Journey for the Elixir MTG Card
2016-11-16 - Number 70861
2018-06-22 - Number 36
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Search your library and graveyard for a basic land card and a card named Jiang Yanggu, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle.
"As my hands touched it, I realized that I had not found it—it had been leading me here."
Cards like Journey for the Elixir
Journey for the Elixir stands out as a unique search card in Magic: The Gathering, sharing similarities with cards like Sylvan Scrying. Both enable players to search their library, but Journey for the Elixir goes further, allowing the retrieval of a creature card or basic land, thus offering a wider range of strategic choices. Unlike Sylvan Scrying’s sole focus on land cards, Journey for the Elixir’s versatility can be pivotal in a tight match, offering both resource fixing and creature recovery.
Another card with likeness is Traverse the Ulvenwald, which also provides flexibility in searches but requires delirium to reach its full potential. Without this condition met, it falls short compared to Journey for the Elixir’s consistent dual retrieval options. Expedition Map is worth mentioning too, albeit it is limited to finding only land cards and comes with an activation cost, posing a delay in mana acceleration.
To sum up, Journey for the Elixir adeptly toes the line between focused and flexible search strategies, giving it an edge in decks that demand both immediate land drops and creature solutions, making it a valuable card for players aiming to maintain momentum and versatility throughout their game.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Journey for the Elixir is designed to elevate your deck’s consistency by searching your library for a basic land card or a legendary creature, thus ensuring that you have access to the resources you need when you need them. This smooths out your draws and helps maintain card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: The utility of fetching that basic land card cannot be overstated. It’s a subtle form of ramp that can help you accelerate your mana resources, providing an edge to cast high-cost spells ahead of schedule.
Instant Speed: Though Journey for the Elixir operates at sorcery speed, the advantage it gives by fetching a land or key legendary creature prepares you to use your mana efficiently on subsequent turns. It preps the stage for you to react with instant speed spells while steadily developing your board.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Journey for the Elixir requires a player to shuffle their graveyard into their library. While this can be beneficial in some scenarios, it also means you’ll be losing access to potentially crucial cards that could have been retrieved or reused from the graveyard, affecting strategic plays especially in decks designed to capitalize on graveyard mechanics.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a specific combination of mana—one green and one colorless—which can sometimes be restrictive. If you’re running a multicolor deck, especially in formats where mana flexibility is key, it could be difficult fitting Journey for the Elixir into your mana curve or finding the right mana at the right time.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sitting at three mana for a search for a basic land card and a future card draw, its cost is high for the utility it provides. Other cards within the same cost range could offer immediate card draw, more targeted search capabilities, or additional forms of board presence, giving opponents an edge in tempo and resource allocation.
Reasons to Include Journey for the Elixir in Your Collection
Versatility: Journey for the Elixir is a flexible addition to any deck that aims to ramp up mana and search for key pieces. Its ability to retrieve a creature, basic land, or even powerhouse planeswalkers ensures it fits seamlessly into multiple strategies and deck archetypes.
Combo Potential: This card shines in situations where fetching the right component can turn the tide of the game. Its knack for retrieving a missing combo piece makes it an under-the-radar powerhouse that can unexpectedly unlock potent combinations.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta peppered with aggressive strategies, Journey for the Elixir offers a swift response. It accelerates your game plan by ensuring land drops and setting up future plays, keeping pace with the most prevalent decks.
How to beat
Journey for the Elixir is a unique card that offers a quest-like experience for players in Magic: The Gathering. It serves as a utility card that allows a player to search their library for up to two basic land cards or a Plains card, putting them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffling their library. While this effect is certainly helpful for mana ramping and deck thinning, it can be countered effectively.
To disrupt Journey for the Elixir’s advantage, it’s essential to implement strategies that limit an opponent’s ability to search their library or utilize the lands they acquire. Cards like Ashiok, Dream Render or Leonin Arbiter can restrict or even shut down searching libraries, which can hinder the benefits gained from Journey for the Elixir. Moreover, land destruction cards or effects that force the opponent to sacrifice lands can negate the ramping progress made by this card.
Utilizing strategies that interact with an opponent’s graveyard may also serve as a defeating tactic against Journey for the Elixir. Since it has a secondary effect of returning a creature card from the graveyard to hand, cards like Tormod’s Crypt or Rest in Peace can render this aspect moot, ensuring that the Elixir’s journey ends prematurely.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Journey for the Elixir MTG card by a specific set like Treasure Chest and Global Series Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling, 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 Journey for the Elixir 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 Journey for the Elixir Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-11-16 and 2018-06-22. Illustrated by Qiu De En.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-11-16 | Treasure Chest | PZ2 | 70861 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Qiu De En | |
| 2 | 2018-06-22 | Global Series Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling | GS1 | 36 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Qiu De En |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Journey for the Elixir has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |