Isolated Watchtower MTG Card
2016-11-16 - Number 70707
2018-08-09 - Number 59
2019-04-10 - Number 4
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land |
| Abilities | Scry |
Text of card
: Add . , : Scry 1, then you may reveal the top card of your library. If a basic land card is revealed this way, put it onto the battlefield tapped. Activate only if an opponent controls at least two more lands than you.
Cards like Isolated Watchtower
Isolated Watchtower garners attention for its unique role in mana acceleration and deck manipulation within Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to the likes of cards such as Thespian’s Stage, which can also transform its mana abilities but requires a different kind of investment, copying any land on the battlefield rather than scrying and potentially putting a land onto the battlefield. However, Isolated Watchtower offers the chance to dig through your deck and directly cheat a land into play, bypassing the land drop for the turn, which Thespian’s Stage does not.
In the orbit of land utility, we encounter Myriad Landscape, which cracks open to search for two basic land cards sharing a land type. Although it’s a surefire way to thin the deck, it doesn’t provide the immediate scry benefit nor the potential for a free land play that Isolated Watchtower offers. Then there’s Terrain Generator, where directly putting a basic land card from hand onto the battlefield is possible, aligning it closely with Isolated Watchtower’s playstyle, but missing the scrying and deck-thinning benefits.
Considering the nuances and distinct setups of similar land-based cards, Isolated Watchtower stands out for its scry ability coupled with the possibility of bypassing usual land drop constraints. This positions it as a strategic choice for land optimization in one’s MTG deck build.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Isolated Watchtower has the potential to provide incremental card advantage over time. By scrying and then potentially putting a land card onto the battlefield, it can subtly thin your deck, making it more likely to draw into non-land cards—which are often the more impactful cards in a game.
Resource Acceleration: When the conditions are met, Isolated Watchtower allows you to ramp by putting an additional land onto the battlefield. This can be especially useful when you’re behind on land drops or looking to cast high-cost spells much sooner, providing a strategic edge.
Instant Speed: This land has the capacity to activate at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to use its ability at the end of your opponent’s turn. This not only keeps your lands untapped during your own turn for spells and abilities but also ensures you can make the most informed decision about when to activate the Watchtower, potentially resulting in better resource management.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One limitation of Isolated Watchtower is that it necessitates discarding a card to activate its ability. This can be problematic, especially when your hand is running thin, and you’re trying to maintain card advantage over your opponent.
Specific Mana Cost: While Isolated Watchtower requires no specific colors to tap for mana, its scry ability necessitates colorless mana, which might not flow as freely in multicolored or color-heavy decks, potentially restricting its playability.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the mana cost to activate Isolated Watchtower’s scrying ability isn’t exorbitant, it competes with other land-based effects or cards that may provide more immediate value or impact on the gameboard, making it a costlier investment in terms of opportunity.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Isolated Watchtower offers a unique utility land option that can seamlessly slot into a variety of decks. Its scrying ability helps filter decks for needed resources, making it a flexible choice for anyone looking to improve deck consistency.
Combo Potential: This land has synergy with landfall-centric strategies and can help you manipulate the top of your deck for combos. Its ability to potentially put a crucial land card onto the battlefield can set off chains of gameplay advantages.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where land interaction is key or where decks can benefit from consistent mana bases without losing card advantage, Isolated Watchtower has its place. It’s particularly potent in formats where setting up the perfect draw or land drop can turn the tides of the game.
How to Beat Isolated Watchtower
Isolated Watchtower is a unique land card that taps for colorless mana, or, under the right conditions, filters the top card of a player’s library for a potential land drop. Overcoming the advantages it provides requires strategic play. Disrupting the land’s activation is a solid approach, which can be achieved by reducing the opponent’s land count, thus hindering the activation condition of controlling more lands than an opponent.
Damping Sphere offers a straightforward solution to hamper decks that overly rely on nonbasic lands like Isolated Watchtower. By taxing lands that are tapped for more than one mana, it effectively negates the ramping potential of the Watchtower. Another strategy involves land interaction spells such as Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin, which can directly target and remove the Watchtower from play. Control decks may prefer countering Isolated Watchtower’s triggered ability with instant spells like Stifle or Tale’s End, preventing the opponent’s land tutoring altogether.
Overall, understanding the strengths and vulnerabilities of utility lands can sharply improve gameplay. Appropriately responding to Isolated Watchtower can thwart an opponent’s ramp strategy, maintaining balance and advancing your position on the battlefield.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Isolated Watchtower MTG card by a specific set like Treasure Chest and Commander 2018, 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 Isolated Watchtower 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 Isolated Watchtower Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-11-16 and 2019-04-10. Illustrated by Alexander Forssberg.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-11-16 | Treasure Chest | PZ2 | 70707 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alexander Forssberg | |
| 2 | 2018-08-09 | Commander 2018 | C18 | 59 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alexander Forssberg | |
| 3 | 2019-04-10 | Judge Gift Cards 2019 | J19 | 4 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alexander Forssberg |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Isolated Watchtower has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Isolated Watchtower card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-07-13 | You can activate Isolated Watchtower’s ability if you control more lands than an opponent, as long as at least one opponent also controls two or more lands than you. |