When most players discuss card draw in MTG, they think blue – but red is just as capable, if not more so. While blue offers a helpful card advantage, red excels at impulse draw, letting you see many cards at once for substantial but temporary upsides. So, then what is the best MTG red card draw?
The best MTG red card draw crafts powerful hands or temporarily accesses more cards. The first category includes cards like Faithless Looting, which draw at the cost of discarding. The second category has Jeska’s Will, which exiles cards instead of drawing but lets you cast them the same turn.
Now that we know what to keep aware of when drawing cards in red, we can get to the best examples. This list isn’t in any ranked order, though. These picks can be the best when used in the correct deck. So, read on to learn the best MTG red card draw.
MTG Red Card Draw
1. Faithless Looting
Faithless Looting draws you two cards; however, you must discard two cards.
Although a first impression suggests otherwise, this ability is beneficial. With Faithless Looting, you can filter out the cards you don’t need and take advantage of powerful discard and graveyard synergies.
Not only that, but Faithless Looting also has the flashback keyword. So, you can get this great value a second time after you cast it- or discard it.
No wonder this red sorcery is banned in Modern and has fifteen Top 8s across Pro Tours and the World Magic Cup.
2. Act on Impulse & Jeska’s Will
Act on Impulse can exile the top three cards of your library but lets you play them this turn – hence the term “impulse draw.”
The more recent Jeska’s Will does the same but can also add mana as a second option or do both under the right circumstances.
This impulse draw can set you miles ahead of your opponent by giving you immediate access to more of your deck. And while this card advantage is helpful in any format, it’s best in Commander.
Together, these cards feature in over 17% of all EDHREC decklists.
3. Tormenting Voice & Thrill of Possibility
Tormenting Voice and Thrill of Possibility are two of the few two-mana spells that can draw two cards – albeit at the cost of discarding one card first.
While this move is risky, it is nevertheless highly profitable. You can replace a dud card with two new ones with these sorceries.
Together, Thrill of Possibility and Tormenting Voice have nine Pro Tour and Mythic Championship Top 8s. As well as that, Tormenting Voice is also a favorite of the Pauper format, where it enables similar aggressive red strategies.
4. Cathartic Reunion
Sometimes, scaling up a card’s effects brings it to a whole new level of power – even when you double its cost. Cathartic Reunion is such a card.
Like Tormenting Voice, it’s two-mana red sorcery. However, it draws you three cards at the expense of discarding two.
This increased level of discard isn’t necessarily a downside, either. While discarding one card of your choice is pretty negligible, tossing two cards can open the door to deadly synergies.
Cathartic Reunion is a favorite of Modern Dredge decks, where it earned four World Magic Cup and Mythic Championship Top 8s.
5. Chandra, Fire Artisan
Chandra, Fire Artisan, is a planeswalker with an effect as unique as lethal.
Whenever she loses loyalty, she deals that much damage to your opponent or one of their planeswalkers. When combined with her -7 ultimate, this ability can quickly end a game. Her ultimate impulse draws seven cards.
Her first ability is no less valuable. Although it only exiles one card to play this turn, you only need three activations before her ultimate comes online.
It’s not surprising then that the Fire Artisan was a staple of War of the Spark era Red Deck Wins builds, with one Mythic Championship Top 8.
6. Bedlam Reveler
Bedlam Reveler does it all – this red creature has decent stats, is 3/4 with prowess, and it can draw you three cards.
And it’s seen play in five Top 8 decks across several pro-level championships.
Here’s why. When Bedlam Reveler enters the battlefield, you discard your hand, then draw three cards. So, if you’ve got an empty hand, that’s an Ancestral Recall.
It comes attached to a good body, and you can cast this creature for as little as two mana if you’ve got enough instants and sorceries in your graveyard.
7. Light Up the Stage & Reckless Impulse
With these sorceries, you exile the top two cards of your library.
Unlike most impulse draw effects, you have until the end of your next turn to play them. Because of that, Light Up the Stage and Reckless Impulse let you plan further ahead and make land drops without worrying about drawing into more lands.
These two spells are identical, save for their mana costs – while Reckless Impulse costs two mana, you can cast Light Up the Stage for as little as one if an opponent lost life that turn.
Regardless, combined, these cards have seven Top 8s across professional tournaments.
8. Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Red’s answer to Jace, the Mind Sculptor, is the incredible Chandra, Torch of Defiance.
Not only can this red planeswalker win a game on her own, but her four abilities each do it in different ways. They all demand a new answer from your opponent.
Her first ability impulse draws a card – and if you don’t cast it, the Torch of Defiance deals two damage to your opponent instead. This Chandra’s other abilities are no less impressive, killing creatures, giving mana ramp, and cursing your opponent with a deadly emblem.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance, has a remarkable fifty Top 8s in Pro Tours and Worlds.
9. Galvanic Relay
With Galvanic Relay, you exile the top card of your library.
During your next turn, you can play that card. So, you can draw cards for your next turn and get around restrictions like maximum hand size or being tapped out of mana.
While other cards have similar effects, Galvanic Relay is so strong because it has the storm ability. Copy it for every other spell a player casts this turn when you cast it. In most circumstances, you won’t draw a single card with Galvanic Relay. You could quickly impulse draw six or seven cards for just three mana.