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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Archenemy | Legal |
| Arena | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Freeform | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Historic Brawl | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Modern Beyond Horizons | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Planar Constructed | Legal |
| Planechase | Legal |
| Pre-release | Legal |
| Quest Magic | Legal |
| Standard | Legal |
| Standard Brawl | Legal |
| Tiny Leaders | Legal |
| Vanguard | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Mystic Archaeologist
Host Creature — Human Wizard
: Draw two cards.
Kazierts on Which is More Important: Total …
8 months ago
The answer is pretty simple, it always depends on context. Magic is a very complex game and situations matter a lot. A lot of examples you gave already mentions different contexts and cannot be judged the same way as other examples.
Of the cards with activated abilities you mentioned, only Spectral Sailor and Faerie Mastermind are any good because they are useful aside from their card draw ability. A lot of times you don't even need to activate them since that's just tge cherry on top. Unless you have a very specific combo with Mystic Archaeologist, it's a horrible card because the only thing you can with it is pay a lot of mana to draw only 2 cards. For 5 mana, Mulldrifter is miles better. However, maybe you're making a weird Wizard EDH with Zirda as a companion and Mystic Archaeologist happens to fit perfectly.
Even the example with Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers and Vernadi Shieldmate is relative. The Cavaliers is an Elf Knight while the Shieldmate is a Human soldier, which means, as more "efficient" as one is over the other, some decks might completely one of them.
Usually, cheaper cards are better, but synergies, strategies and redundancy also influence card choice. Is Searing Spear better than Shock? Maybe, but maybe some people prefer to have only burn spells in their deck. Maybe there's a format where Lightning Bolt doesn't exist and both Shock and Searing Spear (or Lightning Strike since it's the more modern version) go in the same deck.
Very few things are so black and white in MTG.
DemonDragonJ on Which is More Important: Total …
8 months ago
I often wonder which is more important for a card: its overall cost or its cost-to-effect ratio (i.e., its mana efficiency); for example, there is no question that Lightning Bolt is superior to both Shock and Searing Spear, but, between the other two cards, I would choose Shock over Searing Spear in the majority of situations, because Shock has a ratio of 2 damage for 1 mana, whereas Searing Spear has a ratio of 1.5 damage for 1 mana.
For a slightly more complicated example, compare Eladamri's Call to Shared Summons; the former card can find a creature for a mere 2 mana, which is very efficient, but it simply replaces one card in its controller's hand with another, whereas the latter card can search for two creatures, which leaves its caster with an additional card in hand, compared to before it is cast, but it is less efficient, costing 2.5 mana per creature found, so it is not as clear which card is superior, there.
Opportunity is literally a double version of Quick Study, as they both have the same ratio of cost to effect, but which is the superior card? Is it really better to spend six mana to draw four cards, as doing that would leave the caster with less mana to cast the spells that they draw? Also, Quick Study is strictly better than is Inspiration, as it costs 1 less mana to cast, but, between Concentrate and Tidings, I am not certain which is superior, since they both allow a player to draw one less card than their mana values.
On the subject of card drawing, in the realm of repeatable card drawing, Arcane Encyclopedia is strictly better than is Jayemdae Tome, as it costs only 3 mana to draw a single card, compared to 4, but Tower of Fortunes can draw four cards for 8 mana, which is a ratio of 2 mana per card, but that ability costs 8 mana, overall, so the question is if it is worth 8 mana to draw four cards.
Continuing that theme, there are numerous creatures (and one enchantment) that allow a player to repeatedly draw cards, such as Azure Mage, Spectral Sailor, Faerie Mastermind, Triskaidekaphile, or Treasure Trove, a ratio of 4 mana for one card, but Mystic Archaeologist can draw 2 two cards for 5 mana, a ratio of 2.5 mana per card, which is definitely far superior, in my mind.
Hedron Archive
is literally two Mind Stones put together, and Dreamstone Hedron is literally a triple Mind Stone, so they all have the same cost-to-effect ratio, but I prefer the original Mind Stone, since the existence of Thran Dynamo and Gilded Lotus makes it difficult to justify using the other mana rocks, at least, for me.
To use the example of Skyward Eye Prophets, a 1/1 creature for 2 mana is perfectly acceptable, a 2/2 creature for 4 mana is slightly expensive, but nothing outrageous, but a 3/3 creature for 6 mana is simply too much, although, as a side note, I have a copy of that creature, in one of my decks, because I really like its ability.
For a further example, I would choose Mantis Rider over Lightning Angel in the majority of situations, since it provides a better rate than does the angel, and, similarly, I would choose Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers over Vernadi Shieldmate, since the former creature is more efficient for its cost.
I believe that I have provided a sufficient number of examples, for this discussion, so which trait do you believe is more important: overall mana cost or cost-to-effect ratio/mana efficiency? I certainly am interested to hear your thoughts on this matter.
Profet93 on
Wizard101 | FREE Download | Play Now!
2 years ago
+1 I got it up to 269, nice
Downloading deck - Virus infects desktop
Mystic Archaeologist and Sphinx of Magosi seem very expensive for card draw, even if the former is a wizard. Blue has better draw to consider IMO.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - Ramp
Cavern of Souls - Anti counterspell
enpc on Kruphix Control help
4 years ago
Is your primary ramp goingto be coming from fetching additional lands or from rocks/dorks (not that you can't have both)? This will give you a bit of an idea about filling out the ramp portion of the deck.
For any permission based deck, having repeatable card draw is super important. Cards like Mystic Archaeologist and Whispers of the Muse will be good for sinking lots of mana into. You may also want to look into cards like Prismite to help you convert the stored colourless mana back into coloured mana.
ZeusInc25 on
Infinite Mana Banefire
6 years ago
Using Llanowar Envoy you can convert the green into blue and white. Once you hit 7/7 on Marwyn, the Nurturer you generate on extra mana every cycle. Then you use the mana on Mystic Archaeologist to find Banefire and win the game.
Hexaflexagon on
Drowning city
6 years ago
Hey, cjparmen, here is your decklist
Dimir Splash Red Mill
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
4 Opt
SynergyBuild on
Archeology for Dummies
6 years ago
Mystic Archaeologist is both sweet value and flavorful for this deck's title!
COUGARMEAT on
6 years ago
You are very correct about the 2 drop slot. I was having the same trouble with mine. Mystic Archaeologist and League Guildmage seemed too slow. Ended up running Wee Dragonauts and some 1 mana cantrips. I moved my Wizard's Retort to the sideboard.
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