Gamble 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
Search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, discard a card at random, then shuffle.
Complete guide
Gamble is one of Red's most iconic and powerful tutors, offering a high-risk, high-reward way to find exactly what you need. For just a single Red mana, you can search your library for any card, but you must prepare for the possibility that it ends up straight in your graveyard. It is a quintessential Red card that balances raw efficiency with unpredictable chaos.
What It Does
Gamble allows you to search your entire library for any card and put it into your hand. However, immediately after finding your prize, you must discard a card from your hand at random. Finally, you shuffle your library. Because the discard is part of the spell's resolution, you don't know which card you'll lose until after you've already found your target.
How It Resolves Step by Step
First, search your library for a card and add it to your hand. Second, look at your hand; the total number of cards now includes the card you just tutored. Third, choose a card at random to discard. If you are unlucky, the card you searched for could be the one discarded. Fourth, shuffle your library. The entire process happens during the resolution of the spell, so no player can take actions between the search and the discard.
Common Mistakes
A frequent error is assuming you can discard a card before searching to 'protect' the card you find. The search happens first, then the random discard. Another mistake is forgetting that you must discard even if you have zero cards in hand before the search; you will always have at least one card in hand (the one you just found) when the discard trigger occurs. Also, remember that the shuffle happens last, even if you discard a card with a triggered ability.
When to Play It
Gamble is best used when your hand is large, which statistically reduces the chance of discarding the card you searched for. It is also excellent in decks that utilize the graveyard, where discarding the searched card might not be a total loss. Use it early to find combo pieces or late to find a game-winning utility spell if you are willing to take the risk.
Interaction examples
Faithless LootingYou cast Gamble and search for Faithless Looting. After putting it into your hand, you randomly discard a card. Even if you discard the Faithless Looting you just found, you can still cast it later using its Flashback ability, effectively turning Gamble into a graveyard tutor.
VandalblastAn opponent has a dangerous artifact on board. You cast Gamble to find Vandalblast. If you have five other cards in hand, you have a 5/6 chance of keeping the Vandalblast. If successful, you can then cast Vandalblast to destroy the threat. If you are unlucky and discard the Vandalblast, you have lost your answer to the artifact.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Gamble
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
You might end up discarding the card you searched for. It's a gamble!
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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