Brain in a Jar MTG Card

Brain in a Jar provides card advantage by enabling off-hand spell casting, countering disruption strategies. Accelerates resources by casting spells at potentially lower costs, increasing mana efficiency and gameplay speed. Its instant speed casting ability for sorceries disrupts opponents’ plans, creating unexpected game-turning opportunities.

Brain in a Jar - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)

Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
2016-04-08 - Number 252

Brain in a Jar - Shadows over Innistrad Promos (PSOI)

Shadows over Innistrad Promos (PSOI)
2016-04-08 - Number 252s

Brain in a Jar - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)

Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
2023-03-21 - Number 247

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact
Abilities	Scry

Text of card

, : Put a charge counter on Brain in a Jar, then you may cast an instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Brain in a Jar from your hand without paying its mana cost. , , Remove X charge counters from Brain in a Jar: Scry X.

Cards like Brain in a Jar

Brain in a Jar is an intriguing utility artifact in Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels to cards that manipulate casting times and costs. Aether Vial, while not a direct comparison, also allows players to evade mana costs by cheating creatures into play. Though it doesn’t support instants or sorceries, the vial excels in creature-focused decks. Meanwhile, Isochron Scepter offers a closer resemblance, showcasing the ability to repeatedly cast a single imprinted instant with low mana cost, favoring control strategies.

Another card akin to Brain in a Jar is Vedalken Orrery, granting the flexibility to cast spells at any time you could cast an instant, thus widening strategic options. However, Orrery doesn’t offset mana costs or accumulate charge counters to scale with the game. Conversely, Brain in a Jar requires upfront investment and charge counter accumulation but offers a mana-saving avenue to casting increasingly costly instants or sorceries.

In essence, Brain in a Jar carves its niche among MTG’s cost-altering artifacts, providing a unique cost-scaling advantage for instants and sorceries, which potentially leads to powerful tempo swings in its wielder’s favor.

Cards similar to Brain in a Jar by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Brain in a Jar offers a subtle way to sneak in spells with its ability to cast them from your library. This bypasses the need to have them in your hand, effectively working around one-for-one disruption and contributing to maintaining card advantage over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: With each charge counter added to Brain in a Jar, it not only edges you closer to casting more powerful spells but also acts as a resource acceleration tool. By potentially casting spells for a lower mana cost than their printed cost, you’re in effect gaining mana efficiency and a speed boost to outpace opponents.

Instant Speed: The crux of Brain in a Jar’s utility lies in its capability to cast spells at instant speed. This means you can end-step an impactful sorcery that normally could only be played on your turn, keeping opponents on their toes and enabling surprise plays that could swing the game in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While using Brain in a Jar might seem advantageous for its ability to cast instants and sorceries, it requires a deft discard strategy. The need to remove cards for its ability can diminish your hand, leaving fewer options available as the game progresses.

Specific Mana Cost: Activating Brain in a Jar isn’t always straightforward. With a specific mana cost that includes a colorless requirement, it might not seamlessly fit into decks that aren’t prepared to produce or utilize colorless mana efficiently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the incremental advantage of placing charge counters on Brain in a Jar has its charm, the initial cost may deter players. When you account for the necessity to invest mana each turn to fully utilize its potential, other cards may offer immediate impact or more cost-effective solutions within similar mana ranges.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Brain in a Jar offers a unique way to play instants and sorceries at unorthodox times, allowing for unexpected plays. Its adaptability shines in decks that capitalize on casting spells during an opponent’s turn or when utilizing resources more efficiently.

Combo Potential: This artifact pairs well with cards that care about the number of spell casts or the types of spells cast. It synergizes with strategies that look to exploit casting cost discrepancies and can be key in executing powerful spell-based combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where control decks or those heavy on instants and sorceries prevail, Brain in a Jar can be a strategic asset, enabling you to bypass normal casting restrictions and keep pace with the demands of evolving gameplay.

How to beat

Brain in a Jar is a unique artifact in the world of Magic: The Gathering that allows players to collect charge counters and cast instants or sorceries from their hand for each counter on it. To effectively combat this strategy, direct your attention to timely artifact removal. Cards like Abrade or Disenchant can dismantle the Brain in a Jar before it accrues too many counters and becomes a formidable threat. Another approach involves preventing its activation in the first place. Counterspells such as Negate or Dovin’s Veto target triggered and activated abilities, ensuring the jar’s capabilities remain bottled up.

Maintaining pressure is key. Aggressive decks that put the opponent on a fast clock can press the issue before Brain in a Jar’s value engine gets off the ground. This pressure can force the opposing player to use their resources defensively rather than build up counters. Lastly, consider leveraging graveyard interaction tactics. Since Brain in a Jar is dependent on the spells in hand, disrupting the graveyard with cards like Scavenger Grounds can minimize the options available for your opponent to cast with the artifact’s ability.

With careful play and precise timing, you can prevent Brain in a Jar from altering the course of the game, ensuring your path to victory remains clear.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brain in a Jar MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Shadows over Innistrad Promos, 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 Brain in a Jar and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Brain in a Jar Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2016-04-08	Shadows over Innistrad	SOI	252	2015	Normal	Black	Daniel Ljunggren
2	2016-04-08	Shadows over Innistrad Promos	PSOI	252s	2015	Normal	Black	Daniel Ljunggren
3	2023-03-21	Shadows over Innistrad Remastered	SIR	247	2015	Normal	Black	Daniel Ljunggren

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Brain in a Jar has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-04-08	If Brain in a Jar leaves the battlefield before its first ability resolves, use the number of counters on it at the moment it left to determine what spell you may cast. That number won’t change because you can’t put a new counter on Brain in a Jar.
2016-04-08	If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X.
2016-04-08	If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs, such as awaken costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, such as that of Lightning Axe, you must pay those to cast the card.
2016-04-08	When resolving the first ability of Brain in a Jar, the newly-placed charge counter will be counted when determining what spells you may cast. No player may take any action between you placing the counter and choosing which spell to cast.