Granite Witness MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact Creature — Gargoyle Detective |
| Abilities | Disguise,Flying, Vigilance |
| Released | 2024-02-09 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Murders at Karlov Manor |
| Set code | MKM |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | 206 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Tuan Duong Chu |
Key Takeaways
- Granite Witness enables effective spells recursion, significantly boosting card advantage on the battlefield.
- The creature’s ability to fetch instant or sorcery cards complements and enhances resource management.
- It offers strategic adaptability, ensuring relevance across varying meta and deck builds.
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Granite Witness. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
Text of card
Flying, vigilance Disguise {WU}{WU} (You may cast this card face down for as a 2/2 creature with ward . Turn it face up any time for its disguise cost.) When Granite Witness is turned face up, you may tap or untap target creature.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Granite Witness offers the benefit of recurring an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard when it enters the battlefield. This ability ensures you get an extra use out of your most impactful spells, effectively netting you an additional card to utilize during the match.
Resource Acceleration: While Granite Witness doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, it accelerates your resources by bringing back spells that can affect the board state or provide further resource manipulation. This can lead to gaining the upper hand by making more efficient use of the cards in your graveyard.
Instant Speed: While the card itself isn’t an instant, the spells it retrieves can be. This supports a reactive playstyle, allowing you to adapt to the game’s progression and optimize your strategy at the best moment possible, especially since you can cast the retrieved spell at instant speed if it has that property.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Granite Witness carries the burden of a discard requirement, potentially diminishing your hand and exerting a cost that could backfire if your strategic reserves are already depleted.
Specific Mana Cost: A precise mana cost blend restricts this creature to decks aligned with its color identity, potentially complicating its integration into multi-colored or colorless strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost set higher than some alternatives, Granite Witness can strain your mana resources, which might be leveraged for quicker or more impactful plays.
Reasons to Include Granite Witness in Your Collection
Versatility: Granite Witness is a flexible addition to any deck, fitting snugly into strategies that capitalize on its enter-the-battlefield ability to return an instant or sorcery from your graveyard to your hand.
Combo Potential: This creature can be a linchpin in combos by recurring key spells that may enhance your game plan or disrupt opponents, proving its worth in combo-oriented decks.
Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to retrieve important spells in a variety of situations, Granite Witness can adapt to different meta shifts, maintaining its usefulness in various competitive environments.
How to beat
The Granite Witness presents itself as a resilient creature in many gameplay situations, making it a somewhat tricky adversary to contend with. Players often notice its ability to endure due to its solid toughness and the strength it brings to the board. However, every card has its counterstrategies, and the Granite Witness is no exception.
To effectively beat this steadfast card, removal spells that exile or bounce can prove invaluable. Cards like Path to Exile provide a clean solution, bypassing the creature’s impressive durability. Countermagic also plays a critical role, with spells like Counterspell or Negate, keeping the Witness from hitting the field in the first place. Additionally, leveraging board wipes such as Wrath of God, which don’t rely on dealing damage, can circumvent the toughness of Granite Witness and ensure it doesn’t linger on the board.
It’s also worth considering how your strategic pacing can influence the battlefield. Timing your spells and attacks can make all the difference. Keeping pace with your opponent’s threats, including something as substantial as Granite Witness, allows for efficient management of potential obstacles and the maintenance of your game plan’s integrity.
Cards like Granite Witness
Granite Witness enters the realm of utility creatures in Magic: The Gathering, boasting both immediate board presence and spell recursion. Standing in comparison, Eternal Witness is a noteworthy equivalent, sharing the ability to retrieve spells from the graveyard. While Eternal Witness has a broader retrieval scope, Granite Witness offers a respectable 3/3 body on the battlefield, contrary to Eternal Witness’s more modest 2/1.
Another comparable card is Tamiyo’s Safekeeping. Tamiyo’s Safekeeping also functions to protect key spells, though Granite Witness does so by directly returning the spell to hand, permitting repeated use. In contrast, Tamiyo’s Safekeeping proactively shields spells or creatures but doesn’t allow the recurring utility that the Witness provides. Also in discussion is Baloth Null, which carries a higher mana cost but compensates by recovering two creatures from the graveyard, a powerful advantage in creature-focused decks.
In summation, while considering the strategic depths of MTG, Granite Witness holds a firm position among creatures with retrieval abilities. It strikes an attractive balance between cost, board impact, and the potential for long-term value creation through spell recursion.
Cards similar to Granite Witness by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Granite Witness MTG card by a specific set like Murders at Karlov Manor, 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 Granite Witness 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 Granite Witness has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Standardbrawl | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Guide to Vigilance card ability
In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.