Glint-Sleeve Siphoner MTG Card
2017-01-20 - Number 62
2017-01-20 - Number 62s
2020-11-12 - Number 92
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Rogue |
| Abilities | Menace |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Glint-Sleeve Siphoner excels in providing card advantage with a self-sustaining draw mechanism.
- Its energy generation accelerates resources, allowing for mana-free activation and enhanced gameplay.
- Instant-speed energy usage from the draw step substantially quickens access to your deck.
Text of card
Menace Whenever Glint-Sleeve Siphoner enters the battlefield or attacks, you get (an energy counter). At the beginning of your upkeep, you may pay . If you do, you draw a card and you lose 1 life.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Glint-Sleeve Siphoner offers a consistent card draw mechanism by leveraging its energy counter ability. Each time it attacks or becomes tapped, you earn an energy counter that can later be used to draw additional cards, ensuring you won’t run out of options as the game progresses.
Resource Acceleration: The card’s energy generation also serves as a resource accelerator, enabling you to activate its ability without spending mana. This frees up your mana to play other spells, effectively speeding up your gameplay and putting pressure on the opponent.
Instant Speed: While Glint-Sleeve Siphoner itself isn’t an instant, its impact on the game can be felt at almost instant speed. The energy it generates can be used immediately after the draw step, allowing you to potentially draw a card right away. This swift access to your deck can be as beneficial as playing spells at instant speed when executed correctly.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Glint-Sleeve Siphoner’s mechanic, although beneficial for card draw, requires a careful resource balance. When triggering its ability, players must pay energy and may be forced to ration this valuable resource which could otherwise be invested in other gameplay strategies.
Specific Mana Cost: Necessitating both generic and black mana, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner fits primarily within black-centered or two-color decks, potentially restraining deck flexibility. Players running multicolor decks that do not focus on black may find it challenging to meet the mana requirements consistently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of two mana, one of which must be black, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner can be considered costly when compared to other one-drop creatures that start impacting the board sooner. This can be a significant drawback in fast-paced games where early momentum is critical.
Reasons to Include Glint-Sleeve Siphoner in Your Collection
Versatility: Glint-Sleeve Siphoner is a dynamic addition to decks that hinge on energy counters. As a two-drop creature, it’s easily slotted into aggressive strategies, enhancing your early plays while sustaining card advantage.
Combo Potential: This card excels in synergy with other energy-based mechanics. Its ability to generate and utilize energy makes it a key component in combos that can continuously draw cards or power up creatures on the battlefield.
Meta-Relevance: With energy mechanics remaining prevalent in certain formats, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner maintains its status as a formidable player. Its relevance in the meta is bolstered by the constant need for efficient card draw mechanisms in competitive decks.
How to beat
Glint-Sleeve Siphoner has become a notable player in tap-out control and midrange decks across various formats. This card provides a consistent card advantage engine, supplied by its energy counter accumulation capability. It’s important to recognize that its strength lies in the repeated draw function, enabled every upkeep as long as you have the energy to spare. Subsequently, interrupting this flow is key to mitigating the Siphoner’s impact.
To effectively counter this threat, removal spells that can target creatures at instant speed provide a straightforward solution. Consider cards that can disrupt at a low mana cost, like Fatal Push or Path to Exile, which can efficiently deal with the Siphoner before it generates substantial value for your opponent. Additionally, emphasizing early board presence can pose a challenge for decks relying on Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, as they may have to choose between developing their own board or drawing cards, putting them on the back foot. Implementing a strategy with aggressive creatures or employing direct damage spells to pressure life totals can divert the Siphoner’s use away from card advantage towards defensive measures.
Remember, disrupting your opponent’s energy reserve can also prove effective, making it difficult for them to activate the Siphoner’s abilities. Cards like Shielded Aether Thief can be used as both a defensive measure and an energy denial tool. By targeting the Glint-Sleeve Siphoner’s foundational mechanics, you can diminish its efficacy and maintain an upper hand in your matches.
Cards like Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
Glint-Sleeve Siphoner breathes new life into the pantheon of energy-focused creatures in MTG. Its nearest kin in terms of card advantage might be Rogue Refiner. Both share the ability to yield energy counters, but Glint-Sleeve Siphoner offers a recurring draw mechanism while Rogue Refiner is a one-time energy and draw boon upon entering the battlefield.
Another energy-related contender is Aether Hub, a land that is less about card draw and more about resource versatility, providing a single energy counter that can power Glint-Sleeve Siphoner or fix your mana. Dark Confidant also treads similar ground with its revered card draw potential. While it doesn’t interact with energy, it provides a consistent card advantage at the expense of life, akin to the life payment option for Glint-Sleeve Siphoner’s ability.
Assessing these alternatives, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner asserts its presence with the sustainable advantage it offers round after round, making it a potent card for decks capitalizing on energy counters and strategic card draw in MTG.
Cards similar to Glint-Sleeve Siphoner by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Glint-Sleeve Siphoner MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt and Aether Revolt Promos, 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-Sleeve Siphoner 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
Printings
The Glint-Sleeve Siphoner Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2020-11-12. Illustrated by Greg Opalinski.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-01-20 | Aether Revolt | AER | 62 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Greg Opalinski | |
| 2 | 2017-01-20 | Aether Revolt Promos | PAER | 62s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Greg Opalinski | |
| 3 | 2020-11-12 | Kaladesh Remastered | KLR | 92 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Greg Opalinski |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Glint-Sleeve Siphoner has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Glint-Sleeve Siphoner card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They’re not associated with specific permanents. (Other kinds of counters that players may have include poison and experience.) |
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters aren’t mana. They don’t go away as steps, phases, and turns end, and effects that add mana “of any type” to your mana pool can’t give you energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | If an effect says you get one or more , you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more , you lose that many energy counters. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | Keep careful track of how many energy counters each player has. You may do so by keeping a running count on paper, by using a die, or by any other clear and mutually agreeable method. |
| 2017-02-09 | Some triggered abilities state that you “may pay” a certain amount of . You can’t pay that amount multiple times to multiply the effect. You simply choose whether or not to pay that amount of as the ability resolves, and no player may take actions to try to stop the ability’s effect after you make your choice. |
| 2017-02-09 | The first triggered ability triggers both when Glint-Sleeve Siphoner enters the battlefield and whenever it attacks. You don’t have to choose only one. |
| 2017-02-09 | You can’t pay more energy counters than you have. |
| 2017-02-09 | is the energy symbol. It represents one energy counter. |
