Natural Order MTG Card


Natural Order provides game-altering card advantage through selective creature summoning. It accelerates resources, but a sacrifice is required, posing a potential downside. The card’s value shines in versatile deck-building and ever-changing metas.
Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Sacrifice a green creature: Search your library for a green creature card and put it into play as though it were just played. Shuffle your library afterwards.

. . . but the price of Mangara's freedom was Asmira's life.


Cards like Natural Order

Natural Order is a powerhouse in Magic: The Gathering, setting a high bar for creature tutoring spells. This card allows players to sacrifice a green creature in exchange for a green creature card from their deck, putting it directly onto the battlefield. A card with a parallel concept is Green Sun’s Zenith, which can search for any green creature, but rather than sacrificing a creature, it requires X mana where X is the creature’s mana cost, putting it into play with a slight delay.

Another card that echoes the mechanics of Natural Order is Eldritch Evolution. Sacrificing a creature as part of the cost, Eldritch Evolution fetches a creature with a value of two plus the converted mana cost of the sacrificed creature. It’s a potent tutor, but it lacks the capacity to directly fetch any high-cost creature like Natural Order does. Chord of Calling is yet another similar spell, allowing for convoke and an instant-speed creature search, though costing more mana than Natural Order for comparable creatures.

Weighing the pros and cons of each tutoring option, Natural Order shines for its ability to cheat the conventional mana curve and immediately present a game-changing threat on the battlefield. It undoubtedly holds a unique place in the arsenal of creature fetching spells within Magic: The Gathering.

Green Sun's Zenith - MTG Card versions
Eldritch Evolution - MTG Card versions
Chord of Calling - MTG Card versions
Green Sun's Zenith - MTG Card versions
Eldritch Evolution - MTG Card versions
Chord of Calling - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

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

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Cradle ControlCradle Control LegacyCradle ControlLegacy Challenge 64 2024-03-31
DecklistDecklist Free formHoliday Night Magic
ElvesElves LegacyElvesLegacy Challenge 64 2024-04-14
Bant Natural OrderBant Natural Order LegacyBlue ZenithLisbon Legacy League 2024 // 5th Qualifier

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Natural Order is a powerful tool for creating a substantial shift in your on-board assets. By sacrificing a green creature, you get to summon potentially game-changing creatures directly from your library into play, effectively by-passing mana costs and setup.

Resource Acceleration: This card serves as a massive acceleration in resources by enabling players to skip several turns ahead in development. You can sacrifice a low-cost creature and instantly bring out a high-cost powerhouse, considerably ramping up your offensive potential early in the game.

Instant Speed: While Natural Order is a sorcery, its effect can be just as impactful as an instant speed spell in the right circumstances. The ability to use this card effectively is reliant on understanding the pace and flow of the game, positioning you to dramatically alter the board state to your advantage at a pivotal moment.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Natural Order does not involve discarding in a traditional sense, it does require you to sacrifice a green creature as part of its casting cost. This could be a significant drawback when you are sacrificing a valuable creature or if your board presence is already weak.

Specific Mana Cost: Natural Order demands both generic and specifically green mana to be played. Its requirement of two green mana sources can restrict its integration in multicolored decks that may struggle with mana consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of four, including two green, Natural Order is not the cheapest tutor effect available in the game. For some decks, four mana can be a steep investment, especially in the early game when establishing a board presence is critical.


Reasons to Include Natural Order in Your Collection

Versatility: Natural Order is a powerhouse in decks that capitalize on creature play. The ability to sacrifice a green creature and fetch a more powerful one directly onto the battlefield makes it a fit for various archetypes, from ramping up to massive threats to fine-tuning your board state for the perfect play.

Combo Potential: This card shines in its capacity to set up game-winning combos. Whether you’re pulling out a Progenitus for a swift win or fetching a Craterhoof Behemoth to turn a wide board into an unstoppable force, the tactical possibilities are endless, making it a must-have for any player looking to craft a deck with explosive turns.

Meta-Relevance: Given its longstanding presence in various formats, Natural Order consistently adapts to the evolving meta. Its utility in competitive play, particularly in Legacy and Commander, ensures it remains a relevant and formidable card to have up your sleeve, no matter the shifts in deck trends.


How to Beat Natural Order

Natural Order is a powerful card that allows players to sacrifice a green creature to search their library for a green creature and put it onto the battlefield. This can turn the tide of the game by summoning high-cost, impactful creatures early. However, it can be countered with strategic play.

To effectively combat Natural Order, control of the board state is vital. Counterspells like Counterspell or Negate can stop it from resolving. Graveyard interaction, such as scavenging with Scavenging Ooze, disrupts the search by dealing with key creatures before they can be pulled from the library. Instant speed removal, such as Path to Exile, can remove the creature sacrificed as a cost before Natural Order resolves, potentially causing a disadvantage to the opponent.

Enlist the use of cards that limit searching libraries, or effects that shuffle a targeted library card back into the deck, diminishing the card’s utility. Cards like Aven Mindcensor restrict searching, turning Natural Order into a lesser threat. By understanding and utilizing these strategies, players can temper the strength of Natural Order and maintain an upper hand in their matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the arts of MTG demands understanding the high stakes of every card play. Natural Order’s potential to reshape the battlefield is unquestionable, capable of summoning game-altering creatures seemingly in the blink of an eye. If you’re eager to elevate your green-based deck with this classic tutor card, optimize your strategy by learning more about synergies and counters. Remember, it’s not merely about possessing powerful cards like Natural Order, but knowing when and how to play them. To deepen your knowledge and refine your tactics, join us and discover how to turn a good play into an unforgettable victory. Dive into our MTG insights and become a formidable player.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Natural Order MTG card by a specific set like Visions and Portal, 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 Natural Order and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Natural Order Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 1997-02-03 and 2021-04-23. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-02-03VisionsVIS 1141997NormalBlackTerese Nielsen
21997-05-01PortalPOR 1751997NormalBlackAlan Rabinowitz
32002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 435362003NormalBlackTerese Nielsen
42010-01-01Judge Gift Cards 2010G10 22003NormalBlackTerese Nielsen
52016-06-10Eternal MastersEMA 1772015NormalBlackTerese Nielsen
62021-04-23Strixhaven Mystical ArchiveSTA 1172015NormalBorderlessAyami Nakashima
72021-04-23Strixhaven Mystical ArchiveSTA 542015NormalBorderlessAnato Finnstark

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Natural Order has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlBanned
CommanderLegal
HistoricBanned
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerBanned
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelBanned
PredhLegal
GladiatorBanned
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2016-06-08 Players can respond to this spell only after it's been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to destroy the creature you sacrificed to stop you from casting this spell or to make you sacrifice a different one.
2016-06-08 Sacrificing a green creature is part of Natural Order's cost. You can't sacrifice more creatures to search for more creature cards, and you can't cast Natural Order at all if you control no green creatures.