Quest for Ancient Secrets MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	2009-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar
Set code	ZEN
Number	59
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mike Bierek

Key Takeaways

Enables strategic graveyard manipulation, allowing for the repeated use of high-impact spells.
Instant speed activation of Quest for Ancient Secrets offers tactical flexibility during play.
Specific mana requirements and higher cost may deter inclusion in mana-sensitive decks.

Text of card

Whenever a card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you may put a quest counter on Quest for Ancient Secrets. Remove five quest counters from Quest for Ancient Secrets and sacrifice it: Target player shuffles his or her graveyard into his or her library.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Quest for Ancient Secrets presents a unique opportunity to delve into one’s own deck, shuffling five cards from the graveyard back into the library. This recycling effect pays off by potentially drawing into more powerful spells or key components of one’s strategy, providing a form of card advantage by giving access to resources that have been already used.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly ramp up mana like other cards, its ability to return valuable cards back into the library effectively accelerates a player’s resources. This becomes a major asset in long-drawn-out games where the exhaustion of key spells can determine the victor, allowing players to reuse pivotal spells or creatures.

Instant Speed: The ability to enact this reshuffling process at instant speed gives players a tactical edge, allowing them to wait for the opportune moment or to respond to the plays of others, thereby maximizing the impact of each card cycled back into their library. Holding up mana for Quest for Ancient Secrets also means the threat of its activation is constantly looming, which can influence how opponents play their own turns.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Quest for Ancient Secrets requires players to exchange valuable cards from their hand in order to fulfill its discard condition. This can potentially hinder their hand advantage and strategic options, especially in crucial moments when every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: This card necessitates a precise combination of mana colors to cast, which could pose restrictions in multi-colored decks or those that are mana-source selective. Having to meet this requirement might disrupt a player’s mana curve or strategy due to its specificity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that might be considered steep by some for retrieving a single card from your graveyard to your library, the cost-benefit of Quest for Ancient Secrets may be weighed against other resource-efficient options, potentially making it a less attractive choice for faster-paced or more economically designed decks.

Reasons to Include Quest for Ancient Secrets in Your Collection

Versatility: Quest for Ancient Secrets fits seamlessly into various deck archetypes. This enables flexible strategies centered around graveyard manipulation, offering a way to reshuffle your own or opponents’ cards back into libraries.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to accumulate quest counters has great synergy with strategies that involve card milling or self-mill, allowing players to harness the potential of graveyard recirculation as a resource, thereby supporting infinite combos or recycling critical spells.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that emphasizes decking out opponents or harnessing the power of the graveyard, Quest for Ancient Secrets can serve as a crucial enabler or safeguard. It can disrupt graveyard-centric decks while providing a fail-safe against mill strategies, making it a wise investment in such an environment.

How to Beat Quest for Ancient Secrets

Quest for Ancient Secrets stands out in the realm of enchantments that challenge players to think strategically about their deck milling techniques. This blue enchantment requires its controller to mill five cards from their deck to the graveyard to trigger its ability. Once accomplished, it provides an ample reward—the reshuffling of the entire graveyard back into the library. This mechanic is a form of defense against mill strategies and can be a way to recycle valuable cards.

Confronting Quest for Ancient Secrets demands a multifaceted approach. Graveyard disruption spells, such as Bojuka Bog or Tormod’s Crypt, can effectively remove the milled cards before the quest is completed. Counterspells remain a reliable defense, keeping the enchantment from ever hitting the board. Additionally, playing aggressive decks can also be a method to overpower the game before the enchantment’s effect becomes relevant. Thus, while Quest for Ancient Secrets offers a unique path to victory and provides longevity in a match, it has vulnerabilities that can be exploited with the right tactics and timing.

When assessing Quest for Ancient Secrets’ impact on the game, approach it with a strategy that limits your opponent’s ability to exploit its effect or accelerate your own game plan to ensure victory remains within reach.

Cards like Quest for Ancient Secrets

The intriguing archetype of self-replenishing blue spells in Magic: The Gathering welcomes Quest for Ancient Secrets to its pantheon. This enchantment bears a resemblance to similar cards that offer incremental advantages over long-term gameplay. Quest for the Gravelord, for example, shares the quest mechanic but focuses instead on black’s tendency towards creature destruction to gather quest counters. While Quest for Ancient Secrets does not interact with the battlefield directly, its ability to reshuffle an entire graveyard into one’s library parallels some of the long-game tactics seen with Elixir of Immortality.

In comparison, another kin in this archetype is Psychic Spiral, which also targets the player’s graveyard, converting discarded cards into a weapon to decrease an opponent’s library. While Quest for Ancient Secrets isn’t built for a mill strategy, it serves a distinctive purpose in allowing players to reuse their graveyard’s contents, similar to the famed Elixir. Tomod’s Crypt, however, offers a one-use graveyard removal without the possibility of its user benefiting from the graveyard’s conventional use.

Overall, Quest for Ancient Secrets stands out for its specialized role. It brings a dimension of recycling that is essential for decks that hinge on the use and reuse of their own graveyards, ensuring that key spells remain accessible throughout the match.

Quest for the Gravelord - MTG Card versions

Elixir of Immortality - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Quest for Ancient Secrets by color, type and mana cost

Cloak of Invisibility - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Quest for Ancient Secrets MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar, 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 Quest for Ancient Secrets and other MTG cards: