Dark Tutelage MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Dark Tutelage offers continuous card advantage, crucial for maintaining flexibility in your tactics.
  2. Requires careful mana planning due to its color-specific demand, impacting deck diversity.
  3. Despite its benefits, it contends with other spells and introduces a life loss risk.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost.

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness." —Seneca, *Epistles*, trans. Gummere


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dark Tutelage facilitates a continuous stream of cards into your hand each turn, providing a significant edge over opponents by keeping your options plentiful and your strategy flexible.

Resource Acceleration: Although it doesn’t directly generate mana, the relentless card draw offered by Dark Tutelage ensures a smoother draw of lands and spells, enabling you to efficiently deploy resources and maintain momentum throughout the duel.

Instant Speed: While Dark Tutelage itself isn’t cast at instant speed, the card advantage it provides can lead to a hand rich with instant speed interactions, giving you the means to respond deftly to an opponent’s threats even during their turn, all while digging deeper into your library turn after turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Enforces a mandatory sacrifice of cards from your hand, which can lead to a loss in card advantage and hinder your game plan when you are unable to choose which card to discard.

Specific Mana Cost: Dark Tutelage requires not just three mana, but also a commitment to black mana which ties the card to a specific archetype, potentially limiting its inclusion in multi-color decks that might struggle with mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though providing an ongoing source of card advantage, Dark Tutelage comes with a three mana cost. Within this range, it competes with other powerful card draw or utility spells that could offer immediate effects without the potential life loss downside.


Reasons to Include Dark Tutelage in Your Collection

Versatility: Dark Tutelage offers a steady stream of card advantage that is key in many strategies, particularly those that need a consistent draw engine to maintain hand superiority against opponents.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with setups that mitigate life loss or use it as a resource, allowing players to harness its full potential without suffering the drawbacks.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta dominated by slower, grindy games, including Dark Tutelage can give decks the continuous card flow needed to outpace control and out-value midrange adversaries.


How to Beat

Dark Tutelage is a magnetic pull for those who prize knowledge in Magic: The Gathering. This enchantment offers players the chance to draw an additional card at the beginning of their upkeep, at the cost of some life points equivalent to the card’s mana value. It’s a card that illustrates the delicate balance between risk and reward, offering a considerable advantage at potentially high costs.

To counteract the card advantage provided by Dark Tutelage, targeting the enchantment with removal spells or abilities should be a priority. Enchantment removal like Disenchant or Naturalize can directly handle its threat. Discard strategies to force the enchantment out of the opponent’s hand before it hits the field can effectively neutralize it before it becomes a problem. Moreover, adjusting your own deck to speed up your game plan or to mitigate the card advantage through counterspells or other forms of card draw can tilt the balance in your favor, securing your path to victory against decks utilizing Dark Tutelage.

Remember that each spell your opponent draws means a further toll on their life total. Therefore, pressure your opponent’s life total alongside your strategies to compromise Dark Tutelage’s sustainability. By doing this, the very tool they rely on for victory can quickly become their downfall.


BurnMana Recommendations

The dance of strategy in MTG often hinges on the wise use of resources, and Dark Tutelage is a card that can pivot the flow of any match in your favor. Understanding its role is crucial, whether it’s augmenting your hand every turn or shaping the battlefield with the spells it draws. Melding card advantage with smart play opens up a world of possibility. With careful life management, the draw engine of Dark Tutelage becomes an engine of victory. We at BurnMana encourage the pursuit of knowledge and power in your deck, and we’re here to guide your journey. Choose to discover, advance, and conquer—join us to delve deeper into the intricate world of MTG and unlock the full potential of your collection.


Cards like Dark Tutelage

In the realm of MTG, Dark Tutelage offers a unique proposition for card advantage, akin to the famed Phyrexian Arena. Both cards allow players to draw an additional card each turn at the cost of life, establishing a recurring advantage. Where Dark Tutelage differentiates itself is in its approach to life loss. It deals damage based on the converted mana cost of the revealed card, adding a layer of unpredictability compared to Phyrexian Arena’s consistent one life payment.

Another comparable card is Bob, an affectionate nickname for Dark Confidant. It too reveals cards for life, but as a creature, it’s more vulnerable to removal. Dark Tutelage benefits from the resilience of being an enchantment. Yet, it lacks the added function of a 2/1 body that Dark Confidant brings to the game, representing potential for both offense and defense. Sign in Blood is in the conversation as well, providing a fixed card draw for a set amount of life but as a one-time event rather than a continuous effect.

While weighing options, Dark Tutelage’s sustained draw power and enchantment-type resilience offer a valuable tool for players adept at managing life totals and leveraging long-term resources in their MTG arsenal.

Phyrexian Arena - MTG Card versions
Dark Confidant - MTG Card versions
Sign in Blood - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Arena - Apocalypse (APC)
Dark Confidant - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Sign in Blood - Magic 2010 (M10)

Cards similar to Dark Tutelage by color, type and mana cost

Gloom - MTG Card versions
Season of the Witch - MTG Card versions
Tourach's Gate - MTG Card versions
Tourach's Chant - MTG Card versions
Withering Wisps - MTG Card versions
Necropotence - MTG Card versions
Funeral March - MTG Card versions
Casting of Bones - MTG Card versions
Blanket of Night - MTG Card versions
Hecatomb - MTG Card versions
Krovikan Fetish - MTG Card versions
Megrim - MTG Card versions
Recurring Nightmare - MTG Card versions
Contamination - MTG Card versions
Oppression - MTG Card versions
Lurking Evil - MTG Card versions
Maggot Therapy - MTG Card versions
Murderous Betrayal - MTG Card versions
Noxious Field - MTG Card versions
Tainted Well - MTG Card versions
Gloom - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Season of the Witch - The Dark (DRK)
Tourach's Gate - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Tourach's Chant - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Withering Wisps - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Necropotence - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)
Funeral March - Homelands (HML)
Casting of Bones - Alliances (ALL)
Blanket of Night - Visions (VIS)
Hecatomb - Masters Edition (ME1)
Krovikan Fetish - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Megrim - Duels of the Planeswalkers (DPA)
Recurring Nightmare - Exodus (EXO)
Contamination - Urza's Saga (USG)
Oppression - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Lurking Evil - Urza's Saga (USG)
Maggot Therapy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Murderous Betrayal - Nemesis (NEM)
Noxious Field - Prophecy (PCY)
Tainted Well - Invasion (INV)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dark Tutelage MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011 and Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales, 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 Dark Tutelage and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dark Tutelage Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-07-16 and 2023-09-08. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-07-16Magic 2011M11 902003normalblackJames Ryman
22023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting TalesWOT 282015normalborderlessAbigail Larson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dark Tutelage has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
GladiatorLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dark Tutelage card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2010-08-15 If the mana cost of the revealed card includes , X is considered to be 0.
2010-08-15 If the revealed card has no mana symbols in its upper right corner (because it’s a land card, for example), its converted mana cost is 0.
2010-08-15 The converted mana cost of the revealed card is determined solely by the mana symbols printed in its upper right corner. The converted mana cost is the total amount of mana in that cost, regardless of color. For example, a card with mana cost has converted mana cost 5.

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