Scry — what does it mean?
Look at the top card(s) of your library and put them back on top or on the bottom, in any order you choose.
Scry appears on 439 cards.
How does Scry work?
Scry N means: look at the top N cards of your library, put any number of them on the bottom in any order, and the rest on top in any order. You can split them. With scry 2 you can keep one on top and send the other away, or bottom both. Only you look at the cards; you don't reveal them.
Scrying isn't drawing. The cards stay in your library; you're just choosing what you'll draw next. That's why scry often comes before a draw on the same card: scry first, then draw the card you just left on top. Scrying happens while the spell or ability resolves. Nobody can respond in the middle of it.
Scry 0 isn't a scry. Abilities that trigger whenever you scry won't trigger. If your library has fewer cards than the number, you just look at what's there. If you get several scry effects in a row, you handle them one at a time.
An example at the table
You have 5 lands on the battlefield and a hand full of expensive spells. You cast a spell with scry 2 and look at the top two cards of your library: a land and a cheap removal spell. You don't need a sixth land right now, so it goes to the bottom. You keep the removal spell on top and draw it in your next draw step. If both had been lands, you'd have put both on the bottom.
Cards with Scry
Path of AncestryIllustration: Alayna Danner
PreordainIllustration: Svetlin Velinov
OptIllustration: Craig J Spearing
Viscera SeerIllustration: John Stanko
Temple of EpiphanyIllustration: Adam PaquetteCommon mistakes
- Thinking the cards you don't want go to your graveyard. With scry they go to the bottom of your library. Graveyard is surveil.
- Thinking all the cards have to go to the same place. You split them between top and bottom however you like.
- Thinking scry counts as drawing. Nothing goes to your hand.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between scry and surveil?
- With scry, cards you don't want go to the bottom of your library. With surveil, they go to your graveyard, where other effects can still use them.
- Can I put all the cards on the bottom when I scry?
- Yes. You choose for each card: any number on the bottom, the rest on top, both piles in any order.
- Does scry 0 count as scrying?
- No. With scry 0 nothing happens, and abilities that trigger whenever you scry won't trigger.
- Do I have to show my opponent the cards I scry?
- No. Only you look at them.
Official rule: Comprehensive Rules 701.22. More on where this rulebook comes from under Sources.
Often seen with
FlyingVigilanceFlashTreasureEnchant
Which cards with Scry do you own? →
Last updated: 26 October 2026