41 Best White Card Draw Cards in MTG Magic: the Gathering
Card draw is a critical aspect of Magic: The Gathering strategy. Mono white typically is the hardest color to work a good draw system into, but it can be done! Below are the 41 best draw cards for mono white decks, both 60 card formats and EDH Commander format.
Why is draw important in MTG?
Drawing cards, outside of the one card per turn built into the game, provides a player several advantages. White decks have specific reasons to incorporate alternative draw effects as well.
- Card Advantage: Card advantage is a fundamental concept in Magic. It refers to getting more cards into your hand than your opponent, which generally translates into having more options and resources. You're less likely to run out of spells to play, and more likely to have an answer to an opponent's threat.
- White's Limitations: White is historically the weakest color in Magic when it comes to drawing cards. This is part of the color’s identity in the game’s design. White has strong removal and defensive options, but struggles with refilling its hand. Therefore, any opportunity to draw more cards in a mono-white deck is usually worth considering.
- Consistency: The more cards you see in a game, the more consistently you can execute your strategy. If there are specific cards or combinations of cards that your deck is built around, drawing more cards will help you find those key pieces faster.
- Keeping Pace: If you're playing against decks with strong card draw, you need to keep pace. Otherwise, they'll have more options and outpace you in terms of resources.
- Fuel for Strategies: Some white strategies, like equipment or aura-based decks, need lots of cards to function well. Card draw ensures that you have a steady stream of resources to keep your strategies going.
Having card draw options from combos, artifacts, and other sources outside of white’s usual card pool can help address one of the color’s significant weaknesses and improve the deck's overall performance. Because of white's lack of specific draw power, its few tutors may be included as well.
Some cards listed may not be tournament legal in all formats so please check the banned/restricted list from Wizards of the Coast for the format you wish to play. Individual play groups or pods may decide to allow banned cards, always check with your playgroup before playing a deck with a banned card.
Top 10 white card draw options in Magic: the Gathering
- Esper Sentinel: A cheap artifact creature that draws you cards whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell each turn, unless they pay extra mana. Similar to blue staple Rhystic Study, but with a small mana value.
- Sram, Senior Edificer: Draws you a card whenever you cast an Aura, Equipment, or Vehicle spell.
- Archivist of Oghma: A card and a life every time an opponent searches their library. This is OK in 60 card formats, especially multi-player games, but this excels at Commander.
- Alms Collector: Provides you with a significant card advantage in a multiplayer game when opponents draw multiple cards.
- Land Tax + Scroll Rack: Their combination allows you to effectively draw three extra cards per turn.
- Mentor of the Meek: Draws you a card whenever a low-power creature enters the battlefield under your control.
- Puresteel Paladin: In Equipment-heavy decks, it can draw you multiple cards per turn.
- Bygone Bishop: Draws you a card when you cast a creature spell with converted mana cost 3 or less.
- Ranger of Eos / Ranger-Captain of Eos: Fetch small creatures from your deck when they enter the battlefield.
- Mesa Enchantress: With white's reliance on enchantments and auras, Mesa Enchantress can add up to superb draw power. Pair it with a card like Flickering Ward to supercharge it.
Best white MTG draw cards 11 – 20
- Smuggler's Share: Allows you to keep up with your opponents' extra draws and land drops.
- Skullclamp: Draws cards when equipped creature dies, turning your tokens or white weenie decks into a card draw engine.
- Mangara, the Diplomat: A consistent card draw mechanic in white that either dissuades opponents' actions or rewards you with card draw.
- Enlightened Tutor: While not specifically card draw, this is one of the most powerful tutors in Magic, allowing the player to search for an artifact or enchantment and set up their next draw for just 2 mana.
- Endless Horizons: Can effectively draw you an extra card each turn by pulling a Plains out of your deck in mono-white.
- Stone Haven Outfitter: Its ability to draw you a card whenever an equipped creature you control dies can provide a lot of card advantage.
- Oreskos Explorer: Allows you to search for a number of Plains equal to the number of opponents who control more lands than you and put them into your hand. Added bonus of thinning out your deck!
- Kor Spiritdancer: Draws a card whenever you cast an Aura spell that targets it.
- Mind's Eye: Draw whenever an opponent does for 1 mana.
- Secluded Steppe / Drifting Meadow: Land when needed, or can be cycled away to draw a new card.
Best mono white draw cards in Magic 21 – 30
- Search the Premises: Increases artifact and token counts, and sets up draw power.
- Dawn of Hope: Gives you the ability to draw cards when you gain life for a minimal cost.
- Welcoming Vampire: 2/3 flyer for 3 mana that provides substantial draw in weenie or token decks.
- Slate of Ancestry: A good card draw engine for decks that can put a lot of creatures on the field. A typical game plan for white.
- The Birth of Meletis: Provides you with a card draw and a wall token while helping you to maintain your land drops.
- Weathered Wayfarer: Allows you to search for any land from your deck, providing card advantage and ensuring you make your land drops. Very effective early game mechanic if you went second or miss a land drop.
- Recruiter of the Guard: Lets you search for a creature with toughness 2 or less from your deck and put it into your hand.
- Scout's Warning: Instant speed 1 white mana spell that gives your next creature flash, and draws you a card to replace it when cast.
- Arch of Orazca: A land that can be used to draw cards if you have the city's blessing.
- Dusk // Dawn: The Dawn side allows you to return all creature cards with power 2 or less from your graveyard to your hand.
Top card draw cards for Mono White MTG decks 31 – 41
- Idyllic Tutor: Lets you search for an enchantment card and put it into your hand.
- Keeper of the Accord: This card from Commander Legends allows you to catch up if you are behind on lands AND create 1/1 Soldier tokens if opponents have more creatures than you.
- Secret Rendezvous: Provides significant card draw for a very low mana cost, however, one of your opponents also gets to draw three cards.
- Bennie Bracks, Zoologist: Bennie can provide an additional draw regularly in token decks, which also help play him with his Convoke option.
- Oblation: It can shuffle any nonland permanent into its owner's library, and the owner then draws two cards. Can be used defensively on target opponent or on your own tokens/permanents for card draw.
- Halo Fountain: A token generator, card draw, and a late game alternate win condition.
- Throne of the High City: Land that can be sacrificed to become the Monarch, which allows you to draw an additional card at your end step.
- Militia Bugler: Looks at the top four cards of your library and you may reveal a creature card with power two or less from among them and put it into your hand.
- Battle Angels of Tyr: Many abilities for a four 4/4 mana flyer, including card draw when it deals damage to a player.
- Wall of Omens: A great early defender that replaces itself in your hand.
- Stoneforge Mystic: 1/2 creature that lets you tutor for equipment when it comes into play, and activated ability to play equipment from hand.
New White Draw from the lord of the Rings set
Fresh from the latest Magic: the Gathering, Universes Beyond set, the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth, these three mono white new cards are an amazing amount of white draw power for a single new set. It's no wonder this is one of the most highly anticipated and sought-after sets in recent years. I highly suggest taking a look at:
Dawn of a New Age: Provides you with an additional draw each turn until counters run out and then life gain.
Faramir, Field Commander: An additional draw each turn that another creature under your control dies. Interesting synergy with Farmir's character in the books/movies as you get an additional bonus if he doesn't bear the ring.
Minas Tirith: Single white mana producing land, able to come into play untapped if you control a legendary creature. This land then has another activated ability that you can draw a card for 2 mana and a tap every turn you attack with 2 or more creatures.
Additional Options for Mono White draw
If playing a pillow fort, group hug, or even control strategy you might consider Howling Mine or Font of Mythos. These cards are both great for additional draw during your draw step, and making allies or delaying opponents' attacks. They can add up to a lot of additional cards over the course of a game. A commander deck may want to play both since only a single copy of each card can be in the deck
Also see our write up on colorless card draw cards (non-artifact)!
My Favorite MTG white draw Strategy
I've long had an enchantress deck that excels at drawing cards, gaining life, and may win through Test of Endurance, mass soldiers created with Darien, King of Kjeldor and Soul Warden, or creating angels with Sigil of the Empty Throne. Test of endurance was a favorite card from Judgement when it was released. There were far less alternate win conditions at the time and it provided something new to build around.
It's a ton of fun to play, bouncing Flickering Ward and Conviction back to hand, replaying on whatever target creature needs them, drawing a card, creating tokens, gaining life, do it all over again. There are other ways to draw a lot of cards with white, but I'm partial to the enchantress strategy, which in my opinion is some of the best card draw in the game, let alone for mono-white decks.
You may want to consider Reliquary Tower if you build something similar, you'll always have a full hand or more.
What to do next
I hope you found a card or 2 that can improve your mono white draw power in your current or next deck. If you have a favorite that I may have missed, please leave a comment and let me know.
White draw not quite the right fit? Check out our write ups on red draw, green draw, blue draw, and black draw cards!
Check out our write ups on the best white tutor cards, and the top 100 mono white commanders!
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Author: Bryan - MCM
Magic player since Revised in 94. Still remember opening boosters of Revised, the Dark, and Arabian Nights as a kid. Watching it be a big deal (and then let down) when Fallen Empires dropped. Then Magic got it right again and really took off. While the current state of Wizards is debatable, I still enjoy playing with friends and my kids. I don't do tournaments much these days but I've played Draft, Sealed, Standard, Extended (not a thing anymore,) Pre-Release, Grand Prix, States Qualifiers, and Teams tournaments. Though I'm not a judge, I'm the one the friends turn to when there's a rules question, and if I don't know it, I find it. Please, ask me anything, comment on posts, and share Magic with your friends and family!
