Will WotC Ever Print this Type of Tutor Card?

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Posted on March 11, 2021, 8:40 p.m. by DemonDragonJ

I am planning to build an EDH deck that focuses heavily on instants and sorceries, with Elsha of the Infinite as its general, so I naturally wish to have cards that can search one’s library for instants and sorceries, but there are very few cards that do that, and, among those cards that do, only one is unconditional, Mystical Tutor , but every other card has restrictions on what it can find. However, even Mystical Tutor has the drawback of putting the card atop the library, rather than directly into the player’s hand, which means that it cannot be copied to put multiple cards in hand.

Naturally, I wish that WotC would print a card that can do that; Merchant Scroll is close, but still too conditional. If Eladamri's Call can put a card into hand for only one mana more than Worldly Tutor , then I see no reason why there cannot be a spell that costs 2 mana (likely one red and one blue) that puts any instant or sorcery card directly into a player’s hand.

What does everyone else say about this? Will WotC ever print a card that is to Mystical Tutor as Eladamri's Call is to Worldly Tutor ?

Also, as another question, will there ever be a card that combines Enlightened Tutor with Open the Armory ? Both of those cards are great, but they each have drawbacks that limit their potential usefulness.

shadow63 says... #2

Maybe. The reason why call is ok is there are just so many cards that tutor up creatures

March 11, 2021 9:03 p.m.

Grubbernaut says... #3

I hope not. EDH storm already has so much support, does it really benefit the playerbase and meta to give it what is essentially DT number 2? It wouldn't be game-breaking, but it would add even more consistency to an already consistent archetype.

March 11, 2021 9:10 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #4

Grubbernaut, given that Eladamri's Call exists, I see no reason why there cannot be an equivalent of it for instants and sorceries, or for artifacts and enchantments.

March 11, 2021 9:18 p.m.

Grubbernaut says... #5

Because storm decks, in terms of the competitive meta, are much stronger than creature-based decks - and for that reason, giving them even more strength doesn't solve any problem that currently exists. Perhaps at parity, if you had to discard a card to do so. Otherwise, it's an extremely powerful card, especially with recursion being so prevalent.

If the argument is "Why not?" then my response remains... "Why yes?"

March 11, 2021 9:22 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #6

Grubbernaut, what about a version of Open the Armory that can find any artifact or enchantment, as can Enlightened Tutor ? Would such a card be too powerful?

March 11, 2021 9:26 p.m.

MagicMarc says... #7

Is there a reason Demonic Tutor doesnt work for this? It's 2 mana and can find anything you like.

March 11, 2021 10 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #8

MagicMarc, I am building a red/white/blue deck with Elsha of the Infinite as the general, so Demonic Tutor would not be allowed in such a deck.

March 11, 2021 10:13 p.m.

I sincerely doubt it. And Open the Armory is the perfect example of why. WotC just doesn't make tutors like they used to. They'll still reprint classic tutors from time to time, but the last time we got anything even remotely on the level of the tutors of old, it was Open the Armory, which is clearly inferior in a lot of respects.

I mean Merchant Scroll is Vintage restricted ffs. You think they're going to print something better than something they had to restrict in the most powerful format in the game?

March 11, 2021 10:40 p.m.

Tutors make deckbuilding easier, as you basically add additional copies of important cards. That's a useful thing on one hand, but it also is very powerful and very boring.

Power Level concerns aside, WotC wants to add splashy effects to the game, and that is a good thing I think (I'm talking splashy, not op). Adding a card to tutor for Instants, sorceries and enchantments ticks many hooks for WotC to not print it: Veeery powerful? Check. Very boring? Check.

They sure could, but I'm pretty sure they won't, and I think this is a good thing.


With regards to Elsha: Have you considered Unpredictable Cyclone with only some very specific enchantments?

March 11, 2021 11:42 p.m.

It’s late here, so forgive me if this is stupid, but maybe you can look at things that deal with the top of your deck but for lands or other things. Often those let you pitch to the graveyard or something right? Resulting in the same outcome? Just a thought.

March 12, 2021 12:11 a.m.

MagicMarc says... #12

How about transmute cards? They can tutor up any card depending on it's CMC.

Tolaria West transmutes for any 0 mana cost card. Dizzy Spell transmutes for any 1 mana cost card. Muddle the Mixture transmutes for any 2 mana cost card. Drift of Phantasms transmutes for any 3 mana cost card.

March 12, 2021 2:12 a.m.

Idoneity says... #13

I mean... Spellseeker is rather broken.

March 12, 2021 4:41 a.m.

plakjekaas says... #14

Eladamri's Call is multicolored first, that allows it to be slightly more powerful. Second, creatures are inherently less powerful than the other card types. Almost every deck is geared to deal with creatures, Swords to Plowshares will fix it for one mana. Having an answer to almost any sorcery or instant requires you to be blue, running Counterspell . Artifacts are historically the most broken card type in the game, and Fabricate is the power level of tutor Wizards is comfortable with, although Whir of Invention is very good too. Enchantments are known to be pretty resilient on most commander tables, and Idyllic Tutor is probably as good as it gets, seeing how they reprinted it in Standard a year ago.

Not all card types are equal, and I'm sorry if you can't see why a Eladamri's Call for even just Sorceries would be a mistake, but it really is for the better that it doesn't exist.

March 12, 2021 5:49 a.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #15

seshiro_of_the_orochi, that is a very interesting suggestion, but I am not certain if the deck that I plan to build shall have a major focus on cycling.

Mcat1999, I do plan to have Crystal Ball in the deck that I am building, since it is simply far too useful to not have it in that deck.

MagicMarc, Azeworai, those are all excellent suggestions.

March 12, 2021 7:19 a.m.

TriusMalarky says... #16

plakjekaas is largely right, except for the fact that Miscast , Spell Pierce , Dispel , Force of Negation , Force of Will .

Anyways, if wotc printed Sorcery, tutor instant/sorcery, they'd break cEDH permanently. Grixis Ad Naus, likely Kess Turbo Naus and Rograkh x Silas Renn Turbo Naus, would be the absolute best deck. I mean, they already have 6 2 mana or less tutors. Add this, Wishclaw, Grim and maybe even Cruel, and you have 9 really efficient tutors. That's after considering the fact that Kess is one of the better decks anyways, and Turbo Naus is the prevalent strategy(one that already wants black and blue for Sushi and red for dockside and breach).

Additionally, it would immediately go into Legacy and Vintage storm decks and would make the decks incredibly playable, and if it's in modern it would bring storm back with a vengeance.

Could they print a 3 mana version? Maybe. Just maybe. Especially if it costs life and has some sort of Gamble effect. Could they print a 4 mana version that's an instant? 100%.

March 12, 2021 11:09 a.m.

Azdranax says... #17

Don’t forget Personal Tutor as well.

March 12, 2021 3:02 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #18

I am not waiting for WotC to print the card that I desire, so Merchant Scroll will be sufficient, as I can cast it and then copy it, to find both Dramatic Reversal and Mystical Tutor , use the tutor to find Comet Storm , use Fabricate or Enlightened Tutor to find Isochron Scepter and then combine those cards to deal infinite damage to all my opponents.

Mcat1999, thank you very much for that suggestion, as I am certain that that card would be awesome for the deck that I am planning to build.

March 12, 2021 4:09 p.m.

MagicMarc says... #19

I think Sunforger packaged with the right toolbox/control/removal cards can be very powerful. I don't know if I think its fast enough for some competitive formats but it can be amazing when it comes online.

Remember, with Sunforger you can even pay Kicker, Entwine, Replicate, and Buyback costs when you cast the instant spell.

It is a little mana intensive and involves a few steps but matched with the right cards it can provide permanent effects and recursion for your deck. In similar fashion to Isochron Scepter in that you can match certain cards with it and get softlocks on your opponent or dominate the game state.

You play Sunforger with one or more of these: Mistveil Plains / Epitaph Golem / Reito Lantern / Junktroller . Now, you can tutor and cast an instant with Sunforger , then use one of the above cards to just put it back in your library and do the same thing again the next turn. You can unattach at instant speed. Which means you can cast something like Orim's Chant with kicker at the start of your opponent's turn. Then, also during their turn, put it back in your library with a card like Mistveil Plains . Then on your turn, equip a creature with the Sunforger so you are ready to do it again on their next turn. Stuff like that will just win games.

Or, casting stuff like any of these over and over again or at least once per turn: Utter End , Teferi's Protection , Boros Charm , Deflecting Palm , Swords to Plowshares and even Comeuppance .

Imagine how hard it would be to stop the Sunforger Engine from beating someone into the ground. Especially if they have Counterflux in their library which is also a valid Sunforger target. Even though you can't cast it for the overload cost it would still be 1 counterspell per turn.

There is a huge amount of instants with red or white in their mana cost that have a total CMC of 4 or less which can all be tutored and cast with Sunforger

March 12, 2021 6:21 p.m.

MagicMarc says... #20

I know I am straying from the OP a little bit but there are some other options for tutoring you can fit into an Eisha Commander deck.

Archmage Ascension , Planar Portal , Tamiyo's Journal and Ring of Three Wishes all can tutor to hand. The Ascension is slow but once it comes online it turns every single draw into a tutor. The portal is mana-heavy but repeatable. The journal is probably the worst but an option. The Wish ring is oddly worse than the portal and mythic instead of rare?

But if you combine Ring of Three Wishes with Contagion Clasp it becomes as repeatable as the Planar Portal .

March 12, 2021 6:53 p.m.

Hardhitta7 says... #21

Looks like you got your wish in Strixhaven! I’ve also been wanting them to print this card.

March 31, 2021 9:20 p.m.

MagicMarc says... #22

That's an uncommon? Sure that is not an April Fool's Day joke?

March 31, 2021 9:52 p.m.

Hardhitta7 says... #23

Nope it’s on the card list/image gallery on the Wizard’s site! It’s real fa sho.

March 31, 2021 10:09 p.m.

DemonDragonJ says... #24

Hardhitta7, I am very pleased that a card such as that now exists, but why is it a sorcery that costs 3 mana, whereas Eladamri's Call is an instant that costs 2 mana? Are instants and sorceries more powerful than are creatures?

April 1, 2021 6:52 a.m.

plakjekaas says... #25

They are, as I tried to explain in my earlier post on this topic. I did mention Idyllic Tutor and Fabricate too, saying that's the power levels of tutors Wizards is comfortable with. This new Solve the Equation is a great showcase for that, I guess.

April 1, 2021 8:10 a.m.

Grubbernaut says... #26

Spells are MUCH more powerful than creatures, in general - at least in non-rotating formats.

April 1, 2021 11:01 a.m.

MagicMarc says... #27

In general with creatures, there are a lot of things that still need to happen before that creature is relevant during a game once you tutor it to your hand. Then you need to cast it, then it has to be able to do something significant as it comes into play and/or when it's in the red zone. This usually gives opponents lots of opportunities to stop it from having an impact on the game.

With an instant or sorcery, you can change the game state as you cast it so there is only a limited window for your opponents to interfere with or respond to your play.

April 1, 2021 11:30 a.m.

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