Glistening Sphere MTG Card


Glistening Sphere filters your deck, ensuring spell availability and enhancing strategic play. Instant speed allows flexible defense/offense, adding dynamic utility during gameplay. Despite its drawbacks, it boosts mana reserves to outpace opponents in MTG matches.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact
Abilities Corrupted,Proliferate

Text of card

Glistening Sphere enters the battlefield tapped. When Glistening Sphere enters the battlefield, proliferate. : Add one mana of any color. Corrupted — : Add three mana of any one color. Activate only if an opponent has three or more poison counters.


Cards like Glistening Sphere

Glistening Sphere enters the arena as a fresh artifact within Magic: The Gathering, resonating with its predecessors yet bringing its unique twist to the table. One can draw parallels with the classic mana rock Sol Ring, known for its efficiency in ramping up mana sources. Glistening Sphere also taps for mana, but where Sol Ring leads with a constant effect, the Sphere may impose a minor setup cost or condition to unleash its potential.

Mana Vault similarly offers a significant mana boost, but at the price of upkeep and the inability to untap each turn. Compared to this, Glistening Sphere provides a steadier source of mana, though not as explosive. Mind Stone finds a place in this comparison as well, being a staple that converts into card draw later in the game. While not as robust in mana generation as Glistening Sphere, the added late-game card draw is a plus.

The balance of initial cost, potential mana output, and secondary abilities make Glistening Sphere a card to watch out for in MTG’s ever-evolving ecosystem of mana acceleration options.

Sol Ring - MTG Card versions
Mana Vault - MTG Card versions
Mind Stone - MTG Card versions
Sol Ring - MTG Card versions
Mana Vault - MTG Card versions
Mind Stone - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Glistening Sphere grants you the crucial ability to filter through your deck. With this powerful orb, you’re manipulating the odds in your favor, ensuring that the right spells are in your hand exactly when you need them.

Resource Acceleration: Imagine the potential when Glistening Sphere hits the battlefield – not only does it refine your strategy, but it also ramps up your resources. You’re tapping into a reservoir of mana, potentially unleashing powerful spells ahead of schedule and outpacing your opposition.

Instant Speed: The sphere’s magic works at the speed of thought. Cast it in response to an opponent’s move, or simply before your turn begins, setting up an unwavering defense or preparing an unstoppable offense without missing a beat. The flexibility of instant speed ensures that your strategies are as fluid as they are formidable.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One potential drawback of the Glistening Sphere is the necessity for a card to be discarded in order to activate its abilities. For players who are managing their hand carefully or are already contending with a scant number of cards, this requirement could present a strategic challenge and diminish their capacity to seize opportunities or react to their opponent’s moves.

Specific Mana Cost: The Glistening Sphere card demands a certain combination of mana to be played, which could potentially restrict its integration into a variety of decks. Players who run multicolored or mana-specific decks might find it difficult to allocate resources for the Sphere, especially if their mana base is not optimized for its cost.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When weighing the Glistening Sphere against other options within the same mana range, it’s evident that the card’s cost is on the higher side for its effects. Players might evaluate its utility and effect compared to other cards with similar or lower mana requirements that provide comparable or enhanced benefits, leading them to consider alternative cards that maximize their strategy and mana efficiency.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Glistening Sphere is a card that seamlessly integrates into multiple deck archetypes due to its flexible mana cost and utility. Whether you’re running an artifact-centric deck or need a reliable mana fixer, this card serves multiple purposes.

Combo Potential: As an artifact, Glistening Sphere can synergize with cards that interact with or are powered by artifacts. Its ability to potentially draw a card each turn can unlock combo decks that rely on card draw mechanics for a competitive edge.

Meta-Relevance: In a constantly shifting MTG landscape, Glistening Sphere retains value by adapting to various metagames. It offers substantial control capabilities that can be pivotal, especially in matches where card advantage is the key to outlasting your opponents.


How to beat

Glistening Sphere presents players with a unique challenge in the world of Magic: The Gathering. Functioning as both an obstacle and a deterrent, this card can significantly impact the flow of the game. To navigate this, players should aim to dismantle its capabilities early on. Tooling your deck with direct removal spells that can target artifacts is a strategic move. Cards like Disenchant or Abrade offer options to remove Glistening Sphere from the game swiftly, preventing your opponent from gaining its benefits.

Additionally, implementing counterplay strategies such as using artifact hate cards that specialize in dealing with various types of non-creature permanents could prove effective. Maintaining a deck that can directly deal with artifacts and enchantments provides a level of preparedness against Glistening Sphere. Remember to play efficiently and keep up the pressure. Cutting off the Sphere’s potential to shape the battlefield in your adversary’s favor is essential. The key lies in adaptive gameplay that can swiftly neutralize the sphere’s glimmer before it fully realizes its disruptive potential.


BurnMana Recommendations

Embarking on your MTG journey with Glistening Sphere can turn the tide of your matches, offering you ways to finesse your deck’s performance. With its ability to filter cards and accelerate resources, it opens up new strategic avenues on the battlefield. However, mindful of its mana demands and discard requirement, consider how it fits into your deck’s synergy. Keen to refine your strategy or bolster your artifact synergies? Dive deeper with us, where you can explore advanced gameplay tactics and learn to best harness the sphere’s full potential. Let’s unlock your path to victory together.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Glistening Sphere MTG card by a specific set like Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander and Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Glistening Sphere and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Glistening Sphere Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-02-03 and 2023-02-03. Illustrated by Tuan Duong Chu.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be One CommanderONC 202015NormalBlackTuan Duong Chu
22023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be One CommanderONC 582015NormalBlackTuan Duong Chu

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Glistening Sphere has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Glistening Sphere card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2023-02-04 An ability that triggers "Whenever you proliferate" triggers even if you chose no permanents or players while doing so.
2023-02-04 If a permanent ever has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it at the same time, they're removed in pairs as a state-based action so that the permanent has only one of those kinds of counters on it.
2023-02-04 If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.
2023-02-04 Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.
2023-02-04 To proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.
2023-02-04 You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter, only the ones you want to add another counter to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.