The Deck of Many Things 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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: Roll a d20 and subtract the number of cards in your hand. If the result is 0 or less, discard your hand. 1—9 | Return a card at random from your graveyard to your hand. 10—19 | Draw two cards. 20 | Put a creature card from any graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. When that creature dies, its owner loses the game.
Complete guide
The Deck of Many Things is a high-risk, high-reward legendary artifact that brings the chaos of Dungeons & Dragons to your Magic table. By rolling a d20 and subtracting your hand size, you can unlock effects ranging from graveyard recursion to an instant-win condition. To master this card, you must carefully manage your resources to ensure your die roll results in the outcome you desire.
How the Die Roll Works
When you activate the ability for two mana and tap the artifact, you roll a twenty-sided die (d20). Crucially, you then subtract the number of cards currently in your hand from that roll. The final number determines which effect triggers from the results table. If this adjusted result is 0 or less, you must discard your entire hand before proceeding with any other part of the ability.
Resolving the Results Table
The result of the roll after subtraction dictates your reward. A result of 1-9 lets you return a random card from your graveyard to your hand. A 10-19 result lets you draw two cards. The ultimate prize, a result of exactly 20, allows you to take any creature from any graveyard and put it onto the battlefield. However, this creature carries a deadly curse: if it dies, its owner loses the game immediately.
Common Pitfalls
The most frequent mistake is forgetting that the subtraction happens before checking the table. Because you subtract your hand size, it is mathematically impossible to hit the '20' result unless you have zero cards in your hand when the ability resolves. Additionally, remember that players cannot respond to the result of the roll; once you roll the die, the entire ability resolves without anyone being able to cast spells or activate abilities in between the roll and the effect.
When to Play It
This card is most effective in 'Hellbent' strategies or decks that can quickly empty their hand. Since having more cards makes your rolls worse, you should aim to activate The Deck of Many Things when your hand is nearly empty to maximize your chances of drawing cards or reanimating a creature. It is also a powerful political tool in multiplayer games, as you can reanimate an opponent's creature to threaten them with player elimination if that creature dies.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumSuppose you have zero cards in hand and activate The Deck of Many Things. You roll a natural 20. Since your hand is empty, the result remains 20. You choose Solemn Simulacrum from an opponent's graveyard and put it onto your battlefield. If that Solemn Simulacrum dies, its owner (your opponent) immediately loses the game. Note that you still get to draw a card from the Golem's death trigger after the game-loss occurs.
The One RingYou have three cards in your hand, including The One Ring. You activate the Deck and roll a 12. You subtract your 3 cards, resulting in a 9. According to the table, you return a card at random from your graveyard to your hand. Even though your 'natural' roll was high enough to draw two cards (10-19), the subtraction pushed you down into the lower tier of the results table.
You have 5 cards in your hand, including The One Ring. You activate the Deck and roll a 4. Subtracting your hand size (5) results in -1. Because the result is 0 or less, you must discard your entire hand, including The One Ring. Because the result is no longer within the 1-20 range of the table, you do not get any additional effects like drawing cards or recursion.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : The Deck of Many Things
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Like all results tables, the one on The Deck of Many Things cares about the result of the die roll after any adjustments, such as subtracting the number of cards in your hand. This means it's usually not possible to get a result of 20 unless you have no cards in hand.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Dice are identified by the number of faces each one has. For example, a d20 is a twenty-sided die.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Dice used must have equally likely outcomes and the roll must be fair. Although physical dice are recommended, digital substitutes are allowed, provided they have the same number of equally likely outcomes as specified in the original roll instruction.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
An ability that tells you to roll a die will also specify what to do with the result of that roll. Most often, this is in the form of a “results table” in the card text.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
The instruction to roll a die and the effect that occurs because of the result are all part of the same ability. Players do not get the chance to respond to the ability after knowing the result of the roll.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
An effect that says “choose a target, then roll a d20” or similar still uses the normal process of putting an ability on the stack and resolving it. Choosing targets is part of putting the ability on the stack and rolling the d20 happens later, as the ability resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
Some effects may modify the result of a die roll. This may be part of the instruction to roll a die or it may come from other cards. Anything that references the “result” of a die roll is looking for the result after these modifications. Anything that is looking for the “natural result” is looking for the number shown on the face of the die before these modifications.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Some abilities, like that of Pixie Guide and Barbarian Class, replace rolling a die with rolling extra dice and ignoring the lowest roll. The ignored rolls are not considered for the effect that instructed you to roll a die, and do not cause abilities to trigger. For all intents and purposes, once you determine which dice count, any extra dice were never rolled.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
Some effects instruct you to roll again. This uses the same number and type of dice as the original roll, and that roll will use the same set of possible outcomes.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
While playing Planechase, rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result will ignore the rolling of the planar die.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
Tournament events have more specific rules regarding dice and die-rolling. For more information, please see the most recent version of the Magic Tournament Rules at https://wpn.wizards.com/en/document/magic-gathering-tournament-rules.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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