Pilfered Plans MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Mill

Key Takeaways

  1. Pilfered Plans combines drawing cards with milling, providing dual benefits in gameplay scenarios.
  2. The card fits well in mill and control decks, enhancing strategies that utilize graveyard synergies.
  3. Countering it involves strategies that capitalize on a well-stocked graveyard or use protective spells.

Text of card

Target player puts the top two cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard. Draw two cards.

Mirko Vosk hunted anyone with knowledge of the maze, draining the chances of the other guilds.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pilfered Plans provides a two-card draw, ensuring you keep your hand full and potentially pulling ahead of your opponent in terms of options and flexibility.

Resource Acceleration: By forcing your opponent to put the top two cards of their library into their graveyard, Pilfered Plans can inadvertently expedite your own game plan if synergies with graveyard mechanics are in play.

Instant Speed: This card’s capability to be played at instant speed offers strategic depth, allowing you to react to your opponent’s moves or end-of-turn actions, keeping your plays efficient and unpredictable.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When playing Pilfered Plans, there is no direct discard requirement, but since card draw may force a larger hand size, players might have to discard to the maximum hand size limit at the end of the turn, indirectly presenting a discard issue.

Specific Mana Cost: Pilfered Plans is locked behind a specific mana cost that includes both blue and black mana. This requirement restricts the card’s integration to decks that run on Dimir colors, possibly excluding it from more versatile or mono-color strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, one might argue that Pilfered Plans has a higher mana cost for its effect, especially when considering other card draw or disruption options available in MTG. Cards with a lower mana cost may provide similar or greater value, which could make Pilfered Plans less appealing in optimized deck builds.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Pilfered Plans offers deck builders a twofold advantage by providing card draw while simultaneously disrupting an opponent’s deck. This dual utility makes it an excellent inclusion in control and mill decks or any strategy looking to benefit from knowledge of an opponent’s deck composition.

Combo Potential: It effortlessly slots into mill-focused strategies, working in tandem with cards designed to exile or take advantage of opponents’ graveyard content. Additionally, it can help fuel delve costs or other graveyard synergies, increasing your spell casting options.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where information is king and mill strategies can thrive, Pilfered Plans gains significance. It can give players running control or mill decks an extra edge by drawing into answers and simultaneously chipping away at an opponent’s resources.


How to Beat

Pilfered Plans is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering that allows players to simultaneously draw cards while forcing the opponent to put the top two cards of their library into their graveyard. This card can be troublesome due to its ability to disrupt your deck’s flow and diminish your resources.

To effectively counteract Pilfered Plans, consider incorporating cards that benefit from having a stocked graveyard. This turns the potential disadvantage into an advantage for you. Cards such as Tarmogoyf grow stronger with a diverse graveyard, while delve cards let you utilize your graveyard as a resource to cast spells for a reduced cost. Strategies involving graveyard synergies, like reanimation or Threshold, can absorb the impact of Pilfered Plans.

Another tactic is to use cards with graveyard shuffling effects to nullify the potential card loss, such as Elixir of Immortality. This prevents crucial cards from being lost to mill effects. You can also employ counterspells like Negate to block Pilfered Plans outright, preserving your library and denying your opponent those extra cards. By being proactive in protecting your deck or using Pilfered Plans’ mill effect to your benefit, you can mitigate the card’s impact and maintain control over the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the nuances of Pilfered Plans can significantly impact your matches in MTG. Its ability to draw cards and mill your opponent presents both a strategic advantage and a challenge. As you adapt your deck to accommodate cards like Pilfered Plans or develop counters, consider how it aligns with your overall strategy. Are you enhancing your control capabilities or preparing defenses against mill tactics? Whatever your approach, we stand ready to guide you through optimizing your deck’s performance. Immerse yourself in the strategic depths of MTG and expand your arsenal with insights from our experts. Learn more and refine your gameplay with BurnMana.


Cards like Pilfered Plans

Pilfered Plans stands out in the realm of blue and black card draw spells in Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relative is Thought Scour, a swift blue spell that draws a card and mills two from the top of an opponent’s library for just one mana. Pilfered Plans adds to this by drawing an additional card for one more mana, providing deeper insight into your opponent’s deck while replenishing your own hand.

Another comparable card is Divination, a classic in the art of drawing. For the same total mana cost, Divination allows you to draw two cards as well, but without the strategic advantage of milling your opponent. Meanwhile, Consult the Necrosages offers a choice – either target player draws two cards, or target player discards two cards, giving it a slight edge in versatility. Although it doesn’t mill the opponent, the optional disruption can be key in certain matchups.

Considering these options, Pilfered Plans carves a niche for itself, balancing card draw with subtle graveyard manipulation. This combination can be quite advantageous in gameplay, especially for strategies that benefit from knowing and interacting with the opponent’s tactics and graveyard resources.

Thought Scour - MTG Card versions
Divination - MTG Card versions
Consult the Necrosages - MTG Card versions
Thought Scour - Dark Ascension (DKA)
Divination - Magic 2010 (M10)
Consult the Necrosages - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Cards similar to Pilfered Plans by color, type and mana cost

Probe - MTG Card versions
Consult the Necrosages - MTG Card versions
Last-Minute Chopping - MTG Card versions
Mind Funeral - MTG Card versions
Reap the Seagraf - MTG Card versions
Unmoored Ego - MTG Card versions
Mnemonic Betrayal - MTG Card versions
Notion Rain - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Espionage - MTG Card versions
Ringsight - MTG Card versions
Probe - The List (PLST)
Consult the Necrosages - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Last-Minute Chopping - Happy Holidays (HHO)
Mind Funeral - The List (PLST)
Reap the Seagraf - Dark Ascension (DKA)
Unmoored Ego - Guilds of Ravnica Promos (PGRN)
Mnemonic Betrayal - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Notion Rain - Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC)
Phyrexian Espionage - Dominaria United (DMU)
Ringsight - The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pilfered Plans MTG card by a specific set like Dragon's Maze and Modern Masters 2017, 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 Pilfered Plans and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Pilfered Plans Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2013-05-03 and 2017-03-17. Illustrated by Michael C. Hayes.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12013-05-03Dragon's MazeDGM 902003normalblackMichael C. Hayes
22017-03-17Modern Masters 2017MM3 1782015normalblackMichael C. Hayes

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pilfered Plans has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-04-15 If you target yourself, you’ll put the top two cards of your library into your graveyard before drawing cards.

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