Enchantment, BBB (3) Skip your draw step. If you would discard a card, discard it, but remove it from the game instead of putting it into your graveyard. Pay 1 life: Remove the top card of your library from the game face down. Put that card into your hand at the end of your turn.1
Illus. Mark Tedin
If the card is not still in the graveyard when the trigger resolves, it does not remove the card form the game. [D'Angelo 2008/07/12]
Removing Necropotence from play will not stop the cards from the life-payment ability from being put into your hand at the end of turn. [D'Angelo 1998/11/13]
Only has the effect of making you skip your draw step if it is in play when your draw step would normally start. [WotC Rules Team 1995/10/18]
The acquired cards are not considered draws. They will not cause damage with Underworld Dreams or have Enduring Renewal detect creatures. [D'Angelo 1995/12/08]
Can be used with Fasting. The reason is that Necropotence does not force you to skip your draw step unless it is in play at the end of your upkeep phase. Fasting allows you to mark the draw step as "skipped" during upkeep prior to Necropotence kicking in. [Aahz 1996/01/16]
Necropotence interacts with Madness (see Rule 502.24) so you cannot use the Madness ability. This is because Madness turns "discard to graveyard" into "discard to removed from game" and Necropotence turns any discard into simply "remove from game" with no discard. Madness only works if you remove it from game as part of its ability. [Jordan 2002/03/03]
The discard removal was a replacement ability until 2008/07/01 when it was made into a triggered ability. [D'Angelo 2008/07/12]
Vintage tournaments (see Rule 801) have restricted this card since 2000/10/01.
Legacy tournaments (see Rule 802) have banned this card since 2000/10/01.
Extended tournaments (see Rule 803) have banned this card since 2001/04/01.
Deckmasters
(Special)