Covert Technician MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact Creature — Human Ninja
Abilities Ninjutsu
Power 2
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Enables deck manipulation and boosts hand potential, granting players strategic foresight.
  2. Resource acceleration through cost efficiency, enabling more spells or earlier creature summons.
  3. Instant speed allows real-time battlefield adaptability, disrupting opponents’ tactics effectively.

Text of card

Ninjutsu (, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.) Whenever Covert Technician deals combat damage to a player, you may put an artifact card with mana value less than or equal to that damage from your hand onto the battlefield.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Covert Technician excels in providing players with a competitive edge by allowing them to manipulate their decks and maximizing hand potential. Its ability not only fine-tunes the next draw but can also place a crucial card into your hand, keeping you one step ahead.

Resource Acceleration: This card has the added benefit of bolstering your resources through cost-efficient mechanics. It gives you the flexibility to deploy more spells in a single turn or summon high-cost creatures earlier in the game, paving the way for a dynamic strategy that can overwhelm your opponent.

Instant Speed: The power of instant speed interaction cannot be overstated. With Covert Technician, you can adjust to the battlefield on the fly, making critical decisions in response to your opponent’s actions. This adaptability can tip the scales in your favor, disrupting enemy plans as they unfold.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Covert Technician asks you to discard a card as part of its playing cost. For players whose hands are already depleted or those who value each card in hand, this requirement can pose a strategic setback, potentially losing critical resources needed later in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s demand for a particular mana combination can be restrictive. Covert Technician requires both blue and black mana, which means it may not seamlessly fit into decks that do not run on a Dimir (blue-black) color scheme, potentially affecting deck-building versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card comes with a mana cost that some players might find steep for its offered benefits. Given that MTG decks aim for efficiency, there are alternative cards at a lower cost that may provide similar or better effects, making Covert Technician a less attractive option in a competitive setting.


Reasons to Include Covert Technician in Your Collection

Versatility: Covert Technician can easily integrate into a variety of deck archetypes that are focused on creature strategies or even artifact synergies, given its unique role as a pseudo-artifact tutor.

Combo Potential: With the ability to fetch key pieces from your deck, Covert Technician synergizes well with builds aiming to assemble specific combos, providing consistency and accelerating your game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where there are a lot of decks reliant on specific artifacts or creatures, having a reliable way to fetch those critical pieces makes Covert Technician not just a good inclusion, but potentially a meta-defining choice.


How to Beat Covert Technician

Covert Technician, like any cunning plotter in MTG, can create significant advantages for the player who controls it. To outmaneuver this card, focus on a strategy that limits the opportunities for your opponent to exploit its abilities. Consider removal spells that can target Covert Technician before it has a chance to generate value. Counter spells are also effective as they prevent it from entering the battlefield altogether, ensuring it never executes its hidden tactics.

Another strategic approach is to control the number of artifacts your opponent has. Covert Technician’s power hinges on the density of artifacts in play. If you can keep that count low, the Technician’s impact will be greatly diminished. You might also favor instant-speed interactions over sorcery-speed ones to respond to your opponent’s moves in real-time.

Lastly, employ a fast-paced aggressive strategy to outpace the Technician’s slower, incremental value. If your deck can pressure your opponent and reduce their life total before Covert Technician’s advantage materializes, you’ll have effectively nullified its potential. In essence, swift and decisive actions, prudent foresight, and disruption are key in keeping this wily agent in check.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the world of MTG where every card choice can shift the tide of the game. Covert Technician offers strategic depth, infusing decks with card manipulation, resource acceleration, and the invaluable instant speed responses to an ever-changing battlefield. Embrace the challenge of incorporating this card effectively, considering the perfect mana balance and the discard trade-off. Fine-tune your deck to exploit its combo potential or counteract its influence in your meta. Whether enhancing your own collection or defending against it, let’s continue expanding your knowledge and skills. Learn more with us and capture the essence of a tasteful victory.


Cards like Covert Technician

Covert Technician carves its niche in the extensive tapestry of creature cards in MTG. It parallels functionally with cards like Stoneforge Mystic, which also possesses the noteworthy ability to fetch an equipment card from the deck. Still, Covert Technician distinguishes itself by simultaneously deploying said equipment onto the battlefield, bypassing additional mana costs that are usually associated with equipping.

Looking toward other comparative cards such as Puresteel Paladin, we find synergies with equipment as well, providing the bonus effect of drawing a card when an equipment enters the battlefield under your control. While Puresteel Paladin doesn’t have the equipment tutoring ability, it compensates by potentially making the equip cost zero if you control three or more artifacts. Equip costs often being a crucial factor in the pacing and resource management during gameplay.

Therefore, when diving into deck-building strategies, Covert Technician elevates itself among creature cards with equipment-related abilities in MTG. Its unique blend of tutoring and instantaneous equipping offers a compelling option for players looking to efficiently capitalize on equipment synergies in their deck.

Stoneforge Mystic - MTG Card versions
Puresteel Paladin - MTG Card versions
Stoneforge Mystic - MTG Card versions
Puresteel Paladin - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Covert Technician MTG card by a specific set like Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and Neon Dynasty Art Series, 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 Covert Technician and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Covert Technician Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2022-02-18 and 2022-02-18. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12022-02-18Kamigawa: Neon DynastyNEO 3322015NormalBlackDaisuke Izuka
22022-02-18Neon Dynasty Art SeriesANEO 512015Art seriesBorderless
32022-02-18Kamigawa: Neon DynastyNEO 492015NormalBlackLucas Graciano

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Covert Technician has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2022-02-18 Although the Ninja is attacking, it was never declared as an attacking creature (for purposes of abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks, for example).
2022-02-18 As you activate a ninjutsu ability, you reveal the Ninja card in your hand and return the attacking creature. The Ninja card stays revealed and isn't put onto the battlefield until the ability resolves. If it leaves your hand before then, it won't enter the battlefield at all.
2022-02-18 If a creature in combat has first strike or double strike, you can activate the ninjutsu ability during the first-strike combat damage step. The Ninja will deal combat damage during the regular combat damage step, even if it has first strike.
2022-02-18 Puff of smoke not included.
2022-02-18 The creature with ninjutsu enters the battlefield attacking the same player or planeswalker that the returned creature was attacking. This is a rule specific to ninjutsu; in other cases, when a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking, that creature's controller chooses which player or planeswalker it's attacking.
2022-02-18 The ninjutsu ability can be activated during the declare blockers step, combat damage step, or end of combat step. In most cases (see below), if you wait until the combatdamage step or end of combat step, it will be after combat damage has been dealt, so the Ninja won't deal combat damage.
2022-02-18 The ninjutsu ability can be activated only after blockers have been declared. Before then, attacking creatures are neither blocked nor unblocked.