The 43 Best Colorless Card Draw Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on May 5, 2026

Palantír of Orthanc | Illustration by Tatiana Veryayskaya

Magic is a game where whoever has more resources most likely wins, making card draw one of the most important mechanics in the game. With card draw being as prevalent as it is powerful, choosing the right sources of card advantage can be tough.

With that in mind, what are your options if you don't want to commit to a color in particular? Are there any colorless cards that can provide you with card advantage? Today I'm going over the best of them and ranking them both on raw power and efficiency.

What Is Colorless Card Draw in MTG?

Bonder's Ornament | Illustration by Lindsey Look

Colorless card draw is just a source of card draw with no associated color identity. Simple as that. Lots of cards have “draw a card” in their text, but for today's list I’ll only rank those that give you positive net card draw advantage with the exception of one or two.

This means that cantrips (cards that just draw you one card) are excluded, though repeatable loot/rummage effects are included.

Honorable Mentions

“Colorless” Lands

Lands that can technically draw multiple cards but don't have a fully colorless color identity weren't added to the list. A card like Blighted Cataract is colorless in game, but has a blue color identity, and we're focusing on cards that could be played in a colorless Commander deck.

Cantrips

Even if cantrips aren't part of today's rankings, they're still worth mentioning since they all see play in their respective formats. Remember, a card has to be able to draw at minimum two cards on its own before we'll call it “card draw.”

The following are fine examples of cantripping colorless cards, but not necessarily the type of card draw we're focusing on:

• Chromatic Sphere
• Fountainport Bell
• Vexing Bauble
• Mishra's Bauble
• Relic of Progenitus
• Solemn Simulacrum

Library of Alexandria

Library of Alexandria‘s power level is such that it's banned in almost every sanctioned format except Vintage, where it's restricted. It would rank near the top of the list if it weren't banned everywhere.

#43. Bazaar of Baghdad

Bazaar of Baghdad is actually card disadvantage, but if that’s the case, why am I even mentioning it?

For starters, there are some mechanics like madness that can be used along with it, as seen with the famous Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis deck that runs Basking Rootwalla and Blazing Rootwalla, along with filling your graveyard as part of its plan.

Unearth and embalm are other keywords that can be used in Bazaar of Baghdad decks, but the real MVPs are decks focused on reanimate effects from the likes of Living Death.

#42. Mikokoro, Center of the Sea

Mikokoro, Center of the Sea is often used in group hug Commander decks. In some very narrow scenarios you can mill someone by forcing them to draw a card. This might hold someone off from going off with Thassa's Oracle, for example.

#41. Font of Mythos

Another excellent group hug card is Font of Mythos. This can be tricky to play since you don't get any positive card advantage on the turn it lands, which can lead to the nightmare scenario of passing the turn, giving your opponent two cards, and getting your artifact popped.

But it's rarely destroyed at a Commander table.

#40. Howling Mine

Like Font of Mythos, Howling Mine is another card that gives everyone an extra card on their draw step, with a catch. It turns into a one-sided card draw engine if you have a way to tap it on your upkeep.

#39. Sea Gate Wreckage

Sea Gate Wreckage can be useful if you repeatedly run out of cards in hand, but it won’t do anything if you happen to be in a situation where you’re looking for a land with cards still in hand.

#38. Roadside Reliquary

Roadside Reliquary can provide you with some cards when mana is no longer relevant if you meet both conditions. You’re usually looking for answers or a way to finish the game, and having access to this card contributed to red's success in Neon Dynasty Limited.

#37. Zenith Chronicler

Mileage will vary on Zenith Chronicler. Face off against a multicolor deck or even a deck that just happens to have plenty of multicolor cards and you'll be rewarded in spades. Other players will draw cards too, but that's only fair on a 2-drop creature. Just make sure you're not the one casting all the 2+ color cards.

#36. Bonders' Enclave

Bonders' Enclave’s value is higher than that of the other lands I mentioned because it stays on the field after drawing a card, unlike Roadside Reliquary. And its activation cost isn’t so hard to meet as long as it's in the right deck.

#35. Mask of Memory

Mask of Memory is sheer card draw and card selection, and that's about it. The rate is high enough to warrant this in decks with tons of evasive creatures.

#34. Dreamstone Hedron

Dreamstone Hedron is a mana rock that ramps you further into the game and also lets you draw cards if you don't need it anymore. Mind Stone doesn't qualify for the list, but three Mind Stones in a trench coat counts.

#33. Hedron Archive

Hedron Archive is very similar to Dreamstone Hedron with the difference being that its cost is reduced by 2, and you only get to draw two cards. It's always easier to pay 4 mana instead of 6, and this is an excellent way to go if you want to ramp from turn 4 to turn 7.

#32. Tome of the Guildpact

Tome of the Guildpact can be a combo piece in a dedicated multi-color deck, something like Niv-Mizzet Reborn. Being a mana rock is a plus.

#31. Staff of Nin

This is an all-time favorite of mine. Staff of Nin was used as a pseudo-card advantage tool for control decks when it was in Standard, and it deals with small creatures in the best-case scenario. At worst it can ping an opponent.

#30. Staff of Domination

Used fairly, Staff of Domination is a cool but cumbersome artifact. But no one's using this fairly. Staff of Domination is a combo piece for decks that can generate infinite amounts of mana. Since it can untap itself, infinite mana allows the Staff to draw your entire library, on top of gaining infinite life. Not too hard to win from there.

#29. Well of Lost Dreams

If it isn’t already in the 99 of your Oloro, Ageless Ascetic deck, Well of Lost Dreams is worth considering. It can also be run in any other dedicated lifegain-themed decks.

#28. Mind's Eye

Mind's Eye used to be a must-have in any list. These days it's serviceable in decks that want to draw tons of cards one card at a time, but it's not exactly curve-friendly.

#27. Tome of Legends

Tome of Legends puts in good work with cheap commanders or decks with two partners. Every ETB or attack from your commander is worth a card eventually, the activation cost is reasonable at just 1 mana, and the Tome even spots you the first draw up front.

#26. Kozilek, the Great Distortion

While Kozilek, the Great Distortion may be a bit expensive to cast, its draw potential is insane since it can go from drawing one card to refilling your entire hand. Things get better if you happen to run it as your commander because you can spend all your cards on cheap mana rocks and refill your hand with it when you cast it.

#25. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

The difference between Kozilek, the Great Distortion and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is that the latter always provides you with the same number of cards, and it's the cheapest of two. Like the other Kozilek, the Butcher can also be used as your commander.

#24. Treasure Map

You can craft some clever lines with Treasure Map. Not only does it improve your draws, it also ramps you and draws you a card when you need it for just a Treasure token. This card is a perfect fit if you happen to have a deck that can create multiple Treasure tokens.

#23. Sword of Fire and Ice

Sword of Fire and Ice is one of the top-tier swords for a couple of reasons. But the main thing is that it can provide you with a reliable way to get through your opponent’s creatures while giving you an extra card each turn.

#22. Buster Sword

Cloud’s classic sword, the Buster Sword, is a fantastic piece of equipment, especially when Cloud, Midgar Mercenary wields it. Like the classic “Sword of” equipment, it gives the equipped creature a big bonus and does two different things when you deal combat damage to a player, one of them being a draw effect. And you’ll probably cast a spell for free from your hand, which is card advantage and tempo in a single equipment.

#21. Memory Jar

This one may look similar to the other group hug effects, but trust me when I tell you that Memory Jar is in a league of its own.

Its power comes from its combo potential. A typical play pattern back in the day was casting your first Jar, finding a second copy of it, casting it again, and then eliminating your opponent with the help of Megrim.

Fun fact: Memory Jar is restricted in Vintage and banned in Legacy. That alone is a sign of how powerful this card is.

#20. Mazemind Tome

Getting to pay 10 mana to draw four cards (and gain 4 life) may seem excessive at first glance. But getting to pay that cost over the course of several turns and being able to scry every turn is why Mazemind Tome is so high on the list.

#19. Reckoner Bankbuster

Similar to Mazemind Tome, Reckoner Bankbuster lets you use it even after the counters are expired. You can always threaten an unexpected attack or block when deemed necessary.

#18. Anticausal Vestige

Anticausal Vestige is a weird card. When you warp it, you get to draw a card and put something into play that costs 4 or less, which gives you a card and some tempo boost. But when you cast this card, things get ugly for your opponent; if they don’t deal with it, it’s a 7/5, and if they do, you get another card and potentially another threat. Sometimes you get to chain one Vestige after the other, which is brutal.

#17. War Room

War Room scales up in effectiveness the fewer colors you're playing. It's an excellent source of card advantage in your manabase if you're playing at most one, maybe two colors, and it can fill in gaps for colors that don't have unmitigated access to card draw.

#16. Rise of the Eldrazi

The mana cost on Rise of the Eldrazi is no joke, but if you're ever going to cast a 12-mana spell, this is what it needs to look like. An extra turn, four cards, and removing the best permanent in play is a deadly combination of effects, and bonus points for taking all the best abilities from the original cycle of Eldrazi Titans from Rise of the Eldrazi.

#15. Bonder’s Ornament

Bonder's Ornament is one of those cards that can both fix your mana and draw you a card for cheap. Unfortunately its power was such that it proved to be too much for Pauper and was banned.

#14. Monument to Endurance

Monument to Endurance has been a strong engine in blue and red decks across many formats. Combined with Artist's Talent, you can draw and discard a bunch of cards every turn, and deal a lot of damage to your opponents.

#13. The Aetherspark

The Aetherspark is a nice mix of a planeswalker and equipment card. You attach it with the +1 ability, and the equipped creature gets a +1/+1 counter. You’ll get loyalty counters on the planeswalker/equipment when the equipped creature deals combat damage, and equipping a big, evasive creature nets a lot of counters to later spend on card draw. It’s a lot of repeated value when you can constantly hit with a strong creature and draw two cards every turn. Equipment decks usually don’t have a lot of card draw, so The Aetherspark fits this need.

#12. Nexus of Becoming

At a fundamental level, Nexus of Becoming is 6 mana for an artifact that draws an extra card each turn. Hmm… alright, but what else ya got? How about if you could freely put artifacts and creatures from your hand into play? Sure, they're 3/3s, but they're also free free. This is a neat design from The Big Score, and an interesting way to cheat big permanents into play.

#11. The Endstone

The Endstone puts you into a race against your own deck and life totals. Drawing a card whenever you play a land or cast a spell provides a good chunk of your deck in a given turn, but at the end of each turn, you lose half your life. Combining this with artifact cost reduction can have you draw your whole deck in a turn with cheap artifacts.

#10. The Immortal Sun

The Immortal Sun is very similar to Staff of Nin in the sense that it gives you a card every turn, but the rest of the abilities on it makes this significantly better. It's particularly back-breaking against planeswalker decks.

#9. Horn of Greed

Horn of Greed is a card that can be totally busted in the right deck. The catch is that your opponents can also exploit its ability. You can go off quickly if you pair it up with cards like Oracle of Mul Daya, making it incredible in Commander decks based around lands.

#8. Smuggler's Copter

The Looter Scooter demonstrated how overturned some of the original vehicles from Kaladesh were, though Smuggler's Copter has since been reintroduced into Pioneer. This 2-drop vehicle is still surprisingly effective in Commander, where it dodges most sorcery-speed board wipes, swings for reasonable damage in the air, and shapes up your hand on offense or defense.

#7. Sensei's Divining Top

Sensei's Divining Top is a classic card advantage engine. It works best in conjunction with shuffle effects, as those empower you to get rid of cards you don't wish to draw, and of course with cards that let you play from the top of your library. It's more of a cantrip than a true card draw spell, since it only draws one card per instance of casting Top, but it also redraws itself pretty easily.

#6. Idol of Oblivion

I'd normally say Idol of Oblivion should be reserved for token decks, but so many decks can produce incidental tokens these days, so the Idol probably has more homes than it might seem. Sacrificing it for the 10/10 token won't come up too often, but the draw mode should pay dividends in no time.

#5. Palantír of Orthanc

Palantír of Orthanc is a particularly nasty card in 1v1 Magic, where life totals are lower and the punisher effect will always be pointed at the same opponent. The dilemma puts your opponent up against two clocks at once: Either face down the inevitability of an extra card each turn, or the eventuality that the owner mills a chunk of expensive cards and kills you outright. It's a lose-lose situation, and requires careful planning to beat, though it admittedly drops off in multiplayer Magic.

#4. Currency Converter

Currency Converter is another loot machine that filters through cards, but lets you cash in the discarded cards for 2/2s or Treasure tokens. It works with other incidental forms of discard as well, not just the cards being discarded to its own effect. It's innocuous enough that opponents won't snap it off right away, but it's a great attrition piece over time, and a nice alternative to Sol Ring for the final chapter on Urza's Saga.

#3. Ugin, Eye of the Storms

Ugin, Eye of the Storms is one of the strongest Ugin planeswalkers. It offers removal, lifegain, and card draw in a single package. Casting this in a colorless-heavy deck is like having the emblem of Teferi, Hero of Dominaria online. It’s expensive enough that aggro decks can get under it, but against a slower deck, this card generates so much card draw and life you’re sure to outgrind your opponent.

#2. Skullclamp

Are you surprised to see Skullclamp this high up? It may seem like an innocent 1-mana artifact, but don't be fooled by appearances. It's banned from Legacy for a good reason.

Paired with the likes of token-makers like Bitterblossom, you can draw at least two more cards per turn for just 1 mana each time. You can refill your hand with ease if you can create a bunch of X/1 creatures, making Skullclamp one of the best card-drawing artifacts in the game.

Fun fact: Skullclamp was supposed to give the equipped creature +1/+1, but then it was “nerfed” to give it +1/-1. Yeah, Wizards broke a card by nerfing it. Go figure.

#1. The One Ring

The One Ring is about as overpowering in Magic: The Gathering as it was in the actual Lord of the Rings. A problem in just about every format where it's legal, this sort of colorless card draw slots into every deck so easily, and the protection ability all but guarantees you'll have enough time to draw at least the first chunk of cards. It's a liability in the same way Mana Crypt is a liability, which is to say: Win with it before you die.

Best Colorless Card Draw Payoffs

White and red usually don’t get massive card draw effects. That’s why cards like Skullclamp, Horn of Greed, and others are especially effective in these decks. White decks can draw a bunch of cards by sacrificing some soldier tokens to Skullclamp, for example.

Colorless cards give 4- and 5-color decks more consistency. Having a colorless way to draw cards ensures that you have something to do before your complicated mana base comes online and helps hit land drops.

Finally, thanks to colorless Commander decks being a thing, be it artifacts, Eldrazi, or whatever, you need to have card draw in these decks. If you’re building towards affinity, you need to draw a bunch of artifacts. How are you getting to 8+ mana in your Eldrazi titan ramp deck without card draw to hit lands and find ramp? After all, consistent card draw is the best way to make a land drop every turn.

Wrap Up

Tome of Legends | Illustration by Mila Pesic

It's been fun to rank the best colorless sources of card draw out there. As you can see, a lot of them are quite powerful. I also had a blast researching the ones I didn't remember existed.

Which one is your favorite? Are there any excluded that you wanted to see on the ranking? Let me know in the comments or over on the Draftsim Discord. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on the latest news in MTG.

It’s been a pleasure, as always. I hope to see you again in the next ranking session!