Covenant of Minds MTG Card
2008-10-03 - Number 38
2016-08-26 - Number 105
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Reveal the top three cards of your library. Target opponent may choose to put those cards into your hand. If he or she doesn't, put those cards into your graveyard and draw five cards.
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Cards like Covenant of Minds
Covenant of Minds joins the ranks of formidable draw spells in Magic: The Gathering, inviting comparison to other influential cards within this archetype. At first glance, it bears resemblance to the blue spell Consecrated Sphinx, which also offers substantial card advantage. Covenant of Minds presents a unique twist with its reveal and selection process, leading to potentially greater strategic depth. Contrary to the more passive card accrual of Consecrated Sphinx, Covenant of Minds is more proactive, allowing for the choice of the next few spells to cast.
Another related card is the iconic Blue Sun’s Zenith, providing customizable card draw depth. While Blue Sun’s Zenith allows you to draw immediately and shuffle back into the library, Covenant of Minds requires a successful bid to optimize its effect, adding an intriguing layer of interplay with an opponent’s strategy. Similarly, Drawn from Dreams is a card that provides the option to dig deep into the deck for answers, but it lacks the interactive component that makes Covenant of Minds stand out.
Players looking for a blend of control over their draw and an element of surprise with their gameplay might find Covenant of Minds an interesting and potent inclusion in their deck strategies. Its high casting cost is justified by the potential to shape the coming turns, demonstrating its unique standing among Magic: The Gathering’s card drawing repertoire.
Cards similar to Covenant of Minds by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Covenant of Minds stands out by offering a substantial boost in card selection, potentially letting you reveal the top three cards of your library and cast one without paying its mana cost. This mechanic can tilt the balance in your favor by amassing significant card advantage to outpace your opponents.
Resource Acceleration: By circumventing the mana cost of potentially expensive spells, Covenant of Minds acts as a form of resource acceleration. This advantage can be pivotal in maximizing your plays per turn and keeping the pressure on your adversaries.
Instant Speed: As a gamechanger, Covenant of Minds operates at instant speed, allowing you to adapt to the unfolding board state, maximize strategic depth, and leverage favorable plays during times most beneficial to your game plan.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The casting of Covenant of Minds necessitates revealing your hand and discarding cards. This condition can be particularly challenging when your hand size is already diminished, forcing you to make tough decisions about what to relinquish, potentially diminishing your strategic reserves.
Specific Mana Cost: One of this card’s limitations is its requirement for a specific blend of mana, including blue mana. This can restrict its integration into decks, particularly those that do not heavily feature blue or are not set up for mana flexibility, thereby reducing its overall applicability across various deck strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that leans on the higher end, utilizing Covenant of Minds comes at a significant investment, which could be a setback in fast-paced games where lower-cost alternatives might yield a more immediate and less costly impact on the game state.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Covenant of Minds exhibits remarkable flexibility in Commander and other high-synergy formats. It can seamlessly adapt to a variety of deck themes by offering substantial card advantage, thus helping you find the key components for your winning strategy.
Combo Potential: Known for its ability to reveal a significant number of cards, this card works extremely well with setups that capitalize on knowledge of deck contents. It can help assemble pieces for game-winning combinations or simply ensure your hand is full of answers and threats.
Meta-Relevance: In metagames that favor longer, more drawn-out matches, Covenant of Minds shines by replenishing your resources in the late game. Such a high-impact draw engine can tilt these protracted battles in your favor, making it an important consideration for decks that thrive on card advantage.
How to beat
Confronted with the challenge of overcoming Covenant of Minds in MTG, players must think strategically. This powerful card can shift the tide of a game by revealing the top three cards of one’s library, allowing a choice among them. To effectively counter this, one approach includes applying pressure by maintaining a faster pace and deploying threats that must be addressed promptly. This pushes the opponent to make decisions under stress and can result in suboptimal plays.
Another tactic involves the use of discard effects to deplete the hand before Covenant of Minds can activate, thus limiting its potential impact. Additionally, counterspells hold their ground as an essential defense, negating Covenant of Minds before it has a chance to catalyze an advantage. Observing these methods, players can craft a plan to disrupt the leverage that Covenant of Minds offers an opponent and navigate the match toward victory.
Ultimately, adapting one’s strategy to include direct answers or to outpace the opponent’s plan is key against Covenant of Minds. Through such precise and reactive gameplay, players can mitigate the advantage yielded by this potent card and continue to steer the game in their favor.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Covenant of Minds MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Conspiracy: Take the Crown, 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 Covenant of Minds and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Covenant of Minds Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2016-08-26. Illustrated by Dan Seagrave.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008-10-03 | Shards of Alara | ALA | 38 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dan Seagrave | |
| 2 | 2016-08-26 | Conspiracy: Take the Crown | CN2 | 105 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dan Seagrave |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Covenant of Minds has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Covenant of Minds card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-10-01 | The targeted opponent has two options: Let you have the three revealed cards or let you have five unknown cards. Note that if the opponent goes with the first option, you put cards into your hand rather than draw them (in case something like Hoofprints of the Stag cares about that), but if the opponent goes with the second option, you actually draw cards. |