Arcane Encyclopedia

Artifact

, : Draw a card.

Discussion (45)

DemonDragonJ on Nature's Bounty

1 week ago

I have replaced Mirari with Arcane Encyclopedia , which lowered the average converted mana cost of this deck from 4.39 to 4.35, which is very nice; I also am considering replacing Cradle of Vitality with Archangel of Thune , which would increase the average mana cost of this deck, but she is overall a superior card, in my mind.

Optimator on Depala and her (Mostly) Dwarven crew

1 week ago

You also don't have any card draw. You do have a good source in the command zone, which, is nice. Unfortunately, Boros colors do draw the worst, so you'll have to rely on some not-so-budget mostly-colorless staples or less-than-efficient engines. The prevailing wisdom is ~8 draw pieces but you'll be lucky to have half that in Boros colors. I personally consider card advantage in the command zone to count as ~2 draw cards due to the accessibility.

Mind's Eye , Staff of Nin , Arch of Orazca , Arcane Encyclopedia , Endless Atlas , Reforge the Soul , Cathartic Reunion , Rogue's Gloves , Infiltration Lens Coercive Portal , Mask of Memory , Trading Post , Conqueror's Galleon  ^Flip, and Well of Lost Dreams are about as good as you can get without going into much more expensive cards or other colors.

Good luck and have fun! I hear Depala is a fun commander.

bushido_man96 on Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?

2 weeks ago

Book of Rass is better than Arcane Encyclopedia . Arcane Encyclopedia is probably only decent card draw in a Boros deck. And even then, Book of Rass is still better, even at 6 CMC.

zwells3 on Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?

2 weeks ago

Mirari is generally a slow, overcosted artifact mainly used to sink extra mana into and it does not gain you card advantage in any meaningful way. Arcane Encyclopedia is similar in that it is mainly useful if you happen to have a bunch of generic mana sitting around, but even then it is not repeatable unless you have a Voltaic Key etcc. Arcane Signet is nothing at all like the other two cards you are considering in its place. It is a 2 CMC colour producing rock. If you're asking which of these is "best" it almost certainly the signet.

In reading some of your comments, the encyclopedia's "repeated use" is certainly outmatched by Rhystic Study , Mystic Remora , Necropotence , Sylvan Library , Phyrexian Arena , Dark Confidant etc. You're right in that it is colourless and can be activated at instant speed, though I would say that Sensei's Divining Top does this much better.

The upkeep cost of Mystic Remora is pennies compared to its taxing effect on your opponents. Also, you have multiple turns before it costs even the same amount as the encyclopedia.

DemonDragonJ on Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?

3 weeks ago

I have decided that I shall evaluate each deck based upon its individual needs; for example, all of my decks that contain both red and white shall have Arcane Encyclopedia , because those two colors have the least emphasis on gaining card advantage in this game, and card advantage is of vital importance in EDH, whereas my five-colored deck (with Progenitus as its general) will have Arcane Signet , because the high mana curve of that deck makes that card a necessity.

GhostChieftain on Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?

3 weeks ago

Remora is the best. Get like 3 or so turns worth of use and then let it die. There is a reason nearly all blue cEDH decks use it. Unless you are doing mono white, red, or boros, it is 99% of the time better to use a specific black, blue, or green draw than artifact based draw. You are actively making your decks worse by forcing the inclusion of Arcane Encyclopedia . If you are trying to keep yourself weaker, that is fine, but if not don't run encyclopedia in all decks.

DemonDragonJ on Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?

3 weeks ago

DrukenReaps, I definitely appreciate your feedback, but, outside of the color blue, what could be better than Arcane Encyclopedia ? I know that black has great card drawing, but I am seeking a source of card drawing that can be used repeatedly, is colorless, and can be used at instant speed, and there are very few cards that satisfy all three of those criteria.

DemonDragonJ on Arcane Encyclopedia or Arcane Signet?

3 weeks ago

Nearly every one of my EDH decks contains a copy of Mirari , but I have decided that that card is too situational to be useful in every game, so I plan to replace it, but the question is with which card I should replace it.

I have narrowed my choices down to one of two cards: Arcane Encyclopedia and Arcane Signet , both of which have a lower mana cost than do Mirari , which shall help to lower the overall mana curve of each of my decks. Having an additional source of mana is always good, but having a repeatable source of card advantage is also a good thing.

What does everyone else say about this? Which card should replace Mirari in my EDH decks?