Ancient Craving MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Ancient Craving yields significant card advantage by enabling players to draw three cards.
  2. The card’s life loss and specific mana cost can limit play options, making it a tactical choice.
  3. It remains a resilient choice for decks that capitalize on card draw and life-loss synergies.

Text of card

Draw 3 cards. You lose 3 life.

"Knowledge demands sacrifice." —Tojira, swamp queen


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ancient Craving is a powerhouse when it comes to drawing cards. By allowing you to draw three cards, it gives you a significant boost in your resources and options, keeping you ahead in the game.

Resource Acceleration: While this card does not directly produce mana or tokens, the substantial card draw can quickly lead you to other resources within your deck. This acceleration of available cards can indirectly translate to an acceleration in your resource management and deployment.

Instant Speed: Although Ancient Craving operates at sorcery speed, its impact on the game is so vital that it’s worth planning your turns around it. The key is to time your play for maximum effect, ensuring you have the necessary mana open to respond to your opponents’ moves after replenishing your hand.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When you play Ancient Craving, it requires sacrificing a considerable resource – you have to lose three life, which could be a significant setback, especially in close games where every life point counts.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a specific mana requirement, including one black mana. It’s tailored for black-aligned decks, potentially limiting versatility for decks that don’t run black or that have a strict mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of one black and three generic mana, Ancient Craving may come off as somewhat costly for drawing three cards, especially when compared with other options in the game that might provide similar benefits for less of a mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ancient Craving is a powerful draw spell that slots into any black-inclusive deck needing a card advantage. Whether you’re fueling a graveyard strategy or looking for that crucial piece of the puzzle, its ability to draw three cards makes it a valuable asset in various deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: For decks that thrive on having numerous cards in hand or require a certain threshold in the graveyard, Ancient Craving serves as a reliable engine. It can quickly fill your hand or graveyard and simultaneously act as a life-changing tool in strategies that benefit from paying life for a greater advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where grinding out card advantage is key to outpacing opponents, Ancient Craving holds its ground. As games become more drawn-out and focused on incremental gains, being able to refuel your hand efficiently can often be the factor that tips the scales in your favor.


How to Beat Ancient Craving

Ancient Craving is a powerful draw spell in MTG, allowing players to draw three cards at the cost of losing three life. Desirable in decks that prioritize card advantage, this card can be turned to players’ advantage with the right strategies. To counter Ancient Craving, strategies involve applying pressure to the opposing player’s life total, making the three life loss more consequential.

Consider incorporating cards that limit life gain or increase life loss, such as Erebos, God of the Dead, which prevents opponents from gaining life altogether. Apply continuous pressure with aggressive creatures and burn spells to keep their life total within a threatening range. Additionally, cards like Underworld Dreams could be used to amplify the damage done when an opponent draws extra cards.

Ultimately, understanding the balance between card advantage and life preservation is key when facing cards like Ancient Craving. By emphasizing swift damage and disruption, you can convert an opponent’s craving for cards into a liability, tilting the game in your favor and overcoming the card advantage it provides.


BurnMana Recommendations

Deck optimization in MTG is a spellbinding mix of strategy and resourcefulness, and Ancient Craving embodies this with its card-drawing capabilities. While you may hesitate at the cost of life, integrating such a card can be the catalyst to overwhelming victory. Remember, successful decks aren’t just about the strength of the cards but the synergy between them. Interested in harnessing the full potential of Ancient Craving in your deck? Embrace the strategic depth of MTG and perfect your gameplay. Take advantage of our insights and go beyond the simple mechanics to become a true curator of powerful decks. Join the ranks of informed MTG players and refine your collection to formidable levels with us.


Cards like Ancient Craving

In the realm of powerful draw engines within Magic: The Gathering, Ancient Craving makes its mark. It belongs to the impactful category of spells that allows a player to draw multiple cards in exchange for a sacrifice. Ancient Craving is closely related to a card like Ambition’s Cost which offers the same cost and effect—drawing three cards at the expense of three life.

Moreover, Harmonize stands out as a parallel in the green color pie. Although it costs one additional green mana, it allows the player to draw three cards with no life loss. This lack of life payment can be critical in games where health management is pivotal. However, Ancient Craving aligns with black’s theme of leveraging life for advantage. Then comes Painful Truths, another kindred card, with its converge mechanic that can potentially draw up to three cards for the same life loss but offering flexibility in mana usage across different colors.

Assessing similar options, Ancient Craving offers a straightforward and potent draw mechanism. It balances the inherent risk of life loss with the rewarding surge of new possibilities making it a competitive choice for players seeking to refill their hand aggressively in MTG.

Ambition's Cost - MTG Card versions
Harmonize - MTG Card versions
Painful Truths - MTG Card versions
Ambition's Cost - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Harmonize - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Painful Truths - Battle for Zendikar Promos (PBFZ)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ancient Craving MTG card by a specific set like Portal Second Age and Starter 1999, 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 Craving and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ancient Craving Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 1998-06-24 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Rob Alexander.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11998-06-24Portal Second AgeP02 621997normalblackRob Alexander
21999-07-01Starter 1999S99 641997normalwhiteRob Alexander
32013-03-15Duel Decks: Sorin vs. TibaltDDK 282003normalblackRob Alexander
42015-11-13Commander 2015C15 1142015normalblackRob Alexander
52018-03-16Masters 25A25 792015normalblackRob Alexander
62020-09-26The ListPLST P02-621997normalblackRob Alexander
72021-04-23Commander 2021C21 1352015normalblackRob Alexander
82021-11-19Crimson Vow CommanderVOC 1172015normalblackRob Alexander
92022-12-02Jumpstart 2022J22 3762015normalblackRob Alexander

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ancient Craving has restrictions

FormatLegality
PredhLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

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