Cycling

Cycling is a keyword ability that allows a player to pay a cost that includes discarding the card. When the activated ability resolves, that player draws a card. Cycling first appeared in Urza's Saga and last appeared in Scourge. Due to the mechanic's longevity it may reappear in future sets.

A variant of the ability, Landcycling, allows the player to search his or her library for a land card of a given land type instead of drawing the top card of that player's library.

From the Comprehensive Rules:

• 502.18. Cycling

• 502.18a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player’s hand. “Cycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Draw a card.”

• 502.18b Although the cycling ability is playable only if the card is in a player’s hand, it continues to exist while the object is in play and in all other zones. Therefore objects with cycling will be affected by effects that depend on objects having one or more activated abilities.

• 502.18c Landcycling is a variant of the cycling ability. “[Land type]cycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Search your library for a [land type] card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.” Any cards that trigger when a player cycles a card will trigger when a card’s landcycling ability is played. Any effect that stops players from cycling cards will stop players from playing cards’ landcycling abilities.