The 32 Best White Card Draw Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on March 6, 2024

Archivist of Oghma | Illustration by Stella Spente

Drawing a card is one of the most powerful upsides any Magic card can have. You’ll have a smoother path to victory if you have more resources than your opponents, particularly cards to play.

There’s just nothing quite like drawing more cards, and white has a lot of spells with that and other effects.

But which cards are the best? What bonus effects can they get you? How can you get the best out of them? Let’s get started.

#32. Carom

Carom is a cheap instant that redirects one damage from one target creature to another. It also works as a cantrip, drawing a card and replacing itself in the process.

This is a run-of-the-mill white card, but it’s just too weak overall. Damage deflection is a cute combat trick to pair with the card draw, but anything beyond being a 1-of in Limited is too much for this card.

#31. Spirited Companion

Spirited Companion is another cheap cantrip. This is a simple 2-drop enchantment creature that draws a card when it enters the ‘field. It’s a useful common since it counts as an enchantment for decks that care and is a great sacrifice outlet for others.

#30. Priest of Ancient Lore

Priest of Ancient Lore is one of those cards that sees heavy use in Limited, but little else. Even so, lifegain decks aren’t the only ones that could use a 3-mana 2/1 that draws a card and gains you one life.

It’s weak on its own when it comes to Constructed, but it has a spot in white lifegain decks. Especially non-competitive ones.

#29. Inspiring Overseer

Inspiring Overseer is basically Priest of Ancient Lore with flying. It came out shortly after the set that the Priest was in, and it was shocking to see a better version of the best white common terrorize players in Draft.

Flying helps make Inspiring Overseer better, and the fact that it’s an angel makes it a great 3-drop in those decks.

#28. Revitalize

Revitalize doesn’t see much play outside of the sideboard and white control decks. It’s a great cantrip, and the three life often make a difference against burn or aggro matchups. Overall I find this card disappointing since I know what’s to come later….

#27. Sunset Revelry

Sunset Revelry is the best worst card to come out of Midnight Hunt. It requires your opponent to have more cards than you to be a cantrip, but it’s solid value if you can hit all three modes.

But that’s the problem. You probably have creatures or other dead cards in your hand if you’re behind on board. You usually only get two out of three of the possible outcomes, which isn’t ideal.

#26. Abeyance

Abeyance is a 2-mana instant that locks a targeted opponent from playing instants or sorceries or paying for activated abilities. It’s a unique stax piece that can basically shut down combo or spells decks for a turn. That’s sweet, but don’t forget that card draw!

#25. Wedding Ring

Wedding Ring is a cute single-person-hug artifact that gives you and another player some unique bonuses. When one player gains life or draws a card, so does the other.

I’ve always found this to be an interesting card because its theme and ability strictly benefit two players despite being a card made for Commander. It helps the group hug player make deals in critical situations, but it's also an overall nice midway between group hug and politics.

#24. Battle Angels of Tyr

I give Battle Angels of Tyr much more respect as a threat and card draw engine after suffering a personal beatdown from it in Commander. It can draw its controller up to three cards, create tons of Treasure tokens, and even gain that player a bunch of life.

This is a super potent threat that's not to be underestimated. The card draw makes it great and should launch its controller ahead of everyone else in most situations.

#23. Bennie Bracks, Zoologist

Bennie Bracks, Zoologist is a 4-mana elf druid that lets you draw a card at each end step if you’ve created a token of any kind that turn. White is one of the most prominent token-creating colors so this is an auto-include in any white-based token deck that can reliably trigger this ability.

Drawing cards is the game’s best resource, so getting some as a by-product of your deck’s main mechanic is great. Convoke is also a nice touch that's worth looking at.

#22. Master of Ceremonies

Master of Ceremonies is a group hug creature that benefits you more than anyone else. I like the group hug strategy overall, but one problem is that your deck often draws into more group hug pieces without actually getting ahead.

Those decks are fine with that since they're often built to win that way, but cards that give the pilot a slight edge like this are refreshing.

#21. Wall of Omens

Simply put, Wall of Omens is one of the better white creatures ever created. It’s a superb early defender at four toughness, and the card draw helps slower white decks accumulate the resources they need to pull ahead in the midgame and close out during the late game.

Don’t underestimate this card in Commander or any Limited format.

#20. Halo Fountain

Halo Fountain is a 3-mana artifact from Streets of New Capenna that creates tokens, draws cards, and even offers an alternative win condition. It’s a great card draw engine in token decks that have plenty of creatures to tap, and it gives you a card in exchange for .

The win condition aspect is a little clunky, but the ability to trade two mana for a card carries this artifact and proves its importance in creature-based white decks.

#19. Welcoming Vampire

Welcoming Vampire is a 3-drop 2/3 flier that gives you up to one card per turn whenever a creature with power 2 or less enters the battlefield under your control. It’s your classic card draw engine in white weenie decks, and it works particularly well with Wedding Announcement.

#18. Mentor of the Meek

Mentor of the Meek is also a white weenie card draw engine. It’s superb in decks that can go wide quickly because it doesn’t limit the number of cards you can draw, unlike Welcoming Vampire.

#17. Bygone Bishop

Bygone Bishop investigates whenever you cast a creature spell with mana value three or less. This is undoubtedly one of the more powerful cards we’ve seen so far. It’s great for white weenie decks that love any chance to draw cards and even has great stats as a 2/3 flier for three.

#16. Secret Rendezvous

Secret Rendezvous is a powerful card for two players. It draws you and a target opponent three cards each. Hear me out before hopping into the comments.

Three cards sound like a lot to give an opponent, but there are ways to get around that. You could choose somebody who isn’t a threat and likely couldn’t seriously impact the game. Or you could choose an opponent that you’re definitely going to kill that turn.

Meanwhile, stax pieces like Narset, Parter of Veils, and Alms Collector turn this into a strictly positive card.

#15. Wedding Announcement / Wedding Festivity

Wedding Announcement is a 3-mana enchantment that buffs your creatures by +1/+1, but its pre-transformation phase draws you a card whenever you attack with two or more creatures. It’s quite strong and is excellent in white weenie EDH decks that go wide.

#14. Mangara, the Diplomat

Mangara, the Diplomat is a great defender as a 2/4 lifelinker that gives you a card whenever an opponent casts a second spell or uses two or more creatures to attack you or a planeswalker you control. It generates way more cards than you know what to do with if it sticks around.

#13. Dawn of Hope

Dawn of Hope is a 2-mana enchantment that works as a card draw engine for lifelink decks. Being able to generate a 1/1 lifelinker for and be a lifegain payoff is huge.

Card advantage over your opponents offers more options and flexibility and can even win you the game. Lifelink decks can use this enchantment to that end, but it also strengthens another key resource: your life total.

#12. Court of Grace

Court of Grace is a little like Palace Jailer on a stick, but it generates fliers instead of exiling a creature. The bonus if you’re the monarch is that you’ll be making a 4/4 flier every turn instead of a 1/1.

An extra card and a 4/4 every turn is basically unbeatable. If you’re playing against a fair deck and manage to untap with this as the monarch then it’s probably GGs for the sucker across the table.

#11. Rumor Gatherer

Rumor Gatherer exceeds my expectations quite a bit. It gives you consistent value with a scry 1 every time a creature ETB's under your control, and on the exactly second time that happens in a turn, you get to draw a card! If you can get a double creature ETB even some of the time, then this is for you.

#10. Mesa Enchantress

Mesa Enchantress is an excellent source of card draw, even if you're not playing a dedicated enchantments deck. White decks typically have far more than the average number of enchantments, regardless of strategy, and Mesa Enchantress helps you keep the action going. If you are play enchantments, however, then you're in for a hell of a ride.

#9. Puresteel Paladin

Puresteel Paladin is one of the most prominent white cards in Modern. It’s one of the crucial pieces in the Hammer Time decks. It refreshes your hand by turning your equipment into cantrips and negating their equip costs.

And hitting three artifacts is easy. Esper Sentinel is one, Urza's Saga can fetch a second, and the equipment is the third. This card is great for multiple reasons, but the card draw is something you shouldn’t overlook.

#8. Palace Jailer

Palace Jailer is a great 1-of in 80-card Yorion death & taxes decks because it’s one of the easiest ways to become the monarch in Magic. A second card per turn is wildly powerful and can lead to victory since the added cards and resources can’t be matched by opponents.

#7. Scout's Warning

Scout's Warning is a 1-mana white instant that gives your next creature spell flash and draws you a card. This card offers sweet tech in mono-white hate bears decks, even if a lot of hate bears already have flash.

Scout's Warning leads to surprising plays by letting you give flash to other hate cards like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Thalia, Heretic Cathar.

#6. Stone Haven Outfitter

Stone Haven Outfitter is a 2-mana 2/2 that draws you a card whenever an equipped creature dies. It’s mostly going to be played in equipment Voltron decks but requires your creature to die to get value out of it.

The +1/+1 to equipped creatures is a nice bonus. Maybe it would see better use in decks that go wide with tokens and use equipment as a side theme instead of in Voltron decks?

#5. Alms Collector

Alms Collector is another white creature with flash. It intercepts your opponent from drawing multiple cards, and you each draw one instead. It’s a little more niche, but it triggers much more often than you think. It even completely shuts down certain blue spells like Brainstorm.

#4. Kor Spiritdancer

Kor Spiritdancer is a cheap white creature that gets bigger for each aura attached to it while also turning every aura you cast into a cantrip. This is one of the best bodies in Voltron or other aura-based Commander decks for obvious reasons.

Having your buffs be card-neutral keeps your hand full and your interaction at the ready, and you won’t stall out if your big tough creature gets zapped.

#3. Smuggler's Share

Smuggler's Share is a white enchantment 3-drop that helps make up for the card and mana advantage your opponents might gain over you. It draws you cards equal to the difference and has a similar effect for mana in the form of Treasure tokens.

I love this card. It’s a great piece in any group hug deck that helps give you the advantage instead of offering everyone an equal share of the pie. Its effect is also powerful enough to warrant play in other white decks in Commander.

#2. Archivist of Oghma

Archivist of Oghma is a piece of white card draw that triggers whenever an opponent searches their library. It gives you one life on top of the card.

I really like this creature. Flash is a strong and necessary selling point for me, and the relatively easy-to-pay mana value makes it very flexible in differing white Commander decks.

#1. Esper Sentinel

Esper Sentinel is sometimes referred to as “Rhystic Buddy” as an homage to its similar effect to the infamous Rhystic Study. This little artifact draws you some serious cards and is often overlooked by a lot of players hoping to cast spells on-curve. You’ll be wildly ahead of the competition even if just two or three instances happen where players allow you to draw since you’ve already gotten a pseudo-Ancestral Recall off.

This card is good in weenie decks, artifact decks… hell, it’s good in just about any deck that plays white!

Best Card Draw Payoffs

You’ll draw plenty of cards in just about every game of Magic. There are a few payoffs to drawing cards available to white, so artifact cards are also included here. Though not exactly a payoff, Venser's Journal is a great card to play if you’re in a lifegain deck, or in conjunction with Dawn of Hope.

Are There Any White Cards That Allow Me to Draw Cards When My Creatures Die?

Yes, there are a handful of white cards that draw you cards when your creatures die, though they all have conditions like being equipped, having a +1/+1 counter, or costing .

Do Any White Cards Allow Me to Draw Cards When Opponents Gain Life?

No white cards draw you cards when opponents gain life. The Wedding Ring comes really close though.

Are There Any White Cards That Let Me Draw Cards When My Opponents Cast Spells?

Yes, the white cards that draw you cards when your opponent casts spells are the full range of “only use in special cases” to format staple. Prowl, Stoic Strategist is limited in its legality and availability, plus the opponent has to play a card exiled by Prowl, Stoic Strategist. The best such card is Esper Sentinel which requires opponents to pay mana to cast noncreature spells or draw you a card. This one-drop quickly became a staple in white Commander decks.

Are There Any White Enchantments That Offer Ongoing Card Advantage?

Yes, white has several enchantments with ongoing card advantage, some trigger on simply playing creatures, and others require you to attack. The more complex ones require specific actions or conditions.

Wrap Up

Esper Sentinel | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

White certainly has plenty of card draw at its disposal, so don’t let us blue players get you down with our better and more efficient cantrips!

What did you think of these rankings? Did they inspire you to go wide with mono-white weenie, or are you just looking for a few early ways to keep your hand full in your next white EDH deck? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or come chat about it in the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!