments. Don’t let the intricacies of managing your graveyard or the mana specifics deter you from exploring this card’s potential. When incorporated wisely, Dig Through Time can be the linchpin that tilts the match in your favor. Dive deeper into your deck-building strategies and refine your playstyle to make every card count. Enhance your collection and empower your game with deeper insights by joining us on your journey to MTG excellence.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dig Through Time MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Khans of Tarkir, 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 Dig Through Time and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dig Through Time Magic the Gathering card was released in 10 different sets between 2014-09-26 and 2024-04-19. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 999731997NormalBlackRyan Yee
22014-09-26Khans of TarkirKTK 362015NormalBlackRyan Yee
32014-09-26Khans of Tarkir PromosPKTK 36p2015NormalBlackRyan Yee
42014-09-26Khans of Tarkir PromosPKTK 36s2015NormalBlackRyan Yee
52018-12-07Ultimate MastersUMA 502015NormalBlackRyan Yee
62019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 972015NormalBlackSteve Prescott
72021-04-23Commander 2021C21 1192015NormalBlackRyan Yee
82021-06-22Love Your LGS 2021PLG21 21997NormalBlackRyan Yee
92022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 2192015NormalBlackRyan Yee
102023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine CommanderWOC 882015NormalBlackRyan Yee
112024-04-19Outlaws of Thunder Junction CommanderOTC 952015NormalBlackRyan Yee

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dig Through Time has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyBanned
ModernBanned
OathbreakerLegal
VintageRestricted
DuelBanned
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dig Through Time 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 Because delve isn't an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs, such as flashback. It can also be used to pay for additional costs that include generic mana.
2021-03-19 Delve doesn't change a spell's mana cost or mana value. For example, Treasure Cruise's mana value is 8 even if you exiled three cards to cast it.
2021-03-19 You can exile cards to pay only for generic mana, and you can't exile more cards than the generic mana requirement of a spell with delve. For example, you can't exile more than seven cards from your graveyard to cast Treasure Cruise unless an effect has increased its cost.