Glint Hawk Idol MTG Card
2010-10-01 - Number 156
2015-05-22 - Number 216
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact |
Text of card
Whenever another artifact enters the battlefield under your control, you may have Glint Hawk Idol become a 2/2 artifact creature with flying until end of turn. : Glint Hawk Idol becomes a 2/2 artifact creature with flying until end of turn.
Cards like Glint Hawk Idol
Glint Hawk Idol operates within a unique design space in Magic: The Gathering, but it finds company in the realm of artifact creatures. A card like Signal Pest mirrors some of Glint Hawk Idol’s low maintenance cost and potential for damage output. Signal Pest, while lacking in defenses, can amplify the attack of your other creatures. However, it doesn’t provide the same defensive utility as the flexible Glint Hawk Idol, which can become a creature with flying on demand.
Analogous to Glint Hawk Idol are cards like Gingerbrute, sharing the capability of becoming evasive creatures. Gingerbrute offers haste and can be unblockable by creatures with higher power, which can be powerful under the right circumstances. Despite this, it doesn’t match the recurring, mana-free activation of Glint Hawk Idol’s flight ability. Conversely, the Idol demands specific conditions to trigger automatically, providing a continuous strategic element.
Assessing the landscape of similar MTG cards, Glint Hawk Idol holds a distinctive position. It leverages versatility, defensive potential, and synergies with artifact-centric decks that few others can match, particularly given its resilience against removal when not a creature.
Cards similar to Glint Hawk Idol by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Glint Hawk Idol becomes a key card in situations where you’re aiming to bolster your field presence without spending cards from hand. This artifact’s ability to become a creature can provide you with a recurring threat that doesn’t deplete your hand, making it an efficient way to apply pressure while maintaining card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: Although Glint Hawk Idol doesn’t directly accelerate your mana, its low casting cost and the fact that it doesn’t require mana investment to become a creature makes it a cost-effective play. This leaves your resources free for other spells, indirectly contributing to resource acceleration by saving you from committing more expensive cards early on.
Instant Speed: Flexibility is a crucial part of Magic, and Glint Hawk Idol’s ability to transform at instant speed offers just that. You can activate its ability to become a flying creature at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to an attack, making it an unexpected blocker or an assailant that’s difficult to preempt.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One limitation of Glint Hawk Idol is that it often works best when combined with cards that require you to bounce or discard artifacts. This can be a setback if your hand is already depleted or if you’re leaning on each card to build your battlefield presence.
Specific Mana Cost: Activating Glint Hawk Idol’s ability to become a creature requires a specific white mana. This mana specificity can sometimes restrict it to decks that have a strong white mana base, potentially limiting its versatility in multicolored or colorless decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the initial cost to play Glint Hawk Idol from your hand is relatively low, consistently using mana to make it a creature can be inefficient. Other artifacts or creatures may provide greater utility or power for the same or lower investment throughout the game, potentially overshadowing the Idol’s usefulness.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Glint Hawk Idol is an artifact card that can adapt to various play styles. It fits seamlessly into artifact-centric decks and can serve as both an aggressive creature and a non-creature spell that’s difficult to remove, making it an asset in many game situations.
Combo Potential: This card has great synergy with decks that capitalize on artifact strategies. It can work in tandem with cards that trigger upon artifact entry or departure, and its ability to become a creature can be used to activate abilities that require tapping a creature without the risk of summoning sickness that a normal creature card would have.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where artifact strategies are prevalent or where flyers are essential for combat advantage, Glint Hawk Idol shines. As it can often dodge sorcery-speed removal, it remains relevant against decks that are heavy on permanent-based control, ensuring that you maintain a presence on the battlefield.
How to beat
Glint Hawk Idol presents a unique challenge in MTG, offering players a cost-effective artifact that can become a creature. Its ability to switch from a non-creature artifact to a flying threat can catch opponents off guard, and it’s resistant to sorcery-speed removal because of its transformational nature.
To effectively tackle Glint Hawk Idol, it’s essential to focus on versatile removal spells or cards that prevent activation of abilities. Consider instant-speed removal such as Abrupt Decay or artifact-specific cards like Fragmentize to handle the Idol no matter what form it takes. Direct damage spells can also be an asset, but timing is crucial; you must cast them when the Idol is a creature during your opponent’s turn.
Additionally, cards causing artifact suppression, such as Stony Silence or Karn, the Great Creator, can neutralize Glint Hawk Idol, stripping away its power to animate. Strategic timing and the right set of answers transform this daunting artifact into a manageable hurdle on your path to victory.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Glint Hawk Idol MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and Modern Masters 2015, 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 Glint Hawk Idol 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 Glint Hawk Idol Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2015-05-22. Illustrated by Dave Allsop.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010-10-01 | Scars of Mirrodin | SOM | 156 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dave Allsop | |
| 2 | 2015-05-22 | Modern Masters 2015 | MM2 | 216 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Allsop |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Glint Hawk Idol 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 Glint Hawk Idol card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2011-01-01 | For example, say one of Glint Hawk Idol’s abilities has resolved and it’s a 2/2 creature. You cast Giant Growth targeting it. It’s now 5/5. Then Diminish (“Target creature becomes 1/1 until end of turn”) is cast targeting it. Once Diminish resolves, Glint Hawk Idol would be 4/4. Activating Glint Hawk Idol’s last ability at this point would make it 5/5 again until end of turn. |
| 2011-01-01 | If Glint Hawk Idol and another artifact enter the battlefield under your control at the same time, Glint Hawk Idol’s first ability will trigger. You may have it become a creature, but since it will be affected by “summoning sickness,” it won’t be able to attack that turn. |
| 2011-01-01 | If Glint Hawk Idol becomes a creature before you begin a turn with it under your control, it will be affected by “summoning sickness.” |
| 2011-01-01 | If either of Glint Hawk Idol’s two abilities resolve while it’s a creature, that ability will override any effects that set its power and/or toughness to another number, but effects that modify power and/or toughness without directly setting them will still apply. |
| 2011-01-01 | The creature type “Bird” was inadvertently omitted from each of Glint Hawk Idol’s abilities. It has received errata to correct this omission; when either of its abilities resolves, it will become a Bird artifact creature. |