Thousand-Year Elixir MTG Card


Thousand-Year Elixir empowers creature tap abilities, allowing for immediate use upon entering the battlefield. Enables resource acceleration and combo potential, providing a quick advantage in creature-focused decks. While versatile, its casting and activation costs can be restrictive, requiring strategic mana management.
Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Text of card

You may play the activated abilities of creatures you control as though those creatures had haste. , : Untap target creature.

Paradoxically, to tilt the massive jug for a sip, you'd need the energy of the giant's tonic.


Cards like Thousand-Year Elixir

Thousand-Year Elixir is a unique artifact in Magic: The Gathering, offering similarity to cards like Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots in that they all grant haste to your creatures in some fashion. The Elixir, however, introduces an exceptional twist—it allows you to untap a freshly summoned creature for a single mana, effectively bypassing summoning sickness without conveying outright haste.

Comparisons are often drawn to Magewright’s Stone, which also untaps creatures, but unlike Thousand-Year Elixir, it’s limited to creatures with a tap ability. Meanwhile, the Elixir’s function of allowing an additional use of a creature’s tap ability within a turn rings akin to Rings of Brighthearth, yet it foregoes the Elixir’s haste-like feature for duplicating activated abilities at a cost.

Assessing the value offered by Thousand-Year Elixir, it secures a special place in decks that aim to exploit tap and untap synergies. It’s the blending of immediate utility with the potential for ongoing advantage that sets the Elixir apart from its peers in Magic: The Gathering, providing a blend of speed and repeated resourcefulness that is difficult to match.

Lightning Greaves - MTG Card versions
Swiftfoot Boots - MTG Card versions
Magewright's Stone - MTG Card versions
Rings of Brighthearth - MTG Card versions
Lightning Greaves - MTG Card versions
Swiftfoot Boots - MTG Card versions
Magewright's Stone - MTG Card versions
Rings of Brighthearth - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Thousand-Year Elixir by color, type and mana cost

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Celestial Prism - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Thousand-Year Elixir offers a significant advantage as it allows you to untap a newly controlled creature, enabling its abilities that require tapping right away. This works wonders in decks that revolve around creatures with tap abilities, effectively increasing the potential uses of your creatures and turning them into repeatable sources of value.

Resource Acceleration: By providing the ability to untap creatures right after you play them, Thousand-Year Elixir can be a form of resource acceleration. This is especially impactful in decks that contain creatures with abilities that generate mana or allow you to play extra lands, as it can ramp up your resources much faster than usual.

Instant Speed: While the Thousand-Year Elixir itself isn’t an instant, it grants instant-speed like benefits. The ability to untap a creature doesn’t use the stack, which means it happens right away once activated. This gives you the flexibility to react to your opponents’ actions during their turn, potentially surprising them with untapped creatures for blocking or using activated abilities at unexpected times.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Thousand-Year Elixir allows you to untap creatures for a quick burst of speed, it does not provide card advantage. In a game where maintaining card advantage can be crucial, having a card that focuses solely on utility without generating new options can leave you at a disadvantage if the game state doesn’t align with its abilities.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes three generic mana, the Elixir demands a sizable investment in the early to mid-game. This specific cost means it may not seamlessly slide into decks that are heavily color-committed or have a mana base built around other strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a card effect that accelerates the use of other creatures’ abilities, three mana to cast and then one to activate can be seen as a steep cost, especially when compared to other cards that can activate abilities cheaper or offer additional benefits. This can make it a less attractive option when deckbuilding under tight mana constraints.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Thousand-Year Elixir showcases flexibility by enabling creatures to use tap abilities as soon as they hit the battlefield. This ability can enhance a wide range of strategies that are dependent on creatures with tap effects across different deck types.

Combo Potential: This artifact offers significant combo potential by not only allowing creatures to activate their abilities without waiting but also by giving you the ability to untap a creature for a mere one mana. This can lead to powerful interactions and infinite combos within the right deck framework.

Meta-Relevance: In metas that value speed and the element of surprise, Thousand-Year Elixir can provide the edge needed for victory. Its capacity for immediate impact and synergy with creature-based strategies makes it a card with enduring relevance in various competitive formats.


How to beat

Thousand-Year Elixir is a powerful artifact in Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to let creatures activate their tap abilities as soon as they hit the battlefield. It’s akin to giving your creatures pseudo-haste concerning activation abilities and can dramatically accelerate your strategy. To counteract this card, consider strategies that focus on direct artifact removal such as cards like Naturalize or Artifact Blast. Hand disruption can also be effective, using spells like Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek to remove the Elixir before it’s ever played.

Additionally, keeping pace with the increased speed it provides to your opponent can be crucial. Cards that untap your creatures or provide you with extra turns, such as Time Warp or Seedborn Muse, could level the playing field. Be mindful of the board state and potential combo pieces that might utilize the Elixir. A proactive approach of countering key creatures or artifacts could prevent the most dangerous synergies that the Elixir can amplify from taking off.

Ultimately, beating Thousand-Year Elixir requires anticipation and a toolkit ready to dismantle its influence on the game. Efficient removal and disruption are your allies in this task, ensuring that your opponent’s creatures are kept in check and their potent abilities remain dormant.


BurnMana Recommendations

Optimizing your game plan is essential in MTG, and Thousand-Year Elixir is a noteworthy card that can turn the tide of play. The versatility and combo potential this artifact brings to the table enhance numerous deck types, especially those reliant on creature tap abilities. Understanding both its strengths and weaknesses is crucial for deploying it effectively or countering it when you’re facing down its power on the other side. Are you looking to deepen your strategic approach and integrate the Elixir seamlessly into your playstyle? Discover more insights and advanced tactics with us, and gain the upper hand in your next MTG showdown.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Thousand-Year Elixir MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn and Commander 2013, 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 Thousand-Year Elixir and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Thousand-Year Elixir Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2007-10-12 and 2021-04-23. Illustrated by Richard Sardinha.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-10-12LorwynLRW 2632003NormalBlackRichard Sardinha
22013-11-01Commander 2013C13 2662003NormalBlackRichard Sardinha
32017-06-09Commander AnthologyCMA 2362015NormalBlackRichard Sardinha
42020-09-26The ListPLST LRW-2632003NormalBlackRichard Sardinha
52021-04-23Commander 2021C21 2712015NormalBlackRichard Sardinha

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Thousand-Year Elixir has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2007-10-01 Thousand-Year Elixir doesn’t actually grant haste to creatures you control, nor does it let you attack with them as though they had haste.