Oracle
- For the article about the fictional character, see Oracle en-Vec.
The Oracle is a database of every printed Magic card and its current wording. This is especially necessary for old cards that do not use modern formatting of their text in order to make them understandable.
Four times a year, coinciding with the set releases, the Oracle is updated in order to incorporate rules changes or, rarely, functional changes to cards that do not work as intended.
One of the biggest changes made to the Oracle was the Grand Creature Type Update, affecting almost 1200 cards. [1] Another one, affecting about 300 cards, was the introduction of the colorless mana symbol with Oath of the Gatewatch. [2]
Oracle can be consulted via Gatherer.
Rules
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- Oracle
- The reference that contains the up-to-date wordings (in English) for all tournament-legal cards. A card’s Oracle text can be found using the Gatherer card database at Gatherer.Wizards.com. See rule 108.1.
From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- 108.1. Use the Oracle card reference when determining a card’s wording. A card’s Oracle text can be found using the Gatherer card database at Gatherer.Wizards.com.