Hired Heist MTG Card

Generates card advantage by drawing cards when a Rogue deals combat damage. Cast at instant speed, blending flexibility with strategic play. Specific blue mana cost limits deck-building versatility.

Hired Heist - Conspiracy: Take the Crown

Rarity	Common
Type	Conspiracy
Abilities	Hidden agenda
Released	2016-08-26
Set symbol
Set name	Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Set code	CN2
Number	5
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lucas Graciano

Text of card

Hidden agenda (Start the game with this conspiracy face down in the command zone and secretly name a card. You may turn this conspiracy face up any time and reveal the chosen name.) Whenever a creature you control with the chosen name deals combat damage to a player, you may pay . If you do, draw a card.

Cards like Hired Heist

Hired Heist introduces a fresh dynamic to stealthy playstyles in Magic: The Gathering. Drawing cards is pivotal and Hired Heist does this with finesse, reminding us of spells such as Glimpse the Unthinkable. However, Hired Heist gives creatures the ability to pilfer cards upon dealing combat damage to a player, rather than a straightforward card draw like Glimpse’s mill function. Hired Heist incentivizes and rewards players for successful attacks, much like Coastal Piracy, though Coastal Piracy requires no mana investment after its initial cast.

Peering further, we discover Quicksmith Spy as another card that enables card draw through combat-linked triggers, offering repeatable draw each turn with its artifact synergy. While Quicksmith Spy provides a consistent advantage, its four mana cost stands higher than Hired Heist, which may be an important consideration for deck efficiency. Tandem Lookout is yet another creature that mirrors Hired Heist’s ability to secure cards through combat damage, but offers the benefit on itself or another creature, giving broader utility at the potential cost of tempo.

Analyzing the mechanics and utility of these cards, Hired Heist marks its territory in MTG as an enabler of card advantage through aggression, strategically fitting into decks looking to maximize combat and cunning to outmaneuver opponents.

Glimpse the Unthinkable - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hired Heist provides a notable edge by enabling the controller to draw a card when a Rogue deals combat damage to a player. This can repeatedly generate card advantage, potentially turning each attack phase into an opportunity to refill your hand.

Resource Acceleration: By drawing extra cards, Hired Heist indirectly accelerates your resource availablity. More cards in hand means more options and a higher chance of hitting land drops or having the necessary spells to respond to opponents’ threats or advance your board state.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Hired Heist at instant speed offers a tactical advantage, allowing you to wait for the most opportune moment. You can keep mana untapped to bluff counterplay or react to an adversary’s actions, only committing to Hired Heist when the coast is clear or the benefit is maximal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hired Heist necessitates discarding a card as part of its casting cost, potentially depleting your hand and leaving you at a disadvantage in later turns, especially if your deck doesn’t leverage card discard as a strategic element.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s cost is exclusively blue mana, which narrows its scope to decks with a focus on or inclusion of blue mana sources. This singular color requirement can potentially limit the flexibility for deck-building, as not all strategies might accommodate or benefit from a blue mana commitment.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a fee of three blue mana, Hired Heist’s cost is considered sizeable for its effect. In the landscape of MTG, there are alternatives that may provide similar benefits for less mana or offer additional bonuses beyond those provided by Hired Heist, making it a less favored option in mana-efficient strategies.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Hired Heist is a card that can slip into numerous deck builds, particularly those looking to capitalize on unblockable creatures or drawing cards.

Combo Potential: This card can mesh well with strategies that involve creature synergies or those that maximize the benefit of drawing additional cards during your turn.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to swiftly provide card advantage, Hired Heist holds its ground in environments where knowledge and resources are king. Having additional cards in hand is always a significant advantage in various playstyles.

How to beat

Hired Heist is a card that can often catch players off guard in MTG, granting an advantage to those who skillfully navigate its abilities. Typically found in rogue or thief-themed decks, Hired Heist can be disarmingly powerful with its ability to draw cards, bolstering your opponent’s hand and resources as they successfully deal combat damage. However, don’t despair when facing this card. One effective strategy is to strengthen your defenses. Employ creatures with high toughness that can act as blockers or use instant-speed removal spells to discourage or dismantle attempts at combat damage.

Control decks, especially, have tools like counter spells to prevent Hired Heist from hitting the battlefield in the first place. Generally, preserving life points and maintaining board control are key in undermining Hired Heist’s potential impacts. Solid strategy and a well-tailored deck can help ensure that your opponent’s heists do not pay off. By understanding and anticipating the card’s mechanics, you stand a strong chance to neutralize its threat and keep the game in your favor. Always keep an eye open for cards with similar support roles that improve your resilience against such sly strategies.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hired Heist MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown, 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 Hired Heist and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hired Heist has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Banned
Legacy	Banned
Oathbreaker	Banned
Vintage	Banned
Duel	Banned

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-08-23	A conspiracy doesn’t count as a card in your deck for purposes of meeting minimum deck size requirements. (In most drafts, the minimum deck size is 40 cards.)
2016-08-23	A conspiracy with hidden agenda that has a triggered ability must be face up before that ability’s trigger condition is met in order for it to trigger. Turning it face up afterward won’t have any effect.
2016-08-23	A conspiracy’s static and triggered abilities function as long as that conspiracy is face-up in the command zone.
2016-08-23	As a special action, you may turn a face-down conspiracy face up. You may do so any time you have priority. This action doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. Once face up, the named card is revealed and the conspiracy’s abilities will affect the game.
2016-08-23	At the end of the game, you must reveal any face-down conspiracies you own in the command zone to all players.
2016-08-23	At the end of the game, you must reveal any face-down conspiracies you own in the command zone to all players. Notably, you can’t bluff conspiracies with hidden agenda by putting other cards into the command zone face down as the game starts.
2016-08-23	Conspiracies are colorless, have no mana cost, and can’t be cast as spells.
2016-08-23	Conspiracies are never put into your deck. Instead, you put any number of conspiracies from your card pool into the command zone as the game begins. These conspiracies are face up unless they have hidden agenda, in which case they begin the game face down.
2016-08-23	Conspiracies aren’t legal for any sanctioned Constructed format, but may be included in other Limited formats, such as Cube Draft.
2016-08-23	If you play multiple games after the draft, you can name a different card in each new game.
2016-08-23	There are several ways to secretly name a card, including writing the name on a piece of paper that’s kept with the face-down conspiracy. If you have multiple face-down conspiracies, you may name a different card for each one. It’s important that each named card is clearly associated with only one of the conspiracies.
2016-08-23	You can look at any player’s face-up conspiracies at any time. You’ll also know how many face-down conspiracies a player has in the command zone, although you won’t know what they are.
2016-08-23	You don’t have to play with any conspiracy you draft. However, you have only one opportunity to put conspiracies into the command zone, as the game begins. You can’t put conspiracies into the command zone after this point.
2016-08-23	You must name a Magic card. Notably, you can’t name a token (except in the unusual case that a token’s name matches the name of a card, such as Illusion).
2016-08-23	You name the card as the game begins, as you put the conspiracy into the command zone, not as you turn the face-down conspiracy face up.