Worry Beads MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact
Abilities	Mill
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Number	315
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	rk post

Key Takeaways

Worry Beads can increase card advantage by carefully rearranging your deck for better draws over time.
Offers both a steady control of game pace and potential combo synergies within certain deck strategies.
Despite a higher mana cost, its uniqueness adds value to collections and certain gameplay metas.

Text of card

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Worry Beads can slowly manipulate your deck by placing unwanted cards at the bottom, which may increase the chances of drawing into more valuable cards as the game progresses.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact allows you to untap it on each player’s upkeep, giving you subtle yet consistent access to potentially accelerate your resources by ensuring valuable cards are more frequently cycled to your hand.

Instant Speed: Although Worry Beads’ ability is not activated at instant speed, it functions during each upkeep, similar to having a recurring effect that can impact the game during each turn, much like instant speed interactions but on a reliable schedule.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Worry Beads necessitates that players discard cards, potentially diminishing their hand and crucial resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Its activation revolves around a specific mana production, restricting its adaptation across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering its mana value, Worry Beads may not always represent the most mana-efficient option for card manipulation within a player’s strategy.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Worry Beads offers a unique angle to any deck looking to control the pace of the game. With its ability to reorder the top cards of an opponent’s library, it fits neatly into control and mill decks alike, aligning with various strategies.

Combo Potential: This artifact card is more than what meets the eye. By potentially manipulating the opponent’s draw, it can work wonders in combination with cards that benefit from knowing the top card of a library, or in tandem with shuffle effects to disrupt your opponent’s plans.

Meta-Relevance: Given its unique ability to interact with the top of an opponent’s deck, Worry Beads can be particularly useful in formats where the knowledge of the next draw is crucial or in metas dominated by library search mechanics.

How to beat

Worry Beads, an intriguing artifact in Magic: The Gathering, often forces opponents into an uncomfortable guessing game. Each upkeep, it reshuffles an opponent’s library, placing the top card on the bottom. This disruption can hinder deck strategies reliant on top-deck control or setting up the perfect draw. However, conquering this artifact isn’t insurmountable.

To outmaneuver Worry Beads, consider incorporating instant-speed draw effects to minimize its impact on your planning. Spells like Opt or Brainstorm allow you to draw and filter through your cards, mitigating the randomization Worry Beads can cause. Enchantment removal becomes a key player here, with tools such as Disenchant or Naturalize letting players efficiently dispose of the artifact. Alternatively, one could employ artifact specific answers such as Karn, Scion of Urza’s -2 ability or Abrade, which offer flexibility against a range of threats.

Ultimately, integrating answers within your deck that suit your strategy while accounting for disruption like Worry Beads is essential. By maintaining versatility in response to artifacts, you can ensure that your path to victory remains clear, even in the face of such trickery.

Cards like Worry Beads

Worry Beads stands out in the pantheon of artifact cards in Magic: The Gathering. It can be likened to artifacts like Mesmeric Orb which also taps into the strategy of milling players’ libraries. Mesmeric Orb mills for each untap which can quickly escalate, while Worry Beads is a consistent but gentler mill with its once-per-turn effect at upkeep.

Another relative is Ghoulcaller’s Bell. Both create incremental effects to shape the course of the game, compelling each player to mill the top card of their library every turn. Although Ghoulcaller’s Bell requires an active decision to tap, Worry Beads does so automatically, ensuring no turn goes without this strategic mill. Codex Shredder offers a different take, allowing players the choice of when to mill. This artifact gives more control but lacks the automatic nature of Worry Beads.

Diving further into utility and convenience, Worry Beads ensures a steady, subtle pressure on opponents’ libraries. It might not have the immediate impact of other milling artifacts, yet its persistent presence harmonizes with control strategies that plan for the long game. Its niche effect in the strategy of attrition makes it an understated yet cunning choice amongst its peers.

Cards similar to Worry Beads by color, type and mana cost

Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions

Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions

Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Worry Beads MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Worry Beads and other MTG cards: