Extract MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Odyssey
Set code	ODY
Number	85
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Cavotta

Key Takeaways

Extract cards offer significant card advantage with their ability to manipulate the top of your library.
Playing Extract at instant speed affords players flexible and reactive gameplay opportunities.
Despite their power, Extract cards require careful play to mitigate their potential drawbacks.

Text of card

Search target player's library for a card and remove that card from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

To say Nixar had a splitting headache would be a bit of an understatement.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Extract MTG card excels at providing card selection to ensure you see your best spells more frequently. Its ability to look at the top card of your library and potentially add that card to your hand is superb for gaining a competitive edge.

Resource Acceleration: This card also does wonders in ramping up your resources, allowing you to exile the top card of your library and play it this turn, thus potentially reducing the wait time to bring out your heavy hitters and outpace your opponent.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of acting at instant speed means this card can be a real game-changer. Hold up your mana to interact on your opponent’s turn and if nothing else demands your attention, you can extract a card, furthering your strategy without missing a beat.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Extract cards often come with a discard condition, compelling players to get rid of valuable hand cards just to activate their effects. This can disrupt strategic planning and deplete your hand, leaving you vulnerable to your opponent’s plays.

Specific Mana Cost: Extract cards tend to have precise mana demands, frequently requiring a combination of different colors. Deck builders are forced to consider mana base carefully, which can affect the deck`s flexibility and consistency, especially in multi-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Furthermore, the mana cost for harnessing such potent abilities is at times on the higher end of the scale. This steep cost can slow down your game tempo, potentially giving an edge to opponents with more efficient, low-cost strategies. Players must weigh the significant mana investment against the immediate and long-term benefits of the card in their game plan.

Reasons to Include Extract Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Extract shines in various deck builds, able to target critical pieces in an opponent’s library, making it a strategic choice in both main decks and sideboards.

Combo Potential: This card can dismantle an opponent’s combo before it starts, acting as a preemptive strike against decks relying heavily on specific synergies or win conditions.

Meta-Relevance: In competitive play where certain cards become pillars of the meta, Extract can serve as a direct answer to these prevalent threats, maintaining its value across multiple game formats.

How to beat

Extract in Magic: The Gathering offers a unique challenge to players, allowing one to target an opponent and view their hand, then compel them to discard a card of your choosing. This can seriously disrupt an opponent’s strategy by removing key pieces before they can be played. To effectively counter this, one approach involves increasing the redundancy of important cards in your deck, ensuring that losing one doesn’t significantly impede your game plan. Additionally, employing cards that benefit from being in the graveyard or that can be cast from it can turn a seemingly disadvantageous discard into a strategic advantage.

Another tactic is to employ instant speed spells and abilities that can be used in response to Extract. This ensures that even if a vital card is targeted, you can still gain some benefit from it before it’s discarded. Moreover, having a robust draw engine can quickly replace lost resources and maintain the pressure on your opponent. Consider also using cards with the “flash” keyword, which allows you to play them at any time you could cast an instant, thus minimizing the impact of having to discard them if they are targeted by Extract.

In essence, beating Extract calls for a deck that’s resilient to disruption, one that either minimizes the damage of discard effects or utilizes the graveyard as a resource. A strategic mix of redundancy, responsive play, and recovery mechanisms can effectively mitigate the threat posed by Extract and secure your position in the game.

Understanding the Value of Extract in the Meta

Extract is a unique piece in the MTG universe, offering a nuanced advantage for deck builders. This intricately designed card finds its purpose in precision rather than abundance, allowing you to remove a nonland card from an opponent’s deck. When spotlighting analogous cards, one might ponder Surgical Extraction, which operates at instant speed and can be paid for with life instead of mana, appealing to many strategic game plans that rely on tempo and surprise.

Alternatively, we have Jester’s Cap, where the strategy skews towards controlling the late game. Extract’s one-time usage falters against the Cap’s ability to surgically dismantle key components of an opponent’s deck strategy but at a higher mana cost and slower speed. Whereas Cranial Extraction stands out for its capacity to strip all copies of a card, a heavy-handed approach compared to Extract’s delicate snipe.

Each card in the extraction category carries a purpose mapped to a deck’s strategic line. While Surgical Extraction and Jester’s Cap might offer broader manipulation, Extract’s low mana cost and precise targeting can be just the silver bullet needed against combo decks, emphasizing its distinct place within the pantheon of MTG removal spells.

Cards similar to Extract by color, type and mana cost

Drafna's Restoration - MTG Card versions

Merfolk Secretkeeper // Venture Deeper - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Extract MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Extract and other MTG cards: