Pop Quiz MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Learn
Released	2021-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Strixhaven: School of Mages
Set code	STX
Number	49
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Stewart

Key Takeaways

Pop Quiz enhances hand size and provides access to Lesson cards, offering tailored strategies.
Although costly and requires blue mana, it adds depth to decks with its dual utility.
Countering Pop Quiz involves resource tax, counterspells, and graveyard hate strategies.

Text of card

Draw a card. Learn. (You may reveal a Lesson card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand, or discard a card to draw a card.)

"Today is hydromancy? I thought it was amplimancy! I studied for amplimancy!"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pop Quiz provides an immediate draw, bolstering your hand with an additional card which amplifies your potential for subsequent plays. This increase in resources can be the tipping point in a match, allowing you to outmaneuver your opponent with a greater selection of strategies.

Resource Acceleration: Apart from its primary benefit of drawing a card, Pop Quiz also lets you learn, essentially accessing an additional card from outside the game provided you have a Lesson card in your sideboard. This acts as a form of resource acceleration, giving you specific answers or threats tailored to the current state of the game.

Instant Speed: The speed of the card provides flexibility in gameplay. You can pass the turn with mana open, signaling to your opponent that you have answers. This can force them to play more conservatively. If they don’t commit to a threatening play, you can cast Pop Quiz at the end of their turn, maintaining card velocity without falling behind on the board.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: ‘Pop Quiz’ mandates you to discard a card to unearth its full potential, posing a challenge when your hand is already stretched thin.

Specific Mana Cost: This spell’s specific mana alignment necessitates at least one blue, potentially restricting its seamless inclusion in multi-colored decks or those with a tight mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana value being on the higher side of instant draw spells, players may find that ‘Pop Quiz’ competes with other cards that could offer lower-cost alternatives for card advantage strategies.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Pop Quiz is a versatile addition, fitting well into decks that thrive on instant-speed interaction and knowledge of the opponent’s next moves. Its ability to draw a card while fishing for answers or threats makes it applicable in many scenarios.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with strategies that trigger off casting spells or drawing cards, making it a cog in the engine of spell-focused or draw-heavy decks.

Meta-Relevance: Currently, if the environment favors decks that require strategic planning and forethought, Pop Quiz offers a means to stay ahead, ensuring your next plays are well informed and optimally timed.

How to beat

Confronting the enigmatic Pop Quiz card in Magic: The Gathering requires strategic finesse. This instant allows players to draw a card and learn by revealing a lesson card they own from outside the game. The key to outmaneuvering this play lies in understanding its strengths. Pop Quiz’s ability to pull from a separate pool of cards gives it a unique advantage, setting it apart from straightforward draw spells.

One way to circumvent Pop Quiz’s effectivity is by applying pressure to your opponent’s resources. Taxing their mana capabilities or employing discard strategies can thwart their ability to capitalize on lessons learned. Counterspells can also prove effective, as they impede the card’s resolution and prevent the knowledge acquisition from taking place.

Additionally, keeping a watchful eye on graveyard interactions is vital. If your opponent is using their graveyard as a resource, employing graveyard hate cards could significantly limit the potential synergy Pop Quiz might have with other graveyard-centric strategies. Ultimately, it is crucial to maintain a proactive stance when up against Pop Quiz to ensure your opponent’s learning curve doesn’t steepen against you.

Cards like Pop Quiz

Pop Quiz is an intriguing asset among instant cards that allow players to draw additional cards in Magic: The Gathering. While it can be readily compared to the likes of Think Twice, which gives the option to draw a card twice – once when played and again with its flashback ability, Pop Quiz offers a distinct edge. It not only allows you to draw a card but also teaches a lesson by permitting you to reveal a Lesson card from outside the game and add it to your hand.

Another card that resonates with Pop Quiz’s mechanics is Opt. Although Opt offers card drawing at a significantly lower cost and the added benefit of scrying to set up future draws, it lacks Pop Quiz’s ability to fetch lessons, reducing its impact in terms of board state and strategic options. Then there is Accumulated Knowledge, which also lets you draw cards, and its effectiveness increases with the number of copies in the graveyard, unlike Pop Quiz which has a consistent effect each time.

Analyzing these variations, Pop Quiz holds a unique position with its dual utility. It not only enhances hand size but also expands strategic plays through its learn capability, blending the action of card drawing with the flexibility to adapt to the game’s unfolding narrative.

Accumulated Knowledge - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pop Quiz MTG card by a specific set like Strixhaven: School of Mages, 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 Pop Quiz and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pop Quiz has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-04-16	If a card is brought into the game from outside the game, it will stay in the game until it ends or until its owner leaves the game, whichever comes first.
2021-04-16	If instructed to learn, you may do nothing. Discarding a card and putting a Lesson card into your hand are both optional.
2021-04-16	If you bring a card into the game from outside the game in a Constructed tournament (or a Constructed game played under tournament conditions), you may select only a card from your sideboard. In casual Constructed games, the card comes from your collection.
2021-04-16	If you bring a card into the game from outside the game in a Sealed Deck or Booster Draft event, you may select only a card that is in the card pool that you built your deck from.