Scryfall

Overview

Scryfall is the premier Magic: The Gathering card database API — 100,000+ cards with full oracle text, rulings, prices, and images. Free, keyless, and CORS-enabled (verified live) — it’s the standard for MTG apps (more current than the old MTG API).

Quick Start

Random card (verified live):

curl "https://api.scryfall.com/cards/random"

{
  "object": "card",
  "name": "Utopia Mycon",
  "lang": "en",
  "released_at": "2007-05-04",
  "mana_cost": "{2}{G}",
  "type_line": "Creature — Fungus",
  "oracle_text": "At the beginning of your upkeep...",
  "prices": { "usd": "0.20", "usd_foil": "0.40" },
  "image_uris": { "png": "https://cards.scryfall.io/..." }
}

Search:

curl "https://api.scryfall.com/cards/search?q=type%3Adragon+cmc%3C4"

Card by name:

curl "https://api.scryfall.com/cards/named?fuzzy=black+lotus"

Sets / rulings:

curl "https://api.scryfall.com/sets"
curl "https://api.scryfall.com/cards/random/rulings"

Authentication

None — keyless. (Bulk data downloads need a GitHub auth token, but the API itself is free.)

Rate Limits & Notes

• ~10 requests/second per IP (they ask you to be polite) — no key needed.
• Scryfall’s search syntax: q= supports t:, c:, cmc:, pow:, set:, and full-text oracle search.
• Images are served from cards.scryfall.io — hotlink-friendly.
• fuzzy= name matching tolerates typos (“black l0tus” → Black Lotus).

FAQ

Is Scryfall free? Yes — free, keyless, CORS-enabled.

Why use it over the MTG API? Scryfall is updated faster with new sets and has richer search (verified — the old MTG API lags releases).

What’s the rate limit? ~10 requests/second per IP.