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Rules Answers › Turn Structure & Phases

Can you scry before or after drawing in your draw step if you have a static effect that lets you scry?

Short answer
No. Static scry effects (like Thassa, God of the Sea) trigger at the beginning of your upkeep, not your draw step. You scry before you draw.

Most static effects that grant scrying each turn are written as triggered abilities that trigger "at the beginning of your upkeep," not during the draw step. The upkeep step occurs before the draw step, so you scry first, then draw your card later when the draw step begins.

During your draw step, you simply draw one card as a turn-based action (CR 504.1). There is no built-in opportunity to scry before or after that draw unless a specific card effect explicitly says so (e.g., an ability that says "whenever you draw a card, scry 1").

If a card creates a triggered ability that says "at the beginning of your draw step, you may scry 1, then draw a card," then the scry would happen before the draw within that same trigger's resolution. But this is defined by that card's text, not by any general rule about the draw step.

Concrete example: Thassa, God of the Sea says "At the beginning of your upkeep, scry 1." This triggers in your upkeep step. Later, when your draw step begins, you draw your card normally (CR 504.1). The scry and draw are in completely separate steps and are not linked.

In short: where and when you scry relative to drawing depends entirely on the wording of the specific card granting the effect. There is no general rule allowing scrying during the draw step itself.

HIGH confidence CR 504.1 CR 700.2 CR 603.1
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