Selective Memory MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2010-02-05
Set symbol
Set name	Worldwake
Set code	WWK
Number	37
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Chippy

Key Takeaways

Deck thinning with Selective Memory improves chances of drawing into critical game-winning combos or essential cards.
Strategically exiles cards to streamline decks, aiding in acceleration and better draw quality during crucial turns.
Ideal for combo decks; reshapes the deck by removing non-essential cards, leaving only the potent game-changers.

Text of card

Search your library for any number of nonland cards and exile them. Then shuffle your library.

"I of all people know that memory is not a safe place to hide valuables." —Jace Beleren

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Selective Memory enables a unique form of deck thinning by allowing you to search for nonland cards and exile them. While this doesn’t directly draw you cards, it dramatically increases the likelihood of drawing into your game-winning combos or essential pieces, creating a form of pseudo card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While not providing direct mana acceleration, Selective Memory can be pivotal in assembling the components necessary for resource acceleration strategies. By exiling redundant or unnecessary spells, it streamlines your deck, ensuring that future draws bring you closer to your key resources or acceleration mechanisms.

Instant Speed: Although Selective Memory is a sorcery, its effect of exiling a bulk of nonland cards can serve a similar purpose to instant-speed interaction. It offers a preemptive move that can be executed prior to your key turn, clearing the path and setting the stage for an unobstructed play or combo when you need it most.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Selective Memory demands a high level of strategic planning due to its effect of removing cards from your own library. This attribute potentially thins valuable resources from your deck, possibly impairing late-game draws when in search of crucial cards.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue mana can be somewhat restrictive, as it slots primarily into blue or blue-centric decks, often excluding itself from broader deck strategies that may not run sufficient blue mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total converted mana cost of four, which includes two blue mana, Selective Memory faces stiff competition from alternative library manipulation or card advantage spells. Some players might prefer using lower-cost spells with similar or even broader effects, therefore questioning the mana efficiency of Selective Memory within their deck’s strategy.

Reasons to Include Selective Memory in Your Collection

Versatility: Selective Memory offers a unique way to sculpt your deck mid-game. It can remove unnecessary or redundant cards from your deck, increasing the chances of drawing your key spells and lands.

Combo Potential: This card is a linchpin in specific combo decks that use it to exile all irrelevant cards, leaving only a handful of combo pieces to be drawn. Perfect for a controlled approach to executing a game-winning strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In metas heavy with mill strategies or opponents aiming to use your graveyard against you, Selective Memory can effectively sidestep these tactics by eliminating the targets from your deck before they’re ever a threat.

How to beat

Selective Memory is an intriguing card in the MTG universe, offering players the unique ability to search their library for any number of nonland cards, exile them, and then shuffle their library. This card can be instrumental in fine-tuning a deck’s performance mid-game but facing it can also be intimidating. To effectively counter this strategy, consider introducing cards that shuffle the graveyard back into the library, nullifying the selective exile. Cards like Gaea’s Blessing or Elixir of Immortality can be particularly effective.

Spot removal cards won’t directly counteract Selective Memory’s ability, but can manage the threats that might arise from a tightened deck. Also, disruption tactics such as discard or counter spells — for instance, Thoughtseize or Mana Leak — can prevent your opponent from effectively utilizing their sculpted deck. Additionally, having an array of versatile answers or threats that don’t rely on your opponent’s graveyard can provide an upper hand. Ensuring your deck has a strong, proactive game plan can often overshadow the selective advantage that Selective Memory provides.

To summarize, while Selective Memory can be a daunting card to play against, diversifying your deck with graveyard shuffling, spot removal, and preemptive disruption can thwart an opponent’s plan, keeping you ahead in the game.

Cards like Selective Memory

Selective Memory stands out in the sphere of library manipulation within Magic: The Gathering. In contrast, cards like Serum Visions offer a more conservative approach to deck sculpting, allowing a player to draw one card and then scry two. While Serum Visions provides immediate card advantage, Selective Memory excels in strategic deck thinning, offering the chance to exile any number of nonland cards that might be cluttering draws.

Tunnel Vision is another relative in terms of tailored deck configuration, albeit through a significantly different method. Rather than exiling selected cards like Selective Memory, Tunnel Vision names a card and reveals cards from the top of the library until the named card is revealed, then placing the rest on the bottom of the library, which can set up for a dramatic combo finish.

Ultimately, for players looking to refine their draws in Magic: The Gathering or prepare for powerful combinations, Selective Memory offers a unique and proactive way to remove potential dead draws, sculpting a game plan with precision.

Cards similar to Selective Memory by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Selective Memory MTG card by a specific set like Worldwake, 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 Selective Memory and other MTG cards: