Rate each draw engine from 0 to 5.

Commander (EDH) forum

Posted on May 17, 2018, 3:56 a.m. by StopShot

A draw engine is a two card synergy that results in repeatable card draw. I run a Mardu deck so most of the cards will be in colors. I've numbered each engine so you just need to post the engine number followed by your personal score for each. (Feel free to skip any since the list is lengthy. No card is mentioned more than once however.)

A score means the draw engine is janky, unreliable, clunky, inefficient, etc. Basically an engine you'd never consider running under any circumstance. A score means the draw engine is consistent, reliable, fast, and effecient at drawing cards. This score signifies a considerable auto-include for any EDH deck.

) Skullclamp + Bitterblossom//Reassembling Skeleton = Draw off equip cost.

) Land Tax + Scroll Rack = Exchange 3 basic lands for 3 new cards every turn.

) Mentor of the Meek + Norin the Wary = Draw a card every time Norin flickers.

) Underworld Connections + Deserted Temple = Double draw by untapping enchanted land.

) Skyhunter Skirmisher + Mask of Memory = Dig through four cards while discarding only two.

Sensei's Divining Top + Quicksmith Genius = Repeatable loot effect by resolving QG's ability last.

Greed + Ivory Tower//Authority of the Consuls = Gain life to mitigate life loss from Greed.

Ghirapur Orrery + Tireless Tribe = Discard your hand to activate the Orrery's second ability.

Tower of Fortunes + Braid of Fire//Mana Flare = Use extra mana to activate ToF's ability.

Geth's Grimoire + Geier Reach Sanitarium = Draw extra cards equal to the number of opponents.

) Phyrexian Arena + Strionic Resonator = Double draw from Phyrexian Arena.

) Well of Lost Dreams + Peace of Mind = Discard one card to draw three.

) Aggressive Mining + Drownyard Temple = Pay three mana to draw two cards on every turn.

) Endless Ranks of the Dead + Cryptbreaker = Produce lots of zombies to draw cards with.

) Gift of Immortality + Moriok Replica = Pay 2 mana to draw 2 cards and lose 2 life on every turn.

) Invasion Plans + Infiltration Lens = Draw 2 cards for each creature that blocks equipped creature.

) Otherworld Atlas + Voltaic Key//Energy Chamber = Accelerate charge counters for draw power.

) Call the Bloodline + Slate of Ancestry = Produce multiple vampires to draw multiple cards.

) Strands of Night + Magus of the Wheel = Repeatable draw seven cards.

) Humble Defector + Homeward Path = HP regains control of Defector after drawing 2 cards.

Not all draw engines need to be rated. Rating the ones that are the most interesting will do. This feedback will be crucial for other people when considering what draw engine to use for their decks.

Suns_Champion says... #2

Nice! I play pretty casually and play almost exclusively Boros colors, so here's my take:

  • 1) 3.5. Skullclamp is really good in just about any token, sac or equipment deck.
  • 2) 4. The only thing holding this back is the price.
  • 3) 3. Not bad. The fact that you have to pay every time is annoying. Not quite as good as number 1.
  • 4) 2.5. Not a huge fan. This basically eats up half your mana base and makes you the target of Strip Mines.
  • 5) 2.5. Mask of Memory is pretty decent. Middle of the road.
  • 6) 3. Solid. I like it.
  • 7) 3. Good plan, Lifegain to mitigate paying life. Best with Necropotence.
  • 8) 2. Still helps opponents, and normally discard outlets are useless without the deck being built around them.
  • 9) 2. Tower of Fortunes is not really good if you don't have insane ramp. Better options out there.
  • 10) 3.5. Nice!
  • 11) 1. Just play Phyrexian Arena. Use Strionic Resonator for bigger trigger effects.
  • 12) 2. Well of Lost Dreams is actually pretty good, but there are better lifegain effects than Peace of Mind. I like Inventors' Fair.
  • 13) 2.5. You have to be pretty desperate to use this but it seems like it'd be okay sometimes.
  • 14) 3.5. Tribal is always powerful.
  • 15) 2.5. It's okay, kinda easy to interupt.
  • 16) 3.5. I love Infiltration Lens!
  • 17) 1. Little too janky and helps opponents.
  • 18) 4. Because Slate of Ancestry is so good.
  • 19) 1. I feel like there are better ways to repeat wheels. This one costs too much.
  • 20) 5. My all time personal favorite. Humble Defector is good alone and my top two-drop in all my Boros/red decks.

So again, from a strictly Boros perspective, those are my thoughts. I'm sure you can see the biases and the ones I've actually tested haha!

Others to consider:

Hope some of this helps. This will be a good resource!

May 17, 2018 10:29 a.m.

MagicalHacker says... #3

I know draw engines are powerful, but I typically don't build with them in mind. I'll play Cryptbreaker if I have zombies, Well of Lost Dreams if I have life gain, and Geth's Grimoire if I have discard, but the synergistic cards won't automatically find a spot in the deck unless that card is also synergistic with a good number of cards in the rest of the deck too. For draw, I just pick single cards for draw, and if I accidentally assemble an engine, great. I won't cripple my deckbuilding to try to have one though.

May 17, 2018 11:47 a.m.

Wolfsbane706 says... #4

Rating 2: Drogskol Reaver and Horizon Chimera. Mandatory draw-your-whole-damn-deck. Not sure if it counts since it's a lose condition, but it's a wonderful shenanigan with Laboratory Maniac.

May 17, 2018 12:38 p.m.

Suns_Champion says... #5

I should point out that I agree with MagicalHacker here, I generally don't go out of my way to set up draw engines, rather, they usually pop up within the synergies of what the deck wants to do.

So if a card is only good with the thing that draws cards and doesn't go with the theme of the deck otherwise, like say Peace of Mind or Norin the Wary, than it probably will not make the cut.

May 17, 2018 4:53 p.m.

StopShot says... #6

I was writing my own review of each card draw engine and I was almost done proof-reading and editing before tappedout crashed on me and I lost everything. I don't feel like typing out everything all over again because it was 2 hours worth of work, but I still want to supply a second opinion for those reading, so here's my review with just the scores I'd give for each. I apologize for the lack of explanation. Blame tappedout.

(4.5)

(4.0)

(3.0)

(3.5)

(2.5)

(3.0)

(2.5)

(2.0)

(2.5)

(3.0)

(3.0)

(3.5)

(2.5)

(2.5) = (When in a non-zombie deck)

(3.0)

(3.0)

(2.0)

(2.5)

(3.0)

(3.0)

Feel free to ask me why I gave a specific one the score I did. I really wanted to type them all out, but I'm kind of disheartened from losing all my work.

May 17, 2018 6:34 p.m.

Please login to comment