Searching for cards via card text

[Hellsing293]

Is there any database that I can find cards by typing effects on the card. 

For Example, if I typed in "deals 3 damage to target creature or player", would I get results such as:

Lightning Bolt
Volcanic Hammer

Something like this would be very useful for finding cards without searching through sets and sets.

[The Atog Lord]

http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/index.aspx

This is the official Wizards searchable database, including both card text and Oracle wording. It isn't perfect, but is still quite useful.

[Nefarias]

One hint for using gatherer is to be as broad as possible in your search. In your example, I would  "probably search for "deals three damage to target." (gets spelss that only hit creatures or only players, leaves out self damaging things)

Unlike something like google, where if you're not very specific you'll get literally millions of results, even the most broad search in gatherer can only come up with a relatively small number of results which are easy to view and scan through. I'd personally rather wade through a few more irrelevant cards, which takes like an extra fifteen seconds, then risk missing something important.

Also, I haven't used it in forever, but as I recall, Apprentice also featured a searchable database, though I can't come up with a single reason to use that over Gatherer.

[diopter]

How do you search for hybrid mana costs on Gatherer? I can't for the life of me figure it out.

[Webster]

How do you search for hybrid mana costs on Gatherer? I can't for the life of me figure it out.

Set a color restriction to multi-color.

[Nefarias]

How do you search for hybrid mana costs on Gatherer? I can't for the life of me figure it out.

Set a color restriction to multi-color.

You can narrow that search some more by setting the set restriction to Shadowmoor/Shadowmoor block (when Eventide comes out), or Legality restriction to Shadowmoor Block constructed (I'm assuming that's a format). It'll just miss out on the 30 Rav block hybrids (which cannot be searched for quite as easily, considering putting in the parameters of Multicolor and Rav block will have a lot more results).

[Hellsing293]

Wow thanks for the link, this thing is awesome!  Just one question: how do I input mana costs into the search bar?

[andrewpate]

You place the letter "o" before each mana symbol.  Also, if you are searching for a string of mana symbols, you will need to get them in the right order.  For example, if you wish to find each card which can make both  and with a single activation, you will need to but them in the order since the Oracle always orders them that way.  The appropriate search string would then be something like:

add oWoB

Placing that in the search bar, I get Ancient Spring, Orzhov Basilica, and Orzhov Signet.  By checking only the box labeled "Search mana cost," it is possible, in a somewhat cumbersome manner, to search for specific color combinations.  Hope that helps.

Fun fact:  for this reason, if you search for Oboro with the default boxes checked, in addition to the moonfolk-related cards from Saviors of Kamigawa, you will also find a number of other cards such as Channel the Suns and Xira Arien.  This has been a known issue for years but they aren't making any move to fix it last I heard.