Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Artifact |
| Abilities | Craft,Transform, Flash |
| Released | 2023-11-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Set code | LCI |
| Number | 62 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Transform |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | José Parodi |
Text of card
Flash When Lodestone Needle enters the battlefield, tap up to one target artifact or creature and put two stun counters on it. Craft with artifact (, Exile this artifact, Exile another artifact you control or an artifact card from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)
Cards like Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass
Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass is a unique addition to the array of utility artifacts in Magic: The Gathering. Much like the well-known Prismatic Lens, the card offers mana fixing abilities, which are crucial for multicolor decks functioning smoothly. However, Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass stands out with its split-card nature, adding versatility in gameplay situations.
Comparing it to the likes of Manalith, there are similarities in providing mana of any color, but Lodestone Needle offers a reusable scry ability on its reverse side, potentially giving you a strategic edge by controlling upcoming draws. Wayfarer’s Bauble is another card in the conversation, offering land-based mana acceleration. Though it serves a slightly different purpose, it sets up a comparison on choosing consistent mana access versus the flexible utility Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass brings to the table.
To summarize, while each of these cards caters to mana development, Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass’s multi-faceted design gives players a powerful tool for not just mana fixing but also for incremental deck manipulation, making it a unique and potent choice in the MTG artifact landscape.
Cards similar to Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lodestone Needle can serve as an efficient card advantage tool in the right deck, enabling players to sift through their libraries faster and improving the consistency of card draws.
Resource Acceleration: When flipped into Guidestone Compass, this artifact boosts mana resources, allowing players to access mana for spells sooner than usual. The ability to speed up gameplay is a significant asset in many MTG strategies.
Instant Speed: Although neither Lodestone Needle nor Guidestone Compass operate at instant speed themselves, their effects facilitate instant-speed play by smoothing out mana availability and helping to ensure that crucial spells can be cast whenever necessary.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing Lodestone Needle or Guidestone Compass in your deck adds the complexity of managing your hand with precision. To activate these cards’ potential, you are required to forgo another card, which might strain your resources, particularly if you are already contending with a depleted hand.
Specific Mana Cost: Both Lodestone Needle and Guidestone Compass come with activation costs that could dictate the tempo of your gameplay. These costs must align with your mana pool at a given moment, requiring strategic allocation of your resources, which could potentially disrupt your broader game plan.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering the investment needed to make these cards impactful, the initial and upkeep costs are not insignificant. In games where mana economy can be the difference between victory and defeat, the relatively high cost to utilize these cards could be seen as a drawback, especially when other options may provide similar benefits at a lower resource expenditure.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass offers a unique flexibility in gameplay, as it can toggle between an aggressive or defensive posture depending on your deck’s needs. Adaptability is key in MTG, and having a card that can serve multiple roles is invaluable.
Combo Potential: Both sides of this card can contribute to intricate combos, whether that’s ramping up mana with Guidestone Compass to accelerate your game plan, or using Lodestone Needle to disrupt opponent strategies. Savvy players will find that these abilities can integrate seamlessly with synergistic deck themes.
Meta-Relevance: Considering the ever-shifting landscape of MTG, a card capable of impacting both sides of the playing field can be a crucial asset. Its capability to adapt to various meta environments makes Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass a worthwhile addition to any collection looking to stay competitive.
How to Beat
Lodestone Needle, with its flip-side Guidestone Compass, is a unique addition to the array of mana accelerators in Magic: The Gathering. Lodestone Needle marks itself as an innovative tool, providing mana storage for later turns. The flip side, Guidestone Compass, offers mana filtering to any color, which is crucial in multicolored decks.
To effectively counter this artifact card, one needs to focus on artifact disruption. Engaging cards like Abrade, which can deal with creatures or destroy artifacts, are valuable in this scenario. Similarly, implementing enchantments such as Stony Silence can render the mana abilities of artifacts like Lodestone Needle and Guidestone Compass inert. Another reliable method is to employ instant-speed interaction, which allows you to respond directly to the activation of its mana abilities or respond to your opponent’s strategies that rely on the extra mana. Nurturing a strategy that includes flexible disruption can help maintain control against decks that utilize cards like Lodestone Needle and its counterpart Guidestone Compass.
Keep in mind that timing is crucial when facing against such an adaptable card. Properly timed removal or negation can turn the tide, preventing an opponent from gaining the upper hand with their mana resources. By prioritizing resource denial and staying vigilant, you can neutralize the advantage these MTG cards are designed to confer.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass and other MTG cards:
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Lodestone Needle // Guidestone Compass card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-11-10 | Craft abilities are activated abilities with costs that have a mana component as well as an additional "materials" component. |
| 2023-11-10 | Craft abilities are written "Craft with -aterials] -ana]", which means " -ana], Exile this permanent, Exile -aterials] from among permanents you control and/or cards in your graveyard: Return this card to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery." |
| 2023-11-10 | If a card that isn't a transforming double-faced card becomes a copy of a card with craft, it'll stay in exile if you activate the craft ability. It won't return to the battlefield. |
| 2023-11-10 | If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate. |
| 2023-11-10 | If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard. |
| 2023-11-10 | If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | If the materials required include multiple objects, you may exile some of them from among permanents you control and the rest from among cards in your graveyard. You don't have to choose all permanents or all cards from your graveyard. |
| 2023-11-10 | In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.) |
| 2023-11-10 | Lodestone Needle's enters-the-battlefield ability can target an artifact or creature that's already tapped. If so, you'll just put two stun counters on that artifact or creature. |
| 2023-11-10 | Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter. |
| 2023-11-10 | Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again. |
| 2023-11-10 | The back faces of some cards with craft refer to cards "used to craft" it. This refers to the cards exiled as part of the cost of the craft ability of the front face. Those cards are considered to be "used to craft" that permanent as long as they remain exiled and the permanent remains on the battlefield, even if the permanent's controller changes or some of its characteristics change (because of a copy effect, for example.) |
| 2023-11-10 | You may exile tokens you control as part of the materials required. However, because they aren't cards and won't stay in exile, any abilities that refer to what you "used to craft" the back faces won't refer to anything. |
Guide to Flash card ability
Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.