Aladdin's Lamp is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
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: The next time you would draw a card this turn, instead look at the top X cards of your library, put all but one of them on the bottom of your library in a random order, then draw a card. X can't be 0.
Complete guide
Aladdin's Lamp is a classic artifact that grants you incredible control over your draws at the cost of a significant mana investment. By rubbing this lamp, you can filter through your deck to find exactly the answer you need for the current board state. It transforms a standard card draw into a powerful selection tool, ensuring your next move is calculated rather than random.
What It Does
Aladdin's Lamp provides a replacement effect for your next card draw. By paying X and tapping the artifact, you ensure that the very next time you would draw a card this turn, you instead look at the top X cards of your library. You then choose one to draw and place the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Note that X cannot be zero; you must look at at least one card.
Resolving the Ability
When you activate the ability, you pay the mana and tap the Lamp. The ability itself does not draw a card immediately; it sets up a 'shield' that waits for your next draw. The next time a draw event occurs—whether it is your turn's draw step or an effect from another spell—the Lamp's effect triggers. You look at the top X cards, pick one, and put it into your hand. The remaining cards are shuffled to the bottom. If you activate the Lamp multiple times in one turn, the effects stack and apply to subsequent draws.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is assuming the Lamp draws the card immediately upon activation. It only affects the *next* draw. If you activate it but don't have a way to draw a card before the turn ends, the effect simply expires. Additionally, if you use two Lamp activations for the same draw, the second one will replace the draw generated by the first one, essentially wasting one of the activations unless you are drawing multiple cards.
When to Play It
Given its high mana cost of ten, Aladdin's Lamp is best suited for late-game scenarios where you have excess mana and need to find a specific win condition. It is especially potent in decks that can protect artifacts or cheat them into play, allowing you to bypass the steep casting cost and get straight to the powerful filtering effect.
Interaction examples
Darksteel ForgeWith Darksteel Forge on the battlefield, your Aladdin's Lamp gains indestructible. This allows you to safely invest large amounts of mana into the Lamp's activation each turn without the fear of a Shatter effect destroying your investment and wasting your mana.
Portal to PhyrexiaIf you have a massive amount of mana but no way to close out the game, you can activate Aladdin's Lamp for X=15. During your next draw, you look at the top 15 cards of your deck. You choose Portal to Phyrexia to ensure you can clear your opponent's board and start reanimating threats on your next upkeep.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Aladdin's Lamp
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If you use more than one Lamp effect, the second one will end up replacing the card being drawn with the first one.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Aladdin's Lamp
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.