This year has been revolutionary when it comes to efficient sources of card draw. Earlier in the year, we were given Stock Up, which quickly became a multi-format staple. Stock Up’s ability to dig for your strongest tools in such a cheap manner made it one of the strongest sources of card advantage we’ve seen in recent memory.
Now, with the release of Edge of Eternities, Consult the Star Charts is giving Stock Up a run for its money. Consult is a very different design. However, its versatility coupled with the way it scales into the late game makes it extremely appealing for a bunch of different decks. It’s already seeing competitive play from Standard down to Modern. Expect to see this card continue to pop up more and more moving forward.
Consult the Star Charts
At a baseline, Consult the Star Charts has a lot in common with Memory Deluge, another powerhouse that has seen ample Pioneer play over the years. After all, if you kick Consult on turn four, you’ll presumably get to look four cards deep and select two to put into your hand.
Obviously, Memory Deluge has flashback, which holds a lot of value for control decks in grindy games. However, Consult has two key differences in its favor that make it the stronger option.
First, the longer the game goes, the better Consult becomes. As long as you’re consistently hitting your land drops, Consult will only dig deeper and deeper for your best cards at any given moment as the game progresses. This makes Consult an absolutely insane top deck and makes it more likely you’ll be able to find your game-breaking board wipe or anything else you need to take over.
The other nice part about Consult is that it does give you the choice of casting it for just two mana. While you won’t generate card advantage this way, if you’re stuck with a lot of expensive spells in your hand, casting Consult on turn two to look for removal to stave off early pressure is reasonable.
Even on later turns, if you’re far behind on board, you may want to choose not to kick this card. That way, you can dig for a board wipe and still have the mana left over to cast it on the same turn.
Best Homes
With these things in mind, where Consult shines brightest is in control decks that naturally play a high density of lands and plan to prolong the game. In Standard, both Azorius control and Dimir control commonly utilize Consult. As an instant, you’re free to leave up mana for it as well as counter magic and react to the opponent’s plays.
For similar reasons, many Pioneer Azorius control players have adopted this card into their decklists. Consult helps you find high-impact one-ofs like Farewell.
This card has also made a splash in Izzet Prowess Standard shells as a supplementary piece with Stock Up. Once you have your Vivi Ornitier mana engine rolling, you’ll want all the sources of card advantage you can get.
Consult has even had an impact in Modern. It recently showed up in a Modern Challenge in a sweet Azorius control deck that abused the power of Isochron Scepter. Despite being cast for four mana most of the time, it is still a two-mana instant you can Imprint. Before you know it, you’ll be churning through your library.
Consult the Star Charts is one of the most underrated cards in Edge of Eternities. We’re happy to see it getting its time in the spotlight.
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