Hello and happiest of days to each of you! I hope your day is finding you super mega-well! Today I wanted to look at the nature of card advantage, card draw and then card flow in modern multiplayer. This is stuff poorly rated by many modern-day aficionados, which is why they place White last in multiplayer even though it's first because it's the leader in card advantage and answers, just not draw.

Remember in multiplayer you are being outdrawn 3:1 in a four-player game, so do this right and you can make that even.

Let's kick off our shoes and get started.

Card Draw

Let's start with the obvious which is card draw. These are spells that draw you more than one card in a go. They can either be more than one at a time like Harmonize with 3 for 1 card or Sign in Blood as 2 for 1 or over time like Consecrated Sphinx or Phyrexian Arena over time.

Let's look at some great examples of card draw and then broken stuff I skip aside.

The first place many dig in creature-based decks with either many or higher powers are these spells that in one go refill your hand. The first draws equal to your dork count including tokens - brilliant in any go wide brew or tokens, and then the latter instant speed five-cost can pump your non-Humans by three or draw equal to its power.

The next place many go for dork-heavy card draw are permanents that draw when they are cast, ETB or big-power stuff instead and this is where I often start since they are dorks and you'll not draw everyone's ire too. Beast Whisperer costs four, has a cast spell card draw trigger, and then then the 6/6 trampling on-curve Soul of the Harvest does it for non-tokens arriving instead.

Then I like adding in color dependent and reliable card draw. The FOF is the first spell I often add in my Blue suite with making my foe choose two piles and then I'll choose one to draw so you'll either get 3 okay or 2 great things. Then in dorks I'll add in the Mulldrifter pretty regularly too, since it can be used to block with flying, swing or be blinked or recurred. See also X spell card draw like Stroke of Genius here too. Love it here!

Then I enjoy deck-specific permanents that draw when something happens you are built around like this pair or Enchantress brews. Sram, Senior Edificer can turn casts of Equipment, Aura or Vehicle into cards drawn. Then the Azorius seven-drop Drogskol Reaver with flying, lifelink and double strike will turn life gain into card draw - great in all of the fun places!

Card Flow

Next is not card draw where you are up cards, but card flow where you aren't, like Cantrips, Looting and Rummaging like Merfolk Looter, Dismissive Pyromancer and then Manamorphose.

Let's start with Looting where I start of this list since you draw and then discard so you'll have knowledge about what you wanna send to the bin. The three-cast instant will draw two and then discard it too and then untap three lands so it's free. Then one-cost sorcery with flashback three draws two and then discards them right on back. Love it!

Now let's turn to rummaging next where you discard first and then draw. The spells discard one fewer than they draw, like Big Score for four to discard one and then draw two since you cast it with two Treasures for ramping. There are four, and I always run them first. With Ashling, Flame Dancer, spells willl discard the same number they draw like this magecrafting Spellslinger to discard one, then draw one and then if it's the second time you Shock your foes and on the third make four mana that doesn't leave your mana pool.

Now let's turn to Cantrips! I've written an entire article about Cantrips in Multiplayer and basically here are my TLDR thoughts - Do not run or rely on Cantrips outside of specific builds since they don't draw. There are exceptions like Spellslinger, Cantrip brews proper or Storm to build it up. You can use them early to sort your deck to find lands for casting your spells or combo pieces later and I've done that tons too in bigger brews like Five Color's 300 cards or Commander's 100 sure, that'd be fine, but don't use your precious card draw slots on them since they you know don't draw cards.

Card Advantage

Now let's finish up with card advantage. Any spell which results in a 2:1 or more situation is card advantage. For example, Recover is a Raise Dead stapled to a Cantrip you'll be up two cards for one, ditto Shelter when played to save from targeted removal!

Now let's turn to cantripping answers to anything in Blue with counters. The four-cost one can counter anything and then draws your card too. The harder to cast Command can counter, draw, bounce or tap - two of those so I often run counter and card.

Now let's turn to mass removal with this slate of goods. When you mass remove everything in multiplayer you are up so many cards. Sure, you might lose a few too, but Wrath and your 2 lost vs. everyone's else's 9 or 10 plus tokens is good math. The five-cost Rout can be cast at instant speed for two more - worth it! Then the nine-cost In Garruk's Wake will sweep everyone else's dorks and walkers of the planes, but not yours! Austere Command is also nasty here. This is why White rules.

Now let's turn to the removal of two for one stuff, like sorcery speed Hull Breach in Gruul common for two to Shatter and Demystify too. Then the instant speed one in White costs four, exiles so they cannot be brought back and then two targets too.

Don't sleep on extra targets or cards drawn with extra costs like kicker, like Orim's Thunder or Dismantling Blow or Thornscape Battlemage, all of which can upgrade their basic stats with additional abilities if you pay the kicker. Love that group loads.

Group Hugs and Wheels

Now let's turn to a subset of card advantage and card draw too. Helping everyone out with the card draw!

Let's start with the name-sake of the Wheel card draw! They make everyone discard and then draw equal to a set number, like the Magus above for seven. This is card draw if you dumped your hand and then advantage if your enemies discarded more than what was drawn. Windfall does that for everyone and then draw equal to who held the most - also great here if you dropped your hand or had the smallest hand.

A lot of folks like to run Group Hug cards like these two and the Mine for everyone to draw one more and then the Mythos two more. The idea here is that they won't be hated out. The problem is that you don't outdraw your foes any more since it'll go from 3:1 to 6:2 and they draw first to use them as great as possible. I don't run them outside of specific brews. I'd prefer Phyrexian Arena to this.

Now I try to steer clear of nasty multiplayer slow down stuff like The One Ring, Rhystic Study or Consecrated Sphinx or Esper Sentinel or Mystic Remora that need nothing for me to draw and are pricey and then feel bad - instead run Mind's Eye where you aren't punishing them for playing.