Lurking Automaton MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact Creature — Construct |
| Released | 2014-06-06 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Conspiracy |
| Set code | CNS |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 0 |
| Number | 63 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Yeong-Hao Han |
Key Takeaways
- Lurking Automaton grows in power based on draft position, adding surprise elements to gameplay.
- Its creature type and variable stats complement artifact-focused strategies, aiding synergies.
- Preparedness for its uncertain strength is key, employing removals that bypass its size.
Text of card
Reveal Lurking Automaton as you draft it and note how many cards you've drafted this draft round, including Lurking Automaton. Lurking Automaton enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the highest number you noted for cards named Lurking Automaton.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lurking Automaton can effectively become a substantial creature on the battlefield without costing you additional cards from your hand. As it reveals cards from the top of your library, it becomes larger for each card revealed, allowing you to maintain card advantage while still playing a significant threat.
Resource Acceleration: Although not providing direct resource acceleration in terms of mana, the Lurking Automaton’s presence as a potentially large creature can deter opponents from attacking, effectively buying you time to build up your mana base and deploy other resources without pressure.
Instant Speed: While Lurking Automaton itself is not an instant, its interaction with instant-speed spells and mechanics can be valuable. Being able to hold up mana for instant-speed interaction and then using any leftover mana to cast the Automaton can catch opponents off guard, allowing for more strategic and flexible play.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One of the downsides of utilizing the Lurking Automaton is the necessity for deck manipulation or specific conditions to maximize its value. This aspect can become a potential liability if the setup isn’t executed properly within your game.
Specific Mana Cost: This card comes with a colorless mana cost which can be a double-edged sword. While it offers flexibility in deck building, it necessitates a pool of generic mana, which can be less efficient compared to utilizing mana of a specific color for more powerful spells or creatures tailored to your deck’s strategy.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that’s dependent on the game’s circumstances, the Lurking Automaton can sometimes represent an inefficient allocation of resources. It requires you to invest a substantial amount of mana, which may not always correlate with the creature’s strength on the battlefield, especially if played too early or without the proper strategic setup.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Lurking Automaton is an adaptable creature card that can surprise opponents with its variable power and toughness. Its strength is contingent on its reveal position from your library, making it a chameleon in both draft decks and unique constructed formats.
Combo Potential: As a construct, Lurking Automaton has synergies with decks that capitalize on artifact strategies. It can serve as a sizable addition that fuels mechanics relying on artifact count or an enabler for sacrificial effects.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where draft or sealed play is predominant, Lurking Automaton’s impact can be significant. It adapts to the flow of the game, potentially becoming a formidable force as the rounds progress and can shape your draft picks around it.
How to beat
Lurking Automaton presents a unique challenge in the Magic: The Gathering battlefield when it comes to tactical play. This artifact creature’s power and toughness can spring a surprise on opponents, determined by its revealing position from the draft booster. A keen strategy for overcoming the Lurking Automaton involves understanding its mechanic and preparing counters accordingly.
Disposing of the automaton once on the battlefield can be approached in several ways. Removal spells that don’t rely on the creature’s power are particularly effective, such as Path to Exile or Murderous Cut, sidestepping its variable size. Counter magic like Negate can prove invaluable, allowing you to prevent the automaton from ever hitting the field. Board wipes, such as Wrath of God, can also clear it away regardless of how large it has grown.
Ultimately, having a variety of answers ready, and playing them at the opportune moment, can ensure the Lurking Automaton doesn’t become an insurmountable obstacle. By keeping removal handy and not letting its size intimidate you, you’ll maintain control of the game against this unpredictable mechanical menace.
Cards like Lurking Automaton
In the world of Magic: The Gathering, creatures like Lurking Automaton are intriguing due to their variable power and toughness. Lurking Automaton peers curiously from its hidden recesses, potentially growing to great strengths based on the cards seen during a draft. It draws parallels to creatures like Scion of the Wild whose power and toughness are also contingent on dynamic in-game factors – in this case, the number of creatures under your control.
Meanwhile, another card, which echoes a twist on fluctuating power, is Serum Powder. This artifact allows players to start with a potentially more advantageous hand at the cost of exiling cards from their deck, influencing game dynamics quite differently than Lurking Automaton’s concealed might. And then there’s the adaptive Protean Hulk, a creature whose true potential is released upon leaving the battlefield, fetching numerous creatures and thereby affecting the board in a more immediate and certain way as compared to the unpredictability of Lurking Automaton’s power on reveal.
Considering these comparisons, Lurking Automaton stands out with its unique draft mechanic, offering a blend of anticipatory strategy and surprise that can sway the game’s momentum, depending on the player’s draft choices in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Lurking Automaton by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lurking Automaton MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy, 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 Lurking Automaton and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lurking Automaton has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Lurking Automaton card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-05-29 | For example, if you draft Lurking Automaton as the third card in a draft round and then another one as the sixth card in a draft round, each Lurking Automaton that enters the battlefield under your control does so with six +1/+1 counters on it. |
| 2014-05-29 | If a Lurking Automaton owned by another player enters the battlefield under your control, the number of counters it enters with will be based on the highest number you noted as you drafted a card named Lurking Automaton, not as its owner did. Unless you also drafted Lurking Automaton, this will be considered 0. |
