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Instant
Search your library for an instant or sorcery card, reveal it, then shuffle and put that card on top.
"To the tutors, a 'poem of sand' was of little account, a 'poem of ivory,' priceless." —Afari, *Tales*
Ban history
Cheap instant tutor for combo spells; Enlightened/Worldly Tutor remain legal.
- Banned in Premodern
- On or before May 2018
- On earliest archived list; likely since 2012 founding
- Category
- Power
- Research
- Research confidence: Medium confidence
- First printed
- First printed in Mirage (8 October 1996).
Why it’s banned
Power level / tutor (no published rationale).
Official reason
No official reason published.
Community & historical context (not an official statement)
Analytical/community: one blue mana puts any instant or sorcery on top of the library, increasing combo consistency (Draftsim). Restricted in Vintage / banned in Type 1.5 Sept 1999; unbanned in Legacy 2004; re-banned in Legacy June 2010; still restricted in Vintage.[1, 2, 3]
The story
Mystical Tutor (Mirage, 1996) was restricted in Vintage in 1999, banned in Type 1.5, unbanned when Legacy split in 2004 and banned again in 2010. Premodern has banned it on every archived list, while its Mirage siblings Enlightened Tutor and Worldly Tutor are legal. Berlin calls the list 'more tolerant to fast mana and tutors' (2019) but never explained this one.
Premodern changes
- On listOn the earliest archived Premodern ban list.[4]
Other formats (Wizards)
Related cards
Sources
- Draftsim: The Premodern Ban List: All 33 Cards Banned (A.L. Walser, 2026-04-24) — community
- MTG Wiki: Banned and restricted cards/Timeline
- MTGBans.info per-card timelines (effective dates; site's AI-generated rationales NOT used)
- Wayback: premodernmagic.com/banned-watched/ 2018-05-06 (34 banned, 5 watched)
- Scryfall card data (printings, release dates)
- premodernmagic.com legal sets endpoint
Research as of 18 October 2026.
In our decks
Not in any of our curated decklists yet. Find similar cards.
Played in tournaments
Share of published Premodern decklists that play Mystical Tutor (main or sideboard): 4,173 lists from paper events and MTGO in the last 90 days, through .
Not seen in any of the 4,173 tournament lists from the last 90 days. Browse the meta.
Printings (11)
Every tournament-legal paper printing (no gold-border, World Championship or oversized cards). Hover or tap a row to preview that printing.
