You’re at seven life. Your opponent has a board full of zombies, a look of smug satisfaction, and enough power on the table to end the game three times over. Then you tap seven mana. You cast Approach the Second Sun. You gain seven life, tuck the card seventh from the top, and suddenly the vibe in the room shifts. The clock is ticking.
It’s one of the most polarizing cards in Magic: The Gathering.
Some people call it a "cheese" win. Others see it as the pinnacle of control-deck payoff. First printed in Amonkhet, this white sorcery didn't just provide a new way to end games; it created an entire archetype that forces players to rethink how they value their library. If you've played Commander or Pioneer, you've probably felt the dread of seeing that card hit the stack for the first time. You know what's coming.
How Approach the Second Sun Actually Works
The text is deceptively simple. If you cast it from your hand and you’ve already cast another spell named Approach the Second Sun this game, you win. If not, it goes back into your library, seventh from the top, and you gain 7 life.
Simple, right?
Not exactly. There are nuances here that catch even veteran players off guard. The "cast from hand" clause is the big one. You can't just cheat this out with a Mizzix's Mastery or some graveyard recursion trick to get the win. It has to be cast from your hand the second time. However, the first time you cast it doesn't actually have to be from your hand for it to count toward the win condition later. It just has to resolve.
Also, if the spell is countered, it doesn't go seventh from the top. It goes to the graveyard. This is the nightmare scenario for the Approach player. You’ve spent seven mana—essentially your whole turn—and you have nothing to show for it but a wasted card and a target on your back.
The Math of Digging
Once the card is tucked, the game becomes a literal race against time. In a standard 60-card format or a 100-card Commander game, getting through six cards isn't as hard as it sounds if you’ve built your deck correctly.
Think about cards like Opt, Consider, or the powerhouse Memory Deluge. If you cast Approach, then follow up with a Dig Through Time, you’ve basically already won. You aren't just waiting for your draw step. You are actively hunting. This is why the card is almost exclusively found in Azorius (Blue-White) shells. You need the blue for the draw and the white for the board wipes that keep you alive long enough to see that sun rise again.
Honestly, the seven life is the most underrated part of the card. In a burn matchup or against an aggressive "Red Deck Wins" strategy, jumping from 4 life back to 11 is a massive swing. It often buys exactly the two or three turns needed to find the card again.
Why It Thrives in Commander
In casual EDH, Approach the Second Sun is a polarizing "I win" button. Some playgroups hate it because it feels like it "comes out of nowhere," but in reality, it's one of the most telegraphed wins in the game. Everyone knows exactly how many turns you have left.
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The political aspect is fascinating.
Once you cast it once, you become the Archenemy. You’ll see three players who were just at each other's throats suddenly form a pact to kill you before your next seven draws. This creates a "protect the queen" style of gameplay. You aren't just playing Magic anymore; you're playing a tower defense game where your life total is the gate.
Synergy and Setup
You don't just jam this into any deck with white mana. It needs support.
- Scry and Surveil: These are your best friends. Being able to look at the top of your library and ship the junk to the bottom makes that "seventh from the top" feel more like "third from the top."
- Cost Reducers: In Commander, cards like Grand Arbiter Augustin IV make casting a seven-mana spell twice much more manageable.
- Double Casters: If you have something like Swarm Intelligence (though that's blue), people often ask if copying the spell wins the game. The answer is usually no. The copy wasn't cast from your hand. You gain 14 life, but you still have to find the original and cast it again.
Common Misconceptions and Rules Blunders
I've seen people try to use Narset, Enlightened Master to cast Approach for free. While the "free" part is great, Narset casts from exile. If that's your second casting, you don't win the game. You just gain more life and tuck it again. It’s a feel-bad moment that happens more often than you’d think.
Another weird interaction is with "tuck" hate. If an opponent has something that prevents you from putting cards into your library or shuffles your library constantly, your Second Sun might end up at the bottom of a 90-card pile. Psychic Surgery or even a simple Field of Ruin activation can force a shuffle that ruins your day.
You have to be careful. Smart opponents will wait for you to cast Approach, let it resolve, and then crack a fetch land or force you to shuffle. Suddenly, your win condition is lost in the wilderness.
The Competitive Edge
In Pioneer, Lotus Field Combo decks have occasionally used Approach the Second Sun as a sideboard win condition. When you have a billion mana, casting it twice in a single turn is trivial.
But for most, it remains a "fun" card. It’s for the player who enjoys the tension of a ticking clock. It’s for the player who likes to say, "I don't care about your 10/10 dinosaur; I'm playing a different game than you are."
It’s fundamentally different from a combo like Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation. That combo is fast and hard to interact with. Approach is slow, clunky, and gives the table plenty of time to react. That’s why it’s generally more respected in casual circles—it feels "fairer" because the counterplay is so obvious: kill the person before they draw it again.
Surviving the Seven-Turn Gap
If you're the one playing the Sun, your goal isn't just to draw cards. It's to survive.
You need a suite of "no" spells. Dovin's Veto, Farewell, and Settlement Wreckage (or more commonly, Settle the Wreckage) are your primary tools. You are basically playing a game of stall. The psychological impact of Approach the Second Sun is that it forces your opponents to make sub-optimal, aggressive plays. They might overextend into a board wipe because they feel they must kill you now. Use that. Let their fear of the Second Sun lead them into a Supreme Verdict.
Actionable Steps for Deck Building
If you're looking to build around this, don't just throw it in as a backup. Make it the plan.
- Prioritize Tutors: If you're in white, use Solve the Equation (blue) or Moon-Blessed Cleric (if you have an enchantment version, though for the sorcery, you're looking at things like Mystical Tutor).
- Run 4+ Board Wipes: You cannot win if you are dead. You need to reset the board at least once between the first and second casting.
- Draw, Don't Just Filter: You need raw card volume. Rhystic Study or Mystic Remora are staples for a reason. They get you to that seventh card faster than anything else.
- Protect Your Hand: Use Silence or Grand Abolisher on the turn you attempt the second cast. There is nothing worse than having the win in sight only to get hit by a 2-mana Negate.
Ultimately, the card represents a specific philosophy in Magic: that the library is just as much a resource as the battlefield. Whether you love it or hate it, you have to respect the sun.
Next time you’re building an Azorius deck, ask yourself if you want to win with creatures, or if you want to win by simply existing long enough for the sun to come back around. If it’s the latter, you know what to do. Grab your copy, find some sleeves, and start counting to seven.