The Intuition Cheatsheet
A few tips: Intuition takes real skill, and it'll take a while to learn every line it opens up, since it does so many jobs over the course of a game. The core tradeoff is now versus later: when you tutor for a non-combo piece (like removal or a sideboard card), you're pulling three copies out of your deck to guarantee one in hand right now. Keep this in mind when building your deck, too—anything you want to reliably fetch with Intuition needs at least 3 copies in your 75.
How Piles Work
Your opponent picks which card goes to your hand—the other two hit the graveyard. Build every pile around this rule:
General Heuristics & Timing
Against permanent graveyard hate like Tormod's Crypt, Phyrexian Furnace, or Planar Void, don't build combo-dumping piles blind. Intuition becomes a removal tutor—grab three Seal of Cleansing or Disenchant to clear their hate before reassembling the combo.
In long games against control, don't over-tutor. Intuition pulls three cards at a time, and with Attunement and Frantic Search looting on top, you can burn through win conditions or risk decking out if your first reanimation attempts get countered. Know when to stop thinning and start conserving.
Common Tactical Piles
The standard piles and when to reach for each one. = to hand = to graveyard
| Pile | When to Use | Standard Configurations | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumping Combo Pieces | You're holding Replenish plus a discard outlet. Need enchantments in the yard now. | Opal + Decree + Wave Opal + Opal + Wave Wave ×3 | Graveyard |
| Split Piles | Late game. Three different cards that all advance your plan—every choice the opponent makes is wrong. | Replenish + Attunement + Wave | Hand |
| Targeted Removal | A creature clock or a lock piece is about to kill you. Grab whichever answer the board needs. | Swords ×3 Seal ×3 | Hand |
| Land Drops | Mana-light hand that's otherwise great, or late-game deck thinning against control. | Tomb ×3 Skycloud ×3 Plains ×3 | Hand |
| Discard Engine | Hand is clogged with enchantments and Replenish but no way to discard them. | Frantic Search ×3 Attunement ×3 | Hand |
| Sideboard Tech | Games 2–3. Shut off counters, disable utility lands, or stop their combo cold. | Meddling Mage ×3 Abeyance ×3 Tsabo's Web ×3 | Hand |