What is so good about Library of Alexandria?
General forum
Posted on Dec. 6, 2013, 1:30 a.m. by megamastergamer
I don't get what is so good about Library of Alexandria ! I know that the tap to draw a card is good but usually my hand is never seven cards, besides at the start of the game or if I have a mana shortage. Can someone explain to me what is so good about it?
Epochalyptik says... #3
The Q&A is for rules questions. Moved to General.
December 6, 2013 4:31 a.m.
Drawing multiple cards for one colorless per card is ridiculously cost efficient. One of the oldest combos in Magic was Land Tax and Library of Alexandria (and the one that got Library of Alexandria banned/restricted). You almost always had a full hand to activate Library of Alexandria , even if you only got one trigger from Land Tax .
If Library of Alexandria is in your opening hand (and even better if you're on the draw), you're going to get cards off of it. If you have Brainstorm s, Dark Confidant s, etc. etc. you have a lot of cards in your hand to get activations.
It's definitely not a card you want to play in aggro decks. Control decks love it.
December 6, 2013 5:10 a.m.
outside of it being a good card there is also a low supply which ups the price.
December 6, 2013 5:32 a.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #6
We tried it in EDH the other night, having one Library of Alexandria in each deck.
Turn 1 :Library of Alexandria , tap it on the opponent turn to draw a card, gratz you have 8 cards in hand
Turn 2: draw, play strictly 2 card.... Repeat the process.
You always are at maximum hand size, while playing 2 card per turn at the cost of 1 colorless mana. The longer you can play a slow constant, max hand size game, the more card advantage it gets you.... Until you finaly make your move and drop below 7 card (probsbly killing one opponent, or making an important play).
The card is just amazing, even without combos, and there is a reason why it is banned. We tried it in our P10 (P9+ Library of Alexandria ) EDH night, and it had a biggest impact on games than the P9....
December 6, 2013 9:21 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #7
Library of Alexandria is one of those cards that's really difficult to understand unless you play with it yourself and see first-hand what it can do. I used to include it in the decks I'd build on the old Magic computer game by Microprose, and it's completely unfair. A personal Howling Mine for almost no card/mana investment that can start working for you from the first turn of the game will give you an insane advantage over any opponent who doesn't also have one.
December 6, 2013 11:19 a.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #8
Ditto what everyone else said. I'd like to add that anytime you can draw cards = card advantage. That's boss. In the early days of magic with Ancestral Recall , Necropotence , and Library of Alexandria there was little drawback to gain card advantage. Now those cards are banned in Legacy, restricted in Vintage, and game developers have realized the power of said card draw. Now there's cards like Think Twice , Jace's Ingenuity , etc. Card draw is 'worse' due to the higher CMC and drawbacks.
@ Epochalyptik Have you done an article on Card Advantage or mentioned it as of yet?
December 6, 2013 1:13 p.m.
aeonstoremyliver says... #10
I couldn't recall... That'd be sweet though.
CalciferDK says... #2
This is not a rules question.
You can draw an extra card each turn with this, starting turn 1.. Dark Confidant does this turn 3 at an expense of 1 life and its heavily played in modern and legacy.The library is a land and therefore uncounterable and hard to deal with.
December 6, 2013 4:19 a.m.