Urza's Tome MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Artifact |
| Released | 2018-04-27 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Dominaria |
| Set code | DOM |
| Number | 235 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Aaron Miller |
Text of card
, : Draw a card. Then discard a card unless you exile a historic card from your graveyard. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
"Truly understanding even one volume can be a life's work." —Naru Meha, master wizard
Cards like Urza's Tome
Urza’s Tome is an intriguing artifact in Magic: The Gathering, offering card advantage to those who wield it with care. When considering its closest alternatives, the compendium of similar artifacts contains the likes of Jayemdae Tome. Jayemdae Tome also allows players to draw additional cards, however, it comes without the prerequisite of having a historic card in hand, which is a condition of Urza’s Tome. This distinct requirement gives uniqueness to Urza’s Tome, influencing strategic deck building.
Another peer in the pantheon of draw artifacts is Arcane Encyclopedia, which offers card draws at a fixed cost but lacks the synergy with historic spells that Urza’s Tome boasts. Even though Arcane Encyclopedia can be more efficient in decks not focused on historic themes, Urza’s Tome shines within its specific niche. Moreover, compared to the Encyclopedia, the Tome can potentially provide a more cost-effective draw mechanism over time in the right deck.
Delving deeper into card advantage utilities, we observe that Urza’s Tome’s historic-centric mechanic allows for innovative interactions in decks that capitalize on artifacts, legendaries, and sagas. This also underlines the tome’s potential role in enabling more powerful plays specific to historic-oriented archetypes within the MTG universe.
Cards similar to Urza's Tome by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Urza’s Tome offers players the key to unlocking extra options by drawing additional cards. This aligns with strategic deck building that prioritizes having a full hand, giving a player more responses and threats.
Resource Acceleration: The ability to generate additional mana through Urza’s Tome can significantly advance your board position, allowing for quicker plays and a faster route to your win conditions, which is invaluable in competitive play.
Instant Speed: The tome’s capability to be activated at instant speed grants deck flexibility, allowing players to tactically respond to the evolving game state while keeping adversaries guessing about their full range of possible moves.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Urza’s Tome requires the player to discard a historic card to activate its ability. This condition can be particularly taxing on your hand, especially when you don’t have an excess of historic cards or when each card in hand is critical for your game strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: To get the most out of Urza’s Tome, your deck needs to be tailored towards a strategy that incorporates historic cards, which may not be feasible or optimal for all deck archetypes. This requirement could limit the card’s versatility and inclusion in diverse decklists.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its activation cost plus the need to have a historic card to discard, Urza’s Tome can be seen as having a steep combined cost for its potential draw effect. In the context of other draw engines available in MTG, there could be alternatives that provide card advantage at a lower opportunity cost.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Urza’s Tome is a multifaceted card that can be utilized in a variety of deck builds. It seamlessly integrates with strategies focusing on artifact synergy or historical spells, enhancing your gameplay with its diverse applications.
Combo Potential: This card offers impressive combo opportunities by transforming your graveyard into a resource, allowing you to draw additional cards. Pair it with cards that fill the graveyard for maximum efficiency and watch your strategy unfold.
Meta-Relevance: As the game’s ecosystem constantly evolves, Urza’s Tome remains relevant. It can adapt to various meta environments, either as an engine for card advantage or as an enabler for graveyard-based strategies, keeping your deck competitive.
How to beat
Urza’s Tome is a unique artifact in MTG that grants you card advantage by allowing you to draw cards from your graveyard. By discarding a historic card, you enable the Tome’s ability to efficiently cycle through your deck while refilling your hand. To counteract this strategic advantage, one must disrupt the user’s graveyard or limit their access to historic cards.
Applying strategies such as graveyard hate with cards like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt helps prevent opponents from utilizing their graveyard as a resource. Alternatively, you could employ artifact destruction spells such as Nature’s Claim or Abrade specifically targeting the Tome. Control decks might include counterspells to never let the Tome hit the battlefield. Each of these tactics serves to deny the advantage granted by Urza’s Tome, making it much harder for your opponent to maintain card superiority.
Ultimately, the key to overcoming the challenge of Urza’s Tome lies in understanding and disrupting the essential synergy it has with the historic cards. Timely interference with your opponent’s graveyard or artifact-based strategies can neutralize the value generated by Urza’s Tome and tilt the odds in your favor.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Urza's Tome MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria, 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 Urza's Tome 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
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Urza's Tome has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Urza's Tome card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-04-27 | A card, spell, or permanent is historic if it has the legendary supertype, the artifact card type, or the Saga subtype. Having two of those qualities doesn’t make an object more historic than another or provide an additional bonus—an object either is historic or it isn’t. |
| 2018-04-27 | You can choose to discard a card even if there’s a historic card in your graveyard you could exile. |
| 2018-04-27 | You don’t choose whether to discard or exile a card from your graveyard until after you see the card you draw. |