Seek in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Chris Reay June 26, 2023 Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Rules

Last updated on April 5, 2024

Crucias, Titan of the Waves | Illustration by Filipe Pagliuso

Alchemy brought digital designs to MTG. While they’ve had mixed responses, it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere any time soon. A number of digital mechanics have also entered the game’s design with digital Magic, including seek.

But what is seek, and why does it need digital design to work? Let’s take a deep dive into this Arena-only mechanic and see how it affects play patterns and deckbuilding.

Table of Contents show

How Does Seek Work?

Artillery Enthusiast | Illustration by Anthony Devine

Seek is a digital-only mechanic that puts a random card from your deck into your hand that fulfills a given criteria. In finding this card, it pays no attention to the order of your library and doesn’t shuffle it after you’ve found the card. Anything you’ve scried to the top or the bottom or arranged through similar effects is unaffected by seek, which makes it pretty much impossible to implement in paper.

One example of seek is on Discover the Formula. It seeks three non-land cards, so it gets three random cards out of your library that aren’t lands. Other cards seek creatures with a specific creature type (like Darigaaz's Whelp), have certain mana values (like Crucias, Titan of the Waves), or some other requirement.

The History of Seek in MTG

Seek was introduced in the first digital-only set for Arena, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. This was released alongside the birth of the Alchemy format in 2021, where it appeared on six cards. Since then it’s become something of an evergreen mechanic in Alchemy and Historic, appearing on 62 cards so far.

Does Seek Shuffle in MTG?

No. Seek doesn’t shuffle your deck, and it doesn’t care about the order of your library.

What Abilities Are Similar to Seek in MTG?

Seek is a digital-only spin on tutor effects. Like lots of tutor cards, seek allows you to get a card from your deck that fits specific requirements, but it takes out the shuffle effects that are necessary with these mechanics in paper.

It’s also somewhat similar to effects like cascade in that you don’t know what you’re going to get from seek until it ends up in your hand (unless you’ve built your deck in such a way that only one card can fit those requirements). It should be noted that cascade casts the spell it finds whereas seek does not.

Gallery and List of Seek Cards

Note that some cards in this list, like Gate to Manorborn, have digital versions with seek and non-digital versions with different text.

Best Seek Cards

There’s one card in particular that’s proving to be an absolute house for value in Alchemy and Historic. Crucias, Titan of the Waves does so much for only three mana, giving you some flexibility over what you seek and giving you Treasures to help you cast whatever you find. It’s a solid value piece, which some are calling for a ban.

Another less powerful card that's proving popular with creature type-matters decks is Faceless Agent. This was one of the very first cards printed with seek, and it’s very popular in decks like elves and goblins.

Seeking Final Thoughts

Obscura Polymorphist | Illustration by Darren Tan

Seek is proving to be one of the staples of digital-only Magic. It provides card advantage, but it also puts a little risk in what you get.

What do you think? Do you like it? Do you want to see it, or something like it, come to paper some day? Or do you have another idea for a different mechanic which would be sweet to see in the game, but not feasible in paper? Let me know down below in the comments below, or over on the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, may all the cards you seek be what you were looking for!

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Chris Reay

Chris is a passionate drafter who loves limited formats both online and (particularly) in person. He started his YouTube Channel, Pass Left Drafts MTG as a lockdown project and still loves putting out content for Magic players of all varieties.