<p>I use scryfall and search for some of the unique terms, and take out some terms that might lead to false positives. </p>

<p><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22Prevent%22+o%3A%22all%22+o%3A%22damage%22+-o%3Atarget+-o%3Achoice&amp;order=cmc" rel="noreferrer">https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22Prevent%22+o%3A%22all%22+o%3A%22damage%22+-o%3Atarget+-o%3Achoice&amp;order=cmc</a></p>

<p>Here, I decided to search for "prevent", "all", "damage", and the filtered out "target" and "choice" because they were giving a lot of spells that prevented damage from one creature, and that's not really what a Fog is. They have a syntax guide on the website that will help you build complex searches like this. the most basic syntax is using <code>o:</code> to search for words in the text box and <code>-o:</code> to exclude terms.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-25T17:12:57.800Z
2017-07-25T17:12:57.800Z
Blake Runnoe
<p><a href="http://mythicspoiler.com/search.html" rel="noreferrer">MythicSpoiler</a> provides something they call "Thesaurus" (usually used for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesaurus" rel="noreferrer">finding word synonyms</a>).</p>

<p>Although not the site's primary functionality, you can search for specific cards and it will yield you similar cards in nature and functionality, and excluding any other factors, which has its own pitfalls - for example, it wouldn't give you just any other green card, but it might give you a non-green alternative with the same function. The range is limited to three cards at a time, though.<br>
<a href="http://www.mythicspoiler.com/m14/cards/fog.html" rel="noreferrer">Searching for Fog</a>, for example, you will get suggestions for <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDruid%27s%5d%2b%5bDeliverance%5d">Druid&#39;s Deliverance</a>, <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMoment%27s%5d%2b%5bPeace%5d">Moment&#39;s Peace</a>, and <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMoonmist%5d">Moonmist</a>.</p>

<p>This is an exclusively manual process, as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/2ey7hc/how_does_mythicspoilercom_generate_their/" rel="noreferrer">stated by its creator</a>. You can choose to partake in this process by submitting your own card suggestions.</p>

<hr>

<p>There are attempts to solve this issue procedurally as well, such as <a href="https://kaushikvblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/magic-the-gathering-thesaurus/" rel="noreferrer">this attempt to solve it via NLP</a> (Natural Language Processing). They link to a <a href="https://github.com/kaushikvasu/Data_Science_Projects/tree/master/mtg_app" rel="noreferrer">GitHub repository</a>, but unfortunately there seems to be no existing implementation to try it out yourself quickly.</p>

<hr>

<p>That said, for the multitude of cards available as alternatives to <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bFog%5d">Fog</a>, you're better off doing a specific Gatherer search (or search the database tool of your choice in a similar manner), for example for <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&amp;text=+[%22prevent%20all%20combat%20damage%20that%20would%20be%20dealt%20this%20turn%22]&amp;color=+[G]" rel="noreferrer">all green spells with the phrase "Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn"</a>. This is the only process I can think of that will guarantee that you're not missing the card you're looking for, as long as you choose your search parameters sensibly - for example, the above search won't yield <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bTerrifying%20Presence%5d">Terrifying Presence</a> as a result.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-28T19:50:53.963Z
Thank you all! Between Scryfall, MythicSpoiler and I found EDHREC, I should be fine. Happy FNM!
Octomjbber
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-25T07:09:32.693Z
2017-07-25T08:50:56.800Z
2017-07-25T08:50:56.800Z
TheThirdMan
<p>MTGAssist.com was built specifically for this. Here's an example for Fog: <a href="https://www.mtgassist.com/search.php?similar_to=fog" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.mtgassist.com/search.php?similar_to=fog</a></p>

<p>You can even combine it with other search options to find exactly what you're looking for.</p>

<p>Hope this helps,
Adam</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-25T16:35:36.060Z
2018-10-25T16:35:36.060Z
tremor76
<p>Your question inspired me to add <em>Search similar cards</em> feature to my program Mtgdb.Gui. See screenshot below to estimate the quality of search result.</p>
<p><a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/master/out/help/l/like_query.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/master/out/help/l/like_query.jpg" alt="search example" /></a></p>
<p>See also <a href="https://github.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/wiki/4.-Search-text#search-similar-cards" rel="nofollow noreferrer">feature description</a> in application wiki.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://github.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/wiki" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wiki</a> to get more information and screenshots<br></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-06T17:45:13.677Z
I'm curious, how do you measure similarity between cards?
murgatroid99
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-06T17:58:31.280Z
By comparing `Text` and `GeneratedMana` fields.
The hardwork is done on the side of Lucene fulltext index, which executes a so-called `MoreLikeThis` query
Nikolay Hidalgo Diaz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-06T18:04:21.547Z
I myself was surprised about good quality of output given that the comparison is done by pure textual analysis.

`GeneratedMana` comparison however, is based on a large amount of work I do to recognize mana generating patterns in card text.
Nikolay Hidalgo Diaz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-07T17:30:27.007Z
I use a combination of Magic Assistant (stand alone program) and MTGCollectionbuilder.com. Both have cool features I like, plus in case one crashes I have a backup... but wouldn't mind going to one if I could find a comparable application. I'll give yours a try this weekend
Octomjbber
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-10T18:14:46.570Z
@Octomjbber, in case you find some great features missing in my program, feel free to request it. My personal limited scope of knowledge and ideas is not enough to make a great application,  ideas from other people is what mostly made Mtgdb.Gui what it is now.
Nikolay Hidalgo Diaz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-04-06T15:25:27.257Z
2020-07-25T22:58:31.973Z
2020-07-25T22:58:31.973Z
Nikolay Hidalgo Diaz
<p>Metamox.com is exactly what your looking for. Enter a card name and it will give you every card that functions like or similar to it. I use it when building my decks for strong synergy.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-27T22:59:26.857Z
2018-11-27T23:16:29.533Z
2018-11-27T23:16:29.533Z
Jerimiah Mundy
<p>I'm looking for a tool/website that would aid in deck building, specifically by providing alternatives to a specific card, say <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bFog%5d">Fog</a>. It should respond with traditional data plus suggestions of similar cards like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bHaze%20of%20Pollen%5d">Haze of Pollen</a> or <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bCommencement%20of%20Festivities%5d">Commencement of Festivities</a>.</p>

<p>I've looked on Google's Play Store, and also tried many of the leading websites (TappedOut, ChannelFireball, etc.) While TCGPlayer and Amazon will recommend cards based on other buyers purchases, those suggestions may not be similar in nature to the first card.</p>

<p>Gatherer does have comments on many cards, but it's too time consuming to scroll page after page.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-25T03:57:26.140Z
There's a good chance that what you're looking for simply doesn't exist (yet). Evaluating similarities between cards is a fairly complex problem, and it may simply be that nobody has automated it or manually done it for every card.
murgatroid99
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-25T08:19:46.027Z
Have you tried the deck builder on Tappedout? there are suggestions that others in the community can drop on to your deck as well as auto suggestions. you can always ask for alternatives to cards you have put in you deck in the description. I believe that similar cards are decided better through human interaction than automation. there should be a way you can prompt other users on tapped out to give you more effective cards in you decks. There are plenty of examples if you search through tappedout.
ThunderToes
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-25T08:21:03.717Z
also what would you define as "Traditional Data"?
ThunderToes
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-28T19:48:41.987Z
Traditional data - I meant simply basic card stats one could get anywhere - CMC, set, legality, etc.
Octomjbber
<magic-the-gathering>
Tool to search for cards with similar functionality
Octomjbber
# Tool to search for cards with similar functionality

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-25)

I'm looking for a tool/website that would aid in deck building, specifically by providing alternatives to a specific card, say [Fog](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bFog%5d). It should respond with traditional data plus suggestions of similar cards like [Haze of Pollen](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bHaze%20of%20Pollen%5d) or [Commencement of Festivities](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bCommencement%20of%20Festivities%5d).

I've looked on Google's Play Store, and also tried many of the leading websites (TappedOut, ChannelFireball, etc.) While TCGPlayer and Amazon will recommend cards based on other buyers purchases, those suggestions may not be similar in nature to the first card.

Gatherer does have comments on many cards, but it's too time consuming to scroll page after page.

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There's a good chance that what you're looking for simply doesn't exist (yet). Evaluating similarities between cards is a fairly complex problem, and it may simply be that nobody has automated it or manually done it for every card.  
> **username_2**: Have you tried the deck builder on Tappedout? there are suggestions that others in the community can drop on to your deck as well as auto suggestions. you can always ask for alternatives to cards you have put in you deck in the description. I believe that similar cards are decided better through human interaction than automation. there should be a way you can prompt other users on tapped out to give you more effective cards in you decks. There are plenty of examples if you search through tappedout.  
> **username_2**: also what would you define as "Traditional Data"?  
> **username_0**: Traditional data - I meant simply basic card stats one could get anywhere - CMC, set, legality, etc.  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-07-25. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

I use scryfall and search for some of the unique terms, and take out some terms that might lead to false positives.

[https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22Prevent%22+o%3A%22all%22+o%3A%22damage%22+-o%3Atarget+-o%3Achoiceℴ=cmc](https://scryfall.com/search?q=o%3A%22Prevent%22+o%3A%22all%22+o%3A%22damage%22+-o%3Atarget+-o%3Achoice&order=cmc)

Here, I decided to search for "prevent", "all", "damage", and the filtered out "target" and "choice" because they were giving a lot of spells that prevented damage from one creature, and that's not really what a Fog is. They have a syntax guide on the website that will help you build complex searches like this. the most basic syntax is using `o:` to search for words in the text box and `-o:` to exclude terms.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-07-25. Score: 9

[MythicSpoiler](http://mythicspoiler.com/search.html) provides something they call "Thesaurus" (usually used for [finding word synonyms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesaurus)).

Although not the site's primary functionality, you can search for specific cards and it will yield you similar cards in nature and functionality, and excluding any other factors, which has its own pitfalls - for example, it wouldn't give you just any other green card, but it might give you a non-green alternative with the same function. The range is limited to three cards at a time, though.  
[Searching for Fog](http://www.mythicspoiler.com/m14/cards/fog.html), for example, you will get suggestions for [Druid's Deliverance](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bDruid%27s%5d%2b%5bDeliverance%5d), [Moment's Peace](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMoment%27s%5d%2b%5bPeace%5d), and [Moonmist](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bMoonmist%5d).

This is an exclusively manual process, as [stated by its creator](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/2ey7hc/how_does_mythicspoilercom_generate_their/). You can choose to partake in this process by submitting your own card suggestions.

---

There are attempts to solve this issue procedurally as well, such as [this attempt to solve it via NLP](https://kaushikvblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/magic-the-gathering-thesaurus/) (Natural Language Processing). They link to a [GitHub repository](https://github.com/kaushikvasu/Data_Science_Projects/tree/master/mtg_app), but unfortunately there seems to be no existing implementation to try it out yourself quickly.

---

That said, for the multitude of cards available as alternatives to [Fog](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bFog%5d), you're better off doing a specific Gatherer search (or search the database tool of your choice in a similar manner), for example for [all green spells with the phrase "Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn"](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&text=+[%22prevent%20all%20combat%20damage%20that%20would%20be%20dealt%20this%20turn%22]&color=+[G]). This is the only process I can think of that will guarantee that you're not missing the card you're looking for, as long as you choose your search parameters sensibly - for example, the above search won't yield [Terrifying Presence](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bTerrifying%20Presence%5d) as a result.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you all! Between Scryfall, MythicSpoiler and I found EDHREC, I should be fine. Happy FNM!  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-10-25. Score: 4

MTGAssist.com was built specifically for this. Here's an example for Fog: <https://www.mtgassist.com/search.php?similar_to=fog>

You can even combine it with other search options to find exactly what you're looking for.

Hope this helps,
Adam


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2018-04-06. Score: 3

Your question inspired me to add *Search similar cards* feature to my program Mtgdb.Gui. See screenshot below to estimate the quality of search result.

[![search example](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/master/out/help/l/like_query.jpg)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/master/out/help/l/like_query.jpg)

See also [feature description](https://github.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/wiki/4.-Search-text#search-similar-cards) in application wiki.

---

[Wiki](https://github.com/NikolayXHD/Mtgdb/wiki) to get more information and screenshots

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm curious, how do you measure similarity between cards?  
> **username_6**: By comparing `Text` and `GeneratedMana` fields. The hardwork is done on the side of Lucene fulltext index, which executes a so-called `MoreLikeThis` query  
> **username_6**: I myself was surprised about good quality of output given that the comparison is done by pure textual analysis.  `GeneratedMana` comparison however, is based on a large amount of work I do to recognize mana generating patterns in card text.  
> **username_0**: I use a combination of Magic Assistant (stand alone program) and MTGCollectionbuilder.com. Both have cool features I like, plus in case one crashes I have a backup... but wouldn't mind going to one if I could find a comparable application. I'll give yours a try this weekend  
> **username_6**: @username_0, in case you find some great features missing in my program, feel free to request it. My personal limited scope of knowledge and ideas is not enough to make a great application,  ideas from other people is what mostly made Mtgdb.Gui what it is now.  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2018-11-27. Score: 1

Metamox.com is exactly what your looking for. Enter a card name and it will give you every card that functions like or similar to it. I use it when building my decks for strong synergy.


---

