Cursed Scroll MTG Card


Cursed Scroll’s repeatability makes it a persistent threat, both to creatures and opponent’s life totals. Activation at instant speed provides flexibility, creating dilemmas for your opponent’s strategy. While powerful, the discard requirement and mana cost demand careful deck integration and strategy.
Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Text of card

o3, oc T: Name a card. Target opponent chooses a card at random from your hand. If he or she chooses the named card, Cursed Scroll deals 2 damage to target creature or player.


Cards like Cursed Scroll

The Cursed Scroll is a revered piece in Magic: The Gathering, often likened to cards that offer players direct control over game dynamics. Cards such as Grafted Skullcap provide a draw power but at a high cost – the requirement to discard your hand at each end step. While the Skullcap boosts card advantage, Cursed Scroll provides a more surgical approach allowing the player to target creatures or opponents directly, albeit relying on a bit of bluffing to maximize its potential.

Another similar artifact, Isochron Scepter, lets you imprint an instant spell costing two or less and then use it repeatedly. While the Scepter gives you a consistent spell every turn, the Cursed Scroll only requires the player to reveal a card with a matching name, which might be easier to maintain in a game with fewer cards in hand. The former offers a myriad of options depending on the deck while the latter hones in on a more focused strategy.

In a landscape where precise damage and efficient strategies are paramount, Cursed Scroll stands out amongst Magic: The Gathering artifacts, offering unique control over the board state and making it an enduring favorite among players who enjoy the subtler tactics of the game.

Grafted Skullcap - MTG Card versions
Isochron Scepter - MTG Card versions
Grafted Skullcap - MTG Card versions
Isochron Scepter - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Cursed Scroll by color, type and mana cost

Glasses of Urza - MTG Card versions
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Phyrexian Dreadnought - MTG Card versions
Signal Pest - MTG Card versions
Viridian Longbow - MTG Card versions
Chromatic Star - MTG Card versions
Glasses of Urza - MTG Card versions
Wooden Sphere - MTG Card versions
Sol Ring - MTG Card versions
Iron Star - MTG Card versions
Black Vise - MTG Card versions
Urza's Chalice - MTG Card versions
Ivory Cup - MTG Card versions
Brass Man - MTG Card versions
Mana Vault - MTG Card versions
Soul Net - MTG Card versions
The Rack - MTG Card versions
Feldon's Cane - MTG Card versions
Throne of Bone - MTG Card versions
Meekstone - MTG Card versions
Thran Foundry - MTG Card versions
Candelabra of Tawnos - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Dreadnought - MTG Card versions
Signal Pest - MTG Card versions
Viridian Longbow - MTG Card versions
Chromatic Star - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Cursed Scroll. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
MadnessMadness Premodern$1K - Pre-Modern - SCG CON Atlanta - Saturday - 9:30 am
Mono-Black ControlMono-Black Control PremodernEternal Weekend Europe 2023 Premodern Mainevent
PainterPainter LegacyPainterLegacy Preliminary 2024-03-04 (1)
Mono-Black PoxMono-Black Pox LegacyMono-Black PoxLegacy Preliminary 2024-02-05 (1)
SlighSligh PremodernEternal Weekend Europe 2023 Premodern Mainevent
Rakdos MidrangeRakdos Midrange Premodern$1K - Pre-Modern - SCG CON Hartford - Sunday - 9:30 am
Mono-Red BurnMono-Red Burn PremodernEternal Weekend Europe 2023 Premodern Mainevent
DecklistDecklist Free formMiddle School World Championships
Burning OathBurning Oath Free formMiddle School World Championships
Patchwork StompyPatchwork Stompy LegacyPatchwork StompyLegacy League 2023-12-02

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cursed Scroll offers a repeatable way to deal with opponents’ creatures or pressure their life total, effectively thinning their resources while maintaining your own.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact doesn’t directly accelerate mana, but it’s a one-time investment that can be activated multiple turns, making it a mana-efficient tool over the course of a match.

Instant Speed: Cursed Scroll’s ability operates at instant speed, allowing for strategic plays by forcing opponents to second-guess their actions during their turn and enabling you to optimize your mana use.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The effectiveness of Cursed Scroll hinges on having a single card in hand to reveal, which can become a strategic vulnerability against hand disruption tactics.

Specific Mana Cost: While Cursed Scroll requires generic mana and fits in any deck, its activation cost demands consistent mana availability, potentially conflicting with your plan to cast other spells.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To repeatedly use Cursed Scroll’s damage ability, a substantial investment of mana is needed throughout the game, which might be less efficient compared to alternatives that provide immediate or more versatile board impact.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cursed Scroll offers flexibility to a wide array of decks, allowing players to utilize its repeatable damage feature to whittle down an opponent’s life total or target key creatures on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with discard mechanics or strategies that manipulate the top of the deck, ensuring its activated ability hits consistently, thus becoming a relentless force in any game.

Meta-Relevance: As games progress and hands deplete, Cursed Scroll remains a constant threat. In a meta where holding onto cards can be a strategy, this artifact thrives by turning a low hand count into a powerful advantage.


How to Beat Cursed Scroll

Cursed Scroll has carved its niche in the vast panorama of artifact cards available to players. Renowned for its targeted damage ability, it becomes a thorn in the side of many opponents, particularly in drawn-out matches where topdecking is common. Unlike other artifacts, Cursed Scroll requires a strategic approach to nullify its impact effectively. Cards with abilities to shroud or hexproof your creatures, such as Lightning Greaves or Asceticism, can provide an essential safeguard against Cursed Scroll’s pinpoint removal.

Disenchant and Naturalize are two cost-efficient choices, directly addressing artifacts and enchantments, ensuring that Cursed Scroll’s reign is short-lived. Considering the random reveal mechanic of Cursed Scroll, reducing your hand size can also diminish its efficiency, making it less reliable for your adversary. Similarly, hand disruption tactics can disrupt the opponent’s ability to guess correctly, consequently mitigating the damage dealt by the Scroll’s ability.

Ultimately, understanding Cursed Scroll’s operational mechanics allows you to craft a well-informed strategy, bolstering your arsenal with protective measures or removal spells, and turning the tides of control in your favor.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cursed Scroll MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and World Championship Decks 1998, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Cursed Scroll and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Cursed Scroll Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 2015-05-06. Illustrated by D. Alexander Gregory.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-10-14TempestTMP 2811997NormalBlackD. Alexander Gregory
21998-08-12World Championship Decks 1998WC98 bh281sb1997NormalGoldD. Alexander Gregory
31998-08-12World Championship Decks 1998WC98 br2811997NormalGoldD. Alexander Gregory
41999-08-04World Championship Decks 1999WC99 ml2811997NormalGoldD. Alexander Gregory
51999-08-04World Championship Decks 1999WC99 mlp2811997NormalGoldD. Alexander Gregory
61999-08-04World Championship Decks 1999WC99 js2811997NormalGoldD. Alexander Gregory
71999-08-04World Championship Decks 1999WC99 kb2811997NormalGoldD. Alexander Gregory
82014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 2672015NormalBlackD. Alexander Gregory
92015-05-06Tempest RemasteredTPR 2202015NormalBlackD. Alexander Gregory

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cursed Scroll has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cursed Scroll card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2008-08-01 If you have no cards in hand, you still have to name a card. Then you fail to reveal one (since there aren’t any). Since the named card wasn’t revealed, no damage is dealt.