For players of Magic: The Gathering, the ability to search for specific cards at the right time can make all the difference between victory and defeat. Diabolic Intent is one of those powerful tutor cards that has become a favorite for many black deck enthusiasts. With its simple cost of two mana and an added requirement to sacrifice a creature, this sorcery offers immense value by allowing players to search their library for any card and put it directly into their hand. While it is strong and flexible, there are several other cards like Diabolic Intent that offer similar effects, each with its own unique conditions and deck synergies.
Understanding What Makes Diabolic Intent Powerful
Before diving into alternatives, it’s important to understand why Diabolic Intent is considered a powerful card. For two mana (one generic and one black), it offers a near-unrestricted tutor effect any card from your library goes to your hand. The trade-off is sacrificing a creature, but in many decks, especially those built around graveyard recursion or token generation, this is not a drawback but a benefit. Diabolic Intent is often used in Commander, Legacy, and even Cube formats for its efficiency and versatility.
Cards Similar to Diabolic Intent
When looking for cards like Diabolic Intent, you’re essentially searching for black or multi-colored tutor cards that can fetch any card or a wide range of cards from the library. Below are various options that provide similar utility, each with slightly different costs, requirements, or speed.
1. Demonic Tutor
This is perhaps the most well-known tutor card in Magic: The Gathering. Demonic Tutor allows you to search your library for any card and put it into your hand for just two mana (one generic and one black), with no additional cost. It is essentially a cleaner version of Diabolic Intent without the need to sacrifice a creature.
- Mana Cost: 1B
- Effect: Search for any card
- Pros: No additional cost, simple and efficient
- Cons: Often expensive or restricted in formats
2. Grim Tutor
Grim Tutor is another strong alternative, allowing you to search your library for any card and put it into your hand. However, you must pay 3 life in addition to the three mana cost.
- Mana Cost: 1BB
- Effect: Search for any card, lose 3 life
- Pros: No board presence required
- Cons: Higher mana cost and life loss
3. Vampiric Tutor
Unlike Diabolic Intent, Vampiric Tutor is an instant and only costs one mana. It puts the chosen card on top of your library instead of in your hand, but being instant-speed gives it significant value in many scenarios.
- Mana Cost: B
- Effect: Search for any card, place it on top of your library
- Pros: Low cost, instant speed
- Cons: Delayed access to the card, lose 2 life
4. Beseech the Queen
This tutor has a unique hybrid mana cost and a limitation: it can only search for a card with converted mana cost less than or equal to the number of lands you control. Despite the limitation, it still often serves as a versatile tutor in mono-black decks.
- Mana Cost: {2/B}{2/B}{2/B}
- Effect: Search for a card with CMC ⤠number of lands
- Pros: Flexible mana cost, useful mid-to-late game
- Cons: Can’t always fetch high-cost spells
5. Profane Tutor
This is a modern suspend card that works similarly to Demonic Tutor but requires two turns of waiting unless you can cheat the suspend mechanic.
- Mana Cost: Suspend 2 1B
- Effect: Search for any card and put it into hand
- Pros: Free to cast after suspension
- Cons: Delay before effect resolves
Sacrifice-Based Tutors Like Diabolic Intent
If the sacrifice element of Diabolic Intent is a benefit in your deck, then there are other tutor cards that also require or reward sacrificing creatures. These can be especially strong in Aristocrats, Zombie, or Reanimator-themed decks.
6. Final Parting
This five-mana sorcery allows you to search for two cards: one goes to your hand and the other to your graveyard. It’s perfect for decks that utilize the graveyard as an additional resource.
- Mana Cost: 3BB
- Effect: Tutor one to hand, one to graveyard
- Pros: Two-card selection, fuels graveyard strategies
- Cons: High mana cost
7. Razaketh, the Foulblooded
Razaketh is a massive black demon that allows you to tutor at will by paying life and sacrificing creatures. While not a single spell, Razaketh can be a game-ending engine once it’s on the field.
- Mana Cost: 5BBB
- Effect: Pay 2 life and sac a creature to tutor
- Pros: Repeatable tutoring
- Cons: High cost, vulnerable to removal
8. Sidisi, Undead Vizier
This legendary zombie naga offers a tutor on a stick. When Sidisi enters the battlefield, you may exploit another creature to tutor any card into your hand.
- Mana Cost: 3BB
- Effect: Exploit another creature to tutor
- Pros: Adds to board presence, creature synergy
- Cons: Needs a creature to exploit
Budget Alternatives to Diabolic Intent
For players on a budget, some tutor cards provide similar functionality without the high price tag. They may come with limitations, but they’re excellent in casual play or as placeholders.
- Dark Petition: A five-mana tutor that gives you three black mana if you have spell mastery.
- Mastermind’s Acquisition: Lets you search your library or wishboard in best-of-one formats.
- Infernal Tutor: In legacy decks where your hand is empty, this becomes a Demonic Tutor clone.
How to Choose the Right Tutor
When deciding which tutor card fits your deck best, consider the following:
- Mana curve: Can your deck afford the mana cost?
- Speed: Do you need the card now, or can you wait a turn?
- Synergy: Does your deck benefit from creature sacrifice or graveyard strategies?
- Format legality: Is the card allowed in your format (Commander, Modern, Legacy)?
For example, in Commander, Diabolic Intent is a great fit in sacrifice-heavy decks, while Vampiric Tutor or Demonic Tutor might be more broadly applicable in any deck looking for consistency. Budget decks may rely on cards like Beseech the Queen or Dark Petition to stay competitive without spending a fortune.
Cards like Diabolic Intent form the backbone of many black-based Magic: The Gathering decks by offering reliable ways to find specific answers or combo pieces. Whether you need efficient tutors like Demonic Tutor, sacrifice synergies like Sidisi or Razaketh, or budget alternatives like Final Parting, there are plenty of options to explore. Choosing the right tutor depends on your deck’s strategy, available mana, and format requirements. By understanding the range of tutor effects available, you can build more consistent and competitive decks that reflect your unique playstyle.