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What happens to a player if they have to scry (for whatever reason), but are unable to scry a card because their library is empty? Does scrying an empty library trigger a loss?

Related to What happens if you are unable to draw because your library is empty?

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You lose when you draw a card in an empty library due to rule 104.3c:

If a player is required to draw more cards than are left in his or her library, he or she draws the remaining cards, and then loses the game the next time a player would receive priority. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)

Scrying doesn't cause you to draw cards. It only allows you to look at the top X cards of your library and put them on the top/bottom of your library. See rule 701.17a:

To “scry N” means to look at the top N cards of your library, then put any number of them on the bottom of your library in any order and the rest on top of your library in any order.

emphasis mine

If scry made you draw it would say draw and not scry.

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  • Same answer with Surveil. – aloisdg says Reinstate Monica Sep 2 at 18:57
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    It might be a good idea to mention that a scry with an empty library does nothing, but an effect that tells you to scry and also do something else still does that something else. – Arthur Sep 2 at 19:51
  • And that anything that triggers off scrying will still trigger, even though your scry did nothing. (The same is true of shuffling a library with 1 or fewer cards in it.) – eyeballfrog Sep 3 at 14:52

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