Mind Sculpt MTG Card

Magic 2013 (M13)
2012-07-13 - Number 61

Magic 2015 (M15)
2014-07-18 - Number 70

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 429

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number M15-70

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Mill

Key Takeaways

Mind Sculpt indirectly creates card advantage by milling seven cards from the opponent’s deck.
It speeds up graveyard-oriented strategies without impacting your own turn tempo.
Requires specific mana and has a manageable, though significant, casting cost.

Text of card

Target opponent puts the top seven cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

"Your mind was a curious mix of madness and genius. I just took away the genius." —Jace Beleren

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With the ability to force an opponent to put seven cards into their graveyard, Mind Sculpt can indirectly generate card advantage. By depleting your opponent’s library, you’re essentially taking away their potential draws and resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your own mana resources, Mind Sculpt accelerates your strategy by filling the graveyard quickly. This can be incredibly useful for decks leveraging graveyard synergy or aiming to enable delve and threshold effects sooner.

Instant Speed: Although Mind Sculpt operates at sorcery speed, its power lies in its ability to seamlessly integrate into a turn where you develop your board state without sacrificing tempo—readying your strategy to take advantage of a diminished library for your opponent.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mind Sculpt lacks such a clause, offering straightforward disruption without an additional discard requirement to hinder your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Mind Sculpt does require two specific blue mana, making it less flexible for multi-colored or colorless decks and potentially restricting its use in certain builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not overly expensive, the cost to mill seven cards may not always justify the slot in a deck when considering other available disruption or control cards with more immediate board impact.

Reasons to Include Mind Sculpt in Your Collection

Versatility: Mind Sculpt’s ability to mill seven cards from an opponent’s library allows it to serve a variety of roles in different deck types. It’s a solid choice for control decks to disrupt opponents, as well as for mill decks focusing on depleting the opponent’s library as a win condition.

Combo Potential: This card can work seamlessly with other mill cards to rapidly deplete an opponent’s deck, or it can set up graveyard-based strategies. Its low cost also means it fits well into combos and can be played alongside other spells.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, some strategies consistently circle back to relevance. If the meta favors long games or has a prevalence of graveyard-based decks, Mind Sculpt can be a critical disruptor, affecting an opponent’s resources and potential plays.

How to beat

Mind Sculpt is a notorious spell in Magic: The Gathering for its potential to disrupt an opponent’s strategy by milling their cards directly into the graveyard. A swift and strategic approach is essential when facing this card. To thwart Mind Sculpt’s influence, consider using cards that benefit from having a filled graveyard such as escape mechanics, delve abilities, or those with triggered abilities like ‘when a card is put into your graveyard from your library’. This transforms a seeming disadvantage into an asset.

Incorporating graveyard shuffling cards into your deck can also neutralize Mind Sculpt’s effect. Elixir of Immortality and Feldon’s Cane are great examples which allow you to shuffle your graveyard back into your library, thereby mitigating the impact of milling. Additionally, playing proactive countermeasures such as counterspell cards, including Negate or Cancel, can stop Mind Sculpt before it even has a chance to execute its plan. Playing against Mind Sculpt requires a mix of preventive measures, deck adaptation, and timely reactions to emerge unscathed from its would-be devastating effects.

Ultimately, overcoming a Mind Sculpt strategy demands deck versatility and a readiness to convert potential losses into opportunities, ensuring that the card’s milling capability becomes an advantage for you rather than a setback.

Cards like Mind Sculpt

Mind Sculpt carves its niche into the depths of the Magic: The Gathering psyche by providing players with a powerful mill strategy, targeting the opponent’s library. It is often likened to Tome Scour, a card that also mills the opponent’s deck but for a lower count of five cards. Mind Sculpt edges it out by reaching for seven cards, a significant increase that can quickly undermine an opponent’s resources.

Dream Twist is another kin in the mill category, allowing a repeat performance with its flashback ability. However, it mills for fewer cards in total, unless used twice. Breaking // Entering offers a similar effect to Mind Sculpt with its Breaking half, milling eight cards at a comparable mana cost. Though the flexibility of a possible late-game effect with Entering might tilt favor for some strategists.

As control tools and strategies mobilize within MTG, Mind Sculpt secures a spot as a formidable option against opponents. Its balance between cost and effectiveness makes it a go-to for players looking to disrupt their opponents’ plans from the very depths of their decks.

Breaking // Entering - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Mind Sculpt by color, type and mana cost

Fae of Wishes // Granted - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mind Sculpt MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2013 and Magic 2015, 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 Mind Sculpt and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Mind Sculpt Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2012-07-13 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Michael C. Hayes.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-07-13	Magic 2013	M13	61	2003	Normal	Black	Michael C. Hayes
2	2014-07-18	Magic 2015	M15	70	2015	Normal	Black	Michael C. Hayes
3	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	429	2015	Normal	Black	Michael C. Hayes
4	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	M15-70	2015	Normal	Black	Michael C. Hayes

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mind Sculpt has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2012-07-01	You can cast Mind Sculpt no matter how many cards are in the opponent’s library. If there are fewer than seven, the opponent will put all of them into their graveyard.