Dream Thief MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Faerie Rogue |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2008-07-25 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Eventide |
| Set code | EVE |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 20 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Howard Lyon |
Key Takeaways
- Dream Thief provides both card advantage and potential access to opponents’ spells, enhancing your strategic options.
- Its mana specificity and discard requirement sometimes limit its playability within certain deck compositions.
- Versatility and synergy with other cards make Dream Thief a key contender for deck inclusion in control strategies.
Text of card
Flying When Dream Thief comes into play, draw a card if you played another blue spell this turn.
Awylla's salvaged dreams would finally be put to good use.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Dream Thief features an enter-the-battlefield effect that permits you to draw a card, providing an opportunity to pull ahead by having more options than your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: When Dream Thief connects with an opponent, it grants you access to their spells. By casting those spells, you effectively utilize additional resources, boosting your tempo against the adversary.
Instant Speed: While Dream Thief itself is not an instant, its ability to potentially cast stolen instant-speed spells can disrupt your opponent’s strategy, offering you flexible and powerful responses during their turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Dream Thief may offer a peek into your opponent’s hand or potential card advantage, it also asks you to discard a card upon resolution. In situations where your hand is already depleted, this requirement could hinder your game plan rather than bolster it.
Specific Mana Cost: Dream Thief’s casting cost includes both blue and black mana, making it a stringent fit for multicolored decks. Decks running on a singular mana base or those that cannot reliably produce both colors might find this card challenging to cast on curve, affecting its overall utility and flexibility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that’s higher on the curve, Dream Thief competes with other impactful four-mana spells within the format. Given this investment, players might weigh its potential gains against other options that can either affect the board more immediately or provide a more consistent card advantage.
Reasons to Include Dream Thief in Your Collection
Versatility: Dream Thief is a flexible card that fits well into decks that capitalize on spell casting or enter-the-battlefield effects. Its ability to potentially draw a card when it enters the battlefield allows it to be useful in various scenarios, not just in mill decks.
Combo Potential: With Dream Thief, you can build around it to maximize its benefit. It pairs well with cards that manipulate the top of the library, ensuring you always have a spell to reveal for its ability, enhancing your card advantage and strategic depth.
Meta-Relevance: Given its interaction with spells and ability to draw cards, Dream Thief could be a meaningful addition to your arsenal, especially in metas where controlling the flow of the game and hand resources is crucial.
How to beat
Dream Thief emerges from the Magic: The Gathering roster as a card that requires strategic handling. This blue creature offers a mixture of elements that echo the capabilities of other MTG cards, yet it stands out with its unique enter-the-battlefield ability. It does more than just presenting a threat; it steals a dream from your opponent’s deck, disrupting their strategy and hand.
When considering effective strategies to counter Dream Thief, look towards instantaneous speed removal spells or spells that can negate its ability. Using removal spells before the thief’s ability triggers can ensure it never has the chance to hijack a card. Cards like Disdainful Stroke or Essence Scatter can be game changers, providing you counter Dream Thief as it’s being cast. Instantaneous interaction is key, as once Dream Thief’s ability resolves, the advantage swings in favor of your opponent.
Another tactic involves adjusting the composition of your deck. Including cards that don’t rely on a single high-impact spell diminishes Dream Thief’s potential blow. Instead, opt for decks with built-in redundancy or those that benefit from having cards in the graveyard. This way, Dream Thief’s ability becomes less of a setback and more of a slight hindrance.
Cards like Dream Thief
Dream Thief is an intriguing entry into the realm of enter-the-battlefield effects in Magic: The Gathering. It echoes the functionality of cards like Man-o’-War, with both creatures serving the purpose of returning a target creature to its owner’s hand upon arrival. What makes Dream Thief unique, however, is its combination with card draw, which Man-o’-War lacks. This blend offers control over the battlefield while refueling your hand.
Another parallel can be drawn to creatures like Exclusion Mage, which similarly bounces back opponent’s creatures, paving the way for advantageous board states. Unlike Dream Thief, Exclusion Mage misses out on the card advantage aspect. Baleful Strix is also a point of comparison, offering card draw upon entering the battlefield, but instead of impacting opponents’ creatures, it serves as a deathtouch blocker. Here, Dream Thief offers a more proactive option for tempo and card advantage.
Dream Thief stands out with its ability to affect the game’s pace directly while maintaining hand resources, positioning it as a versatile choice for players who enjoy a blend of control and card advantage in their gameplay strategies.
Cards similar to Dream Thief by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Dream Thief MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, 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 Dream Thief 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Dream Thief has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dream Thief card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-08-01 | Although Dream Thief says it looks for “another blue spell,” there’s no requirement that Dream Thief actually be cast as a spell (or be blue) for this part of its ability to work. For example, if a spell such as Zombify puts Dream Thief directly onto the battlefield, its ability will still check whether you’ve cast a blue spell this turn, even though you didn’t cast Dream Thief itself as a spell. |
| 2008-08-01 | Dream Thief doesn’t check whether you’ve cast another blue spell until its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves. If Dream Thief’s enters-the-battlefield ability triggers, then you cast a blue instant spell in response, you’ll get the bonus. |
