Tome Anima MTG Card

Core Set 2021 (M21)
2020-07-03 - Number 81

Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
2022-12-02 - Number 364

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Spirit
Power	3
Toughness	3

Key Takeaways

Enables card advantage through draw abilities, enhancing hand options and in-game strategies.
Its synergy with instant-speed draws maximizes turn efficiency, keeping opponents off-balance.
Despite utility, it requires strategic hand management and precise mana allocation to optimize.

Text of card

Tome Anima can't be blocked as long as you've drawn two or more cards this turn.

Sometimes knowledge takes on a life of its own.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tome Anima is a unique piece in your deck that ensures your hand remains full by allowing you to draw a card each time you’ve drawn your second card each turn. This inherent ability offers an ongoing advantage, providing you with more options and strategies as the game progresses.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, Tome Anima can help speed up your game by smoothing out your draws. A steady flow of cards can lead to more land plays and hence, faster access to your more powerful spells and abilities.

Instant Speed: Although Tome Anima itself is not an instant, its ability synergizes well with instant-speed draw effects that can trigger its ability outside of your draw step. This allows you to optimize your turns and the sequencing of your spells, keeping your opponents guessing and giving you the upper hand during each turn cycle.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Tome Anima mandates that a player discard a card to activate its ability. For players who are clinging to key components of their strategy, this requirement can become a significant setback. Dwindling your own hand can sometimes lead to tricky situations, especially if the opposition capitalizes on your vulnerability.

Specific Mana Cost: Assembling the precise mana composition to summon Tome Anima can be perplexing, particularly in a multicolored deck. If your mana base isn’t perfectly tuned, this creature might linger in your hand longer than desired, potentially stalling your game plan.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When you weigh Tome Anima against other options in your arsenal, the mana investment might give you pause. While its effects are beneficial, there are cards that could provide a similar level of utility for a lower cost, granting you more flexibility and agility during gameplay.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tome Anima slides into numerous deck archetypes with ease, particularly those that emphasize card draw. Due to its stipulation for nonland card drawing, it’s a perfect match for blue-centric decks looking to capitalize on sustained card advantage.

Combo Potential: This card shines in enabling combos by potentially providing a consistent creature presence every turn. It pairs well with spells that draw multiple cards, allowing for repeatable summoning of a potent blocker or attacker without additional mana investment.

Meta-Relevance: In a standard environment where drawing cards is a common strategy, Tome Anima becomes a valuable asset. It can generate significant on-board presence against control decks and outpace opponents in creature-based matchups, making it a strategic inclusion in the current competitive scene.

How to beat

Overcoming the challenges posed by Tome Anima in your MTG matches requires a well-thought-out strategy. This unique creature becomes unblockable as long as you’ve drawn two or more cards during your turn, potentially making it a consistent source of damage for your opponent. However, like many creatures in Magic: The Gathering, it has its vulnerabilities.

To effectively counter Tome Anima, consider employing spells that force your opponent to discard cards, thus limiting their ability to trigger Tome Anima’s ability. Removal spells that don’t target, such as board wipes or cards specifying “destroy all creatures,” can also bypass the unblockable aspect by removing the creature from the field entirely. Additionally, employing instant-speed removals in response to the second card draw can be an efficient way to handle this threat before the unblockability is enabled.

Remember that Tome Anima’s strength is also its weakness. By focusing on denying your opponent the card advantage or being ready with universal removal options, you can ensure that Tome Anima’s impact on the battlefield is minimal. Monitoring your own card draw and countering effectively when your opponent tries to leverage their card advantage is critical to gaining the upper hand against Tome Anima.

Cards like Tome Anima

Tome Anima is a unique creature in the realm of Magic: The Gathering that rewards players for having a passion for the written word—or, in this case, the drawn card. With a similar mechanic to creatures like Looter il-Kor, Tome Anima gains value from card drawing, encouraging engine-building within blue decks. Where Looter il-Kor thrives on a combat-induced draw and discard, Tome Anima instead seeks to protect itself by becoming unblockable provided you’ve drawn two or more cards this turn.

Chart a Course is another spell that echoes this draw-dependant strategy. This sorcery not only draws two cards but, if cast after attacking, doesn’t require you to discard, unlike Tome Anima, which doesn’t discard but demands uninterrupted card drawing for its effect. Lastly, consider Jace’s Erasure, a card synonymous with draw strategies, which instead of offering protection or card advantage, mills the opponents to pave a different path to victory. While less proactive in terms of board presence, Jace’s Erasure exemplifies the myriad of approaches available to players who adore drawing cards.

Ultimately, when evaluating the strengths of Tome Anima within the echelons of similar MTG cards, its ability to become an elusive threat offers a different suite of tactical options, affirming its place for those who wish to navigate their paths to victory through deft deck manipulation and tactical draw strategies.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tome Anima MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2021 and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Tome Anima and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tome Anima Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-07-03 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Johannes Voss.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2020-07-03	Core Set 2021	M21		81	2015	Normal	Black	Johannes Voss
2	2022-12-02	Jumpstart 2022	J22		364	2015	Normal	Black	Johannes Voss

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tome Anima 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
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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