The Book and the Stick. It took a while for card advantage to catch on as a core concept of Magic. When it did, two early cards dominated the conversation — Jayemdae Tome and Disrupting Scepter. The Book and the Stick. Both of these were extremely popular in casual circles and tournaments alike. And even though there were some unfortunately overpowered card drawing spells in the early days that were soon restricted, banned, or too expensive for play (Ancestral Recall, Braingeyser, Library of Alexandria) we still leaned on the artifacts.

The simple fact is that artifacts are used to flesh out the weaknesses of colors. Blue doesn’t sweep the board. But Nevinyrral's Disk and Oblivion Stone do. White and Red don’t draw cards, but Jayemdae Tome does. Black doesn’t have mana acceleration and land fetching, but Armillary Sphere and Solemn Simulacrum do. Green doesn’t have discard, but Disrupting Scepter does. We lean on artifacts to shore us up and to flesh out our decks.

In fact, artifacts often provide the only major tools we can find to make our deck’s core concept work. Take my Fumiko the Lowblood deck in Commander. Without the many strong artifacts like Caltrops, Al-Abara's Carpet, Horn of Deafening, Farseek Mask, Leonin Bladetrap and more, we’d have a great idea for punishing attackers or keeping yourself safe with very few tools to actually make it work. (And don’t forget key artifact creatures like Stuffy Doll and Snow Fortress as well).

Artifacts make most decks work.

With that in mind, artifacts that draw cards are one of the keys to drawing cards in colors that often don’t, like Red and White. Ever since the Book and the Stick, we’ve leaned on these things. So what is the class out there for your decks?

10. Sword of Fire and Ice OR Staff of Domination

I’m still not sure which card should be at #10 — Staff of Domination or Sword of Fire and Ice. I’m going back and forth between them. Help me out — which is better — what’s your call?

The Staff is so good is was banned in Commander for while. It’s a repeatable effect, with a variety of other abilities layered in. And sure, that recursive card drawing is good, but it costs 5 mana for the first card and six for the next. It’s a nice mana sink later, sure, but what about earlier? It’s hard to get card drawing, and this list is about card drawing, not the pure power of the card.

The Sword is a powerful piece of equipment that often draws you a card when it smashes. You don’t need to invest any additional mana other than the potential equipping cost. Swing, smash, draw a card. And you are also shooting something for two damage, giving your dork +2/+2, and the protection from Red and Blue increase the chance of hitting for a card quite nicely. However, as a card drawing engine, the Sword is barely better than Rogue's Gloves. You are also limited to drawing cards only once on your turn, and only once barring something odd like Relentless Assault or double strike.

So which is better as a card drawing engine? Which is better and more reliable? Which do you favor?

9. Tower of Fortunes / Loreseeker's Stone

The Tower uber-cycle does a lot of powerful stuff for you. But the card drawing Fortunes one is clearly the best of the cycle, due to the sheer, raw card advantage that follows. You can draw a guaranteed four cards a turn. Any ramp deck, later game deck, and control build (particularly one in W/R) will benefit from the Tower. I find the card drawing of the Stone in practice to run around 6 mana for three cards, which is basically the same as eight for four from the Tower. So I tossed them both in the 9 spot on my countdown, as I value them equally after playing with them.

8. Carnage Altar

Ever since Phyrexian Vault debuted way back in Mirage, we’ve seen a connection between sacrificing creatures and drawing cards rocking the block. Black has been the leader with cards like Reprocess and Vampiric Rites. But the repeatable, colorless, Carnage Altar has been the class at for many reasons. From sending fodder to creatures about to die after being used in a chump block, we’ve seen lots of stuff get tied onto the Altar for a card. Is your foe about to steal your best creature? Sacrifice it for a card. About to kill your best creature with a Murder? Sacrifice it for that sweet sweet card drawing action. It’s a very strong engine of repeatable death, as the cycle of life brings you cards from the best or worst of your lot.

7. Memory Jar

So good it was emergency banned due to the virtual one-turn kill with Megrim and the massive combo potential during a combo-tastic era of Magic. This card has always been an interesting colorless variant of Wheel of Fortune that can be used to force a temporary new grip of 7 cards for the turn, and then you return to the old hand. You control the effect, so you use it on your turn, which lets you play cards like sorceries and creatures and even drop a land. Play as many cards as you can, and your foes often have one or two instants they can cast as well — you invariably come out ahead in card advantage and quality. And the card is very abusable with artifact recursion effects (like Academy Ruins) or fork ones (like Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient). Memory Jar has the goods!

6. Seer's Sundial

Are you playing lands? Do you want to draw cards? Would you like to do both at the same time? Then consider the Sundial of awesome card drawing opportunities. Whenever you are playing that sweet, sweet land, pay a simple 2 mana and get your card drawing on. It’s great since it’s hard to abuse in a traditional sense. Even a ramp deck dropping three lands off Exploration needs to use 6 mana to get all three cards. Yes, it costs mana to use, but it’s sort of a one-sided Horn of Greed, which is nice. We know how good landfall triggers are already at the kitchen table right? Right!

5. Howling Mine / Font of Mythos / Temple Bell

In casual places, we also saw Howling Mine making a hit, followed later by cards like, Font of Mythos and even Temple Bell. Everyone gets some card quality or pure card drawing, right? There are tons of folks who enjoy these cards, and they are classic and iconic. Sure, they are card disadvantage, but they are allowed to stay, and there’s something to be said for not having a threat profile, and let the others blast each other, and then rise above the masses. Plus, lots of decks actually abuse them, by tapping a Howling Mine to turn it off, using a card like Fate Unraveler. Or you can just inspire friends instead of foes, and make love, not war. Whatever the reason, these cards aren’t leaving the kitchen table ever.

4. Staff of Nin

I have to admit my own bias here — I lean on the Staff of Nin quite a bit. But I still objectively feel like it slides in here perfectly. First of all, you get the 6 mana investment of a card each turn. Are you sacrificing a creature to it like Carnage Altar? Tapping mana through it like Tower of Fortunes? Restricted in using it only when you drop that land like Seer's Sundial? Are you giving other folks cards as well like Howling Mine? Nope! Not here. You can just play the rest of the game, and draw one extra card with each iteration. Draw some cards! Enjoy the fun times! And then you can tap and shoot something for a damage as well, and layer damage onto creatures from other source, be a threat to small fry, and otherwise be involved with playing Magic.

3. Coercive Portal

In a duel, Coercive Portal is a 4 mana artifact that draws you an extra card every turn for free. That’s so good it gets played in Vintage off Mishra's Workshop. In multiplayer, you almost always draw a card as well, and sometimes you’ll sweep the board if it’s badly needed instead. So it has added value, but at 4 mana, it’s one of the most reliable card drawing spells, for no additional mana or costs, you’ll find in the artifact kingdom.

2. Skullclamp

Skullclamp might not be the obvious choice for the #2 slot here, but after considering it, I doubt I’ll get a lot of pushback. Outside of decks where it’s abusive, you are still drawing a pair of cards each time the equipped creature dies. Put it on a creature about to attack and swing in a defense. Will they kill the creature to give you two cards or take the damage? Toss it on a creature for defense, and now force them to decide if they want to swing with their big beater into your chump blocker for two cards. And then when you layer it into tokens, creatures that sacrifice, creatures that have death triggers, and more, you get one of the single most powerfully broken cards ever printed. Cheap to play, cheap to equip, deadly to unleash.

1. Mind's Eye

Could any other artifact make the top spot on this list? Would it make a lick of sense if it did? Mind's Eye has established itself as one of the best card drawing engines of all time for casual Magic, multiplayer, Commander, or any other Insert-Your-Casual-Format-Here. If it’s legal, then it’s good. Unlike dorky effects like Consecrated Sphinx, this requires some investment of mana, so in some sense, it’s “fair”. But we all know that deep down, it’s a powerful smack-ton of card advantage. We’ve all passed the turn without doing anything, just to draw four or five cards from the Eye.

Honorable Mention to cards like Emmessi Tome, Urza's Blueprints, and cards like Anvil of Bogardan, Teferi's Puzzle Box, Scroll Rack, and Sensei's Divining Top that are more about card quality that card drawing.

And let’s not forget the original Jayemdae Tome, the original inspiration for these decks, and this article. The Book and the Stick. Well, now your stick can be Staff of Nin.

In fact, all of these cards are so good that every single one is in my Commander Cube (save for Tower of Fortunes and Loreseeker's Stone) as well as Abe’s Deck of Happiness and Joy.

So grab the best ones you need, and get your card drawing on!