Surveyor's Scope MTG Card

Commander 2013 (C13)
2013-11-01 - Number 262

Surveyor's Scope - Commander Anthology (CMA)

Commander Anthology (CMA)
2017-06-09 - Number 232

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

Key Takeaways

Surveyor’s Scope helps balance land count, giving you a potential resource advantage.
The card’s activation demands careful timing and opponent land count monitoring.
Its inclusion in decks adds versatility and combo synergy, especially in Commander.

Text of card

, Exile Surveyor's Scope: Search your library for up to X basic land cards, where X is the number of players who control at least two more lands than you. Put those cards onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Surveyor’s Scope offers the potential for significant card advantage. It enables you to search for land cards and put them directly onto the battlefield, ensuring a stable flow of resources and maintaining the upper hand.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact can lead to a dramatic shift in mana availability. By checking the number of lands your opponents control and acting accordingly, it enables a catch-up mechanism that accelerates your resource access when you’re behind, giving you the means to cast high-cost spells sooner.

Instant Speed: While Surveyor’s Scope itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it allows for strategic planning during your own turn after assessing the board state. It’s a sleek inclusion in decks that favor nuanced play and calculated timing to maximize resource accrual.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Surveyor’s Scope demands an open board with two or more lands less than an opponent to activate. Beyond this condition, the card is just an inert piece on the battlefield, limiting your plays if you can’t meet its requirement. This can result in a missed opportunity for advancing your board position or interrupt your strategy flow.

Specific Mana Cost: This artifact has a fixed mana cost of two generic mana, which might seem inviting at first glance. But considering its activation and the requirement attached, this cost turns into a steep price when not meeting optimal conditions. It requires a strategic setup, thus restricting spontaneous use and making it less adaptable.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The effectiveness of Surveyor’s Scope is subject to game conditions, and even when activated, it might not yield the value you’d expect from such an investment. In the late game, when the land count difference could likely be lesser, its activation becomes less impactful. With that understanding, the two-mana investment can weigh heavily against options that could produce more immediate or guaranteed advantages.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Surveyor’s Scope slides easily into a multitude of decks that thrive on mana acceleration and land-based strategies. It’s also a perfect fit for Commander decks that focus on resource manipulation or landfall abilities.

Combo Potential: This card can unlock powerful plays by paving the way for landfall triggers multiple times in a game or enabling explosive turns with additional mana. It pairs well with effects that shuffle your library to maximize its potential.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state where multiple opponents are ramping quickly, Surveyor’s Scope can help even the playing field. Given the fluctuating nature of MTG’s meta, a card that can catch you up on land count holds enduring value.

How to beat

Surveyor’s Scope is a unique artifact in the world of Magic: The Gathering, presenting a challenge to players who must strategize effectively to overcome its land-fetching ability. A player’s success often hinges on predicting when the Scope’s controller will activate it, possibly gaining significant mana advantage with its exploration effect. The key to beating Surveyor’s Scope lies in maintaining land equilibrium or staying ahead in the land count, thus negating the Scope’s potential.

To outmaneuver an opponent wielding this card, savvy players should focus on land destruction or land count manipulation tactics. Direct cards such as Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can disrupt the opponent’s land base and maintain an even playing field. Strategies involving land bounce effects or forcing the opponent to sacrifice lands will also prove useful, as they can help you manage the land count balance, rendering Surveyor’s Scope less effective.

Ultimately, beating Surveyor’s Scope demands foresight and a well-calibrated response that constrains the opponent’s mana development. Through keen anticipation and adroit deployment of resources, players can neutralize the impact of Surveyor’s Scope and maintain the upper hand in the game.

Cards like Surveyor's Scope

Surveyor’s Scope carves its niche in Magic: The Gathering as a novel piece of mana acceleration equipment. Within the realm of artifact-based land ramp, it stands out by potentially netting multiple lands at once. This sets it apart from cards like Wayfarer’s Bauble, which simply places a single basic land onto the battlefield. The ability of Surveyor’s Scope to survey the field and balance the mana availability is unique, offering a catch-up mechanic instead of consistent ramp.

Another card that echoes the essence of conditional land fetching is Thaumatic Compass. Functionality wise, the Compass allows for steady land tutoring to your hand before transforming into a land itself. The Scope, by contrast, has the potential for a more explosive effect by placing lands directly onto the battlefield. It’s also worth noting that unlike the single-use Scope, Thaumatic Compass can be used multiple times to ensure land drops.

Lastly, the distinction between the Scope and traditional ramp spells like Rampant Growth is evident. Rampant Growth offers an assured land placement early in the game, making it a staple in the ramp arsenal. Surveyor’s Scope, however, requires strategic timing to exploit opponents’ land advantage, which can lead to pivotal shifts in the late game. Despite different operational modes, Scope’s ability to balance the scales under the right conditions makes it a viable option in decks that can afford to play a longer game.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Surveyor's Scope MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2013 and Commander Anthology, 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 Surveyor's Scope and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Surveyor's Scope Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2013-11-01 and 2017-06-09. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.