Impounding Lot-Bot MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeArtifact Creature — Robot
Power 3
Toughness 4
Un-set :-)This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

  1. Gain advantage by converting vehicles into card draw, thus diversifying play options and tactical depth.
  2. Amplify mana resources and adaptability with Impounding Lot-Bot’s color-harnessing tap ability.
  3. Utilize instant speed crewing for surprise plays, bolstering both offensive and defensive strategies.

Text of card

When Impounding Lot-Bot enters the battlefield, you may say "INCARCERATE!" in a robot voice. If you do, exile another target artifact or enchantment until Impounding Lot-Bot leaves the battlefield.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Impounding Lot-Bot enhances your hand by discarding a vehicle card to draw two cards. This mechanism is a game-changer when it comes to refilling your hand, keeping your options open, and maintaining pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: The ability of Impounding Lot-Bot to tap and add one mana of any color to your mana pool is a boon for mana flexibility. This can significantly accelerate your resources, allowing you to cast more impactful spells sooner and adapt to various game situations fluidly.

Instant Speed: Impounding Lot-Bot’s ability to crew at instant speed provides strategic depth to gameplay. You can optimize your turn by using mana efficiently, crewing in response to an opponent’s move, or simply surprising your opponent with an unexpected blocker or attacker during their turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One key hurdle when playing Impounding Lot-Bot is it necessitates you to discard a card in order to trigger its ability. This can lead to a situation where your hand is depleted quicker than desirable, making it a potentially costly play if you don’t have adequate resources to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Impounding Lot-Bot’s effectiveness is also limited by its specific mana requirements. Needing both colorless and blue mana means it slots into fewer decks seamlessly, often restricting it to certain archetypes or color combinations that can consistently meet this stringent mana setup.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment to get Impounding Lot-Bot on the field is non-negligible. Despite the flexibility it offers, some players might find the cost a tad steep, particularly when compared to other options that either come into play quicker or offer more immediate impact on the board state for a similar investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Impounding Lot-Bot finds a home in various deck archetypes due to its ability to control the board by impounding opponent’s artifacts or creatures. It’s particularly synergistic in decks that manipulate or take advantage of tapped permanents.

Combo Potential: This utility creature can be a linchpin in combos that capitalize on artifact synergies. Its impounding ability can be repeatedly used with untap mechanics or to fuel sacrifice effects, increasing its combo potential within your arsenal.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of artifact and creature-based strategies in many game formats, Impounding Lot-Bot offers relevant disruption. Its presence can tilt the scales in matches where controlling the board state is paramount to your strategy’s success.


How to beat

Impounding Lot-Bot presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to nullify threats by transforming them into vehicles. This quirky automaton turns key creatures into hulking, but dormant, machines which requires a tactical approach to conquer. To effectively counter this metallic nuisance, swift removal spells are your best bet. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant can dismantle the Lot-Bot before it converts strategic assets into unwieldy metal. Additionally, bounce spells that return the Lot-Bot to its owner’s hand disrupt the transformation process, giving players temporary reprieve and the opportunity to press their advantage.

Direct damage spells, like Lightning Bolt, offer a quick and efficient method to scrap the bot before it can start its impounding process. Meanwhile, employing instant-speed interaction enables you to react to the activation of its ability, ensuring your key creatures remain combat-ready. Creature-heavy strategies can leverage the Lot-Bot’s vulnerability to being overrun by going wide, presenting too many targets for the Lot-Bot’s ability to be effective. In summary, adaptability and swift action are crucial when maneuvering against Impounding Lot-Bot’s distinctive game plan.


Cards like Impounding Lot-Bot

Impounding Lot-Bot is an intriguing creature in the vast universe of Magic: The Gathering. Its unique ability to detain artifacts shares similarities with cards like Damping Sphere. While Damping Sphere passively restricts players from abusing mana resources, Impounding Lot-Bot actively targets and neutralizes artifacts, potentially disrupting your opponent’s strategies.

There’s also Amry Seeker, another creature with an artifact-controlling twist. Unlike the Impounding Lot-Bot, the Seeker can confiscate artifacts for your own use but lacks the Lot-Bot’s consistency in hindering the enemy resources. Moreover, comparing it with Treasure Hunter, we notice the Hunter’s ability to resurrect artifacts from the graveyard, offering a different strategy of resource manipulation. However, it doesn’t provide the immediate board control that Impounding Lot-Bot can exercise.

Stacking up these cards, Impounding Lot-Bot offers a blend of control and pressure that is unusual in artifact-centric decks. While other cards in the genre tend to lean either towards creating artifact advantages or recurring them from the graveyard, Impounding Lot-Bot stands out with its proactive approach to keeping opponent’s artifacts at bay.

Damping Sphere - MTG Card versions
Treasure Hunter - MTG Card versions
Damping Sphere - MTG Card versions
Treasure Hunter - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Impounding Lot-Bot MTG card by a specific set like Unfinity and Unfinity, 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 Impounding Lot-Bot and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Impounding Lot-Bot Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-10-07 and 2022-10-07. Illustrated by Ralph Horsley.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12022-10-07UnfinityUNF 3002015NormalBlackRalph Horsley
22022-10-07UnfinityUNF 142015NormalBlackRalph Horsley

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2022-10-07 If Impounding Lot-Bot leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the target artifact or enchantment won’t be exiled, even if you say INCARCERATE! You should say it anyway though.
2022-10-07 There are many different kinds of robots, so you can determine what “robot voice” means to you, though it should probably sound different from your regular voice (unless you’re a robot, I suppose, in which case I for one welcome our new robot overlords).