Search
| Search | |
|---|---|
| Keyword Action | |
| Introduced | Alpha |
| Last used | Evergreen |
| Reminder Text | No official reminder text |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
Search is a keyword action. It was introduced on Demonic Tutor in Alpha.[1] It is exclusively used as the action used to look at the cards in a player's library, though it is also used for known-information zones hand and graveyard when mentioned in conjunction with the library.
Failing to find
"Failed to find" is a somewhat unintuitive rule related to searching that allows players to find fewer cards than is asked for when searching a hidden zone, such as a library, for a card with a stated quality, such as a basic land or a card with a certain name, even if cards with the stated quality do exist within that zone. This is also true for public information zones.
Frank Karsten used his knowledge of the "Fail to find" rule to win a crucial game at the 2005 World Championships by failing to find all four cards while resolving Gifts Ungiven. The original printing of Gifts Ungiven asks a player to search for "four cards with different names", from which an opponent must choose two to put in the caster's graveyard, with the rest going to the caster's hand. Because cards with different names is a stated quality and the library is a hidden zone, one can find as many cards as they want, up to four, and declare that they fail to find the rest. Frank Karsten did this, finding only two cards, so his opponent would be forced to put both cards he did find into his graveyard, which would win him the game. Newer printings of Gifts Ungiven now state that a player may search for "up to four cards", but this is for clarity rather than function, as this was effectively always the case.[2]
Rules
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (September 19, 2025—Marvel's Spider-Man)
- Search
- To look at all cards in a stated zone and possibly find a card that matches a given description. See rule 701.23, “Search.”
From the Comprehensive Rules (September 19, 2025—Marvel's Spider-Man)
- 701.23. Search
- 701.23a To search for a card in a zone, look at all cards in that zone (even if it’s a hidden zone) and find a card that matches the given description.
- 701.23b If a player is searching a hidden zone for cards with a stated quality, such as a card with a certain card type or color, that player isn’t required to find some or all of those cards even if they’re present in that zone.
Example: Splinter says “Exile target artifact. Search its controller’s graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with the same name as that artifact and exile them. Then that player shuffles their library.” A player casts Splinter targeting Howling Mine (an artifact). Howling Mine’s controller has another Howling Mine in her graveyard and two more in her library. Splinter’s controller must find the Howling Mine in the graveyard, but may choose to find zero, one, or two of the Howling Mines in the library.
- 701.23c If a player is instructed to search a hidden zone for cards that match an undefined quality, that player may still search that zone but can’t find any cards.
Example: Lobotomy says “Target player reveals their hand, then you choose a card other than a basic land card from it. Search that player’s graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with the same name as the chosen card and exile them. Then that player shuffles their library.” If the target player has no cards in their hand when Lobotomy resolves, the player who cast Lobotomy searches the specified zones but doesn’t exile any cards.
- 701.23d If a player is searching a hidden zone simply for a quantity of cards, such as “a card” or “three cards,” that player must find that many cards (or as many as possible, if the zone doesn’t contain enough cards).
- 701.23e If the effect that contains the search instruction doesn’t also contain instructions to reveal the found card(s), then they’re not revealed.
- 701.23f If searching a zone is replaced with searching a portion of that zone, any other instructions that refer to searching the zone still apply. Any abilities that trigger on a library being searched will trigger.
Example: Aven Mindcensor says, in part, “If an opponent would search a library, that player searches the top four cards of that library instead.” Veteran Explorer says “When this creature dies, each player may search their library for up to two basic land cards, put them onto the battlefield, then shuffle.” An opponent who searched the top four cards of their library because of Veteran Explorer’s ability would shuffle the entire library.
- 701.23g If an effect offers a player a choice to search a zone and take additional actions with the cards found, that player may choose to search even if the additional actions are illegal or impossible.
- 701.23h An effect may instruct a player to search a library for one or more cards more than once before instructing a player to shuffle that library. This is the same as a single instruction for that player to search that library for all those cards. The player searches that library only once.
- 701.23i If multiple players search at once, each of those players looks at the appropriate cards at the same time, then those players decide in APNAP order (see rule 101.4) which card to find.
- 701.23j If an effect instructs a player to search outside the game for a card, that player may choose an appropriate card they own from outside the game.
See also
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 8, 2015). "Evergreen Eggs & Ham". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vHHZHD0soQ&ab_channel=Magic%3ATheGathering