Survival of the Fittest
Mana cost {1}{G}.
{G}, Discard a creature card: Search your library for a creature card, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
Survival of the Fittest is a green card, legal in Premodern, shown in its old-frame Exodus printing.
Price and printings: Cardmarket (€336.81) · TCGplayer ($436.5) · Scryfall
Tracked daily since 28 July 2026: on Cardmarket between €305.50 and €370.36 in that time.
Also printed with a gold border in World Championship Decks 1998, for less. Gold-bordered copies aren't tournament legal, but some Premodern events allow them: where, and what they save.
How often Survival of the Fittest is played
Survival of the Fittest is maindecked in 10 of 131 tournament decks in this archive (8%), averaging 3.8 copies; used by 4 of 33 tracked archetypes.
Counting only the 62 decks that can cast green cards, 10 of them play it (16%).
See how it compares on the Premodern staples list.
Premodern archetypes that play Survival of the Fittest
- Full English Breakfast: For {G} and a creature card discarded from your hand, it searches your library for any creature card, and the discarded card becomes the new top card of your graveyard. It is the engine for the FEB kill and the most flexible card in the deck; against decks without enchantment removal, a resolved Survival is hard to beat.
- Elves: Pay {G} and discard a creature card to search your library for a creature card, at instant speed and as often as you have mana and creature cards. It is in almost every list; Duress can take it from your hand, Annul counters it, and Naturalize effects or a Pernicious Deed activated for two destroy it.
- UG Madness: About half the lists play it. For {G} and a discarded creature card it finds any creature, at instant speed, and a discarded Basking Rootwalla or Arrogant Wurm can still be cast for its madness cost. With Squee returning each upkeep it is a tutor every turn for one green mana. It is also the expensive card, about $440 a copy.
- Aluren: The second engine of the reference list, in about a quarter of current lists. For G it discards a creature card and finds any creature, which Aluren then casts for free: Squee is discard fodder that returns every upkeep, Ghitu Slinger the kill, Monk Realist and Uktabi Orangutan the answers.
Tournament decks with Survival of the Fittest
- Survival Recurring: 1st Place at Monster Mash 2026 (4× mainboard)
- Elves: 1st Place at Empoli #2 Phyrexian Academy (4× mainboard)
- Madness: 1st Place at PMPMPMPM XLI (4× mainboard)
- Natural Elves: 1st Place at European Masters 2026 Valencia (4× mainboard)
- Survival Infestation: 5th Place at Liga Paulista de Premodern 2026 (4× mainboard)
- UBG Madness: 1st Place at Lega Roma - IV Tappa (2× mainboard)
- Rofellos Order Survival: 3rd Place at Eternal Echoes @ Gamerz Paradise (4× mainboard)
- Turbo Rofellos: 1st Place at Premodern Galicia (4× mainboard)
- Sneaky Survival: 4th Place at Urduliz Link Up (4× mainboard)
- Welder Survival: 1st Place at 1K @ SCG CON Washington (4× mainboard)
Spicy brews with Survival of the Fittest
- Battle of Wits (4×)
