Mindstab MTG Card

Gives an edge by depleting opponents’ cards, which could alter their gameplay and strategies effectively. Can catch players off-guard with its madness cost feature, interrupting their plans at instant speed. Demands strategic resource management due its specific color commitment and considerable mana cost.

Time Spiral (TSP)
2006-10-06 - Number 119

Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
2021-03-19 - Number 123

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Suspend

Text of card

Target player discards three cards. Suspend 4— (Rather than play this card from your hand, you may pay and remove it from the game with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When you remove the last, play it without paying its mana cost.)

Cards like Mindstab

The Mindstab card serves as an intriguing point of comparison within the pantheon of discard spells in MTG. Its closest relative might be Mind Twist, which shares the ability to disrupt the opponent’s hand. While Mindstab requires three mana and sacrifices future turns with its suspend feature, Mind Twist offers a more immediate effect but at a variable cost that can escalate with the game’s progression. Another cousin in the category is Hymn to Tourach, known for its lower cost and the surprise factor of causing random discard, which can unsettle the opponent’s strategy early on.

Delving further, we find Raven’s Crime, which can be replayed thanks to its retrace ability, offering a persistent threat to the opponent’s hand throughout the game. While Mindstab offers a single, potent strike, Raven’s Crime can apply pressure across multiple turns. Lastly, Thoughtseize impacts the games early, allowing for strategic discards, albeit at the cost of life and information to the opponent about your own hand.

Each of these alternatives offers a twist on the delicate art of depleting an adversary’s resources, with Mindstab holding its own for those who value the ability to plan out their attacks several turns in advance. Discard dynamics in MTG are vast and varied, and Mindstab earns its place by appealing to players who enjoy a more calculated and suspenseful disruption approach.

Cards similar to Mindstab by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mindstab offers a strategic edge by forcing your opponent to discard three cards. This depletion of resources can effectively put you ahead, as it narrows down their options for countering your plays and strategies during the game.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting mana resources, by causing an opponent to discard, Mindstab indirectly accelerates your resource advantage by potentially removing their mana-generating spells or creatures from the equation.

Instant Speed: Mindstab, when played with its madness cost, can catch an opponent off-guard at instant speed, allowing you to disrupt their hand at unexpected moments which can be particularly devastating prior to their draw phase or after a significant tutor effect.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mindstab demands that a player discard three cards on their own turn as it resolves, diminishing hand resources which can be particularly disadvantageous in games where maintaining card advantage is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: Mindstab’s cost is locked into black mana, necessitating a heavy commitment to black mana sources within a deck. This can restrict deck-building options and make it challenging to cast in a multi-color deck.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a converted mana cost of six, Mindstab can be considered costly for its effect. In an environment where lower-cost alternatives exist for disrupting your opponent’s hand, Mindstab may not be the most mana-efficient choice for competitive play.

Reasons to Include Mindstab in Your Collection

Versatility: Mindstab slots into various deck types with ease. For those aiming to disrupt the opponent’s hand and strategies, this card provides an efficient way to force discard, which can be instrumental regardless of the opponent’s deck archetype.

Combo Potential: With a suspend mechanic, Mindstab can set up future plays or create synergies with cards that benefit from having spells cast from unexpected zones, or simply as a plan to dismantle your opponent’s resources over time.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where hand information and disruption are key, Mindstab proves its worth. It can be particularly effective in environments heavy with combo or control decks, striking at the perfect moment to leave your adversary with limited options.

How to beat

Mindstab, with its disruptive potential in Magic: The Gathering, can pose a serious threat to an opponent’s hand, especially when its flashback ability is activated. To effectively counter this, it’s essential to adopt strategies that mitigate the loss of valuable cards. One approach is to deploy cards with madness or similar effects that benefit from being discarded. This turns a seeming setback into an advantage, allowing for an unexpected swing in board presence or card advantage.

Another tactic is to maintain a low hand size, prioritizing the casting of spells rather than holding onto them. This technique reduces the impact of Mindstab by lessening the number of cards it can potentially hit. In addition, including cards that can retrieve others from the graveyard or can be played from the graveyard themselves can also lessen Mindstab’s blow, ensuring that the cards discarded aren’t permanently lost and can still contribute to your game plan.

Lastly, countering Mindstab directly with counterspells or hand disruption of your own that targets key cards before they can be used against you can also be effective. By understanding the mechanics behind Mindstab and incorporating these strategies, you can safeguard your hand and maintain control over the game’s flow.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mindstab MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Mindstab and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Mindstab Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Mark Tedin.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2006-10-06	Time Spiral	TSP		119	2003	Normal	Black	Mark Tedin
2	2021-03-19	Time Spiral Remastered	TSR		123	2015	Normal	Black	Mark Tedin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mindstab has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-06-18	As the second triggered ability resolves, you must cast the card if able. You must do so even if it requires targets and the only legal targets are ones that you really don’t want to target. Timing permissions based on the card’s type are ignored.
2021-06-18	Cards exiled with suspend are exiled face up.
2021-06-18	Exiling a card with suspend isn’t casting that card. This action doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
2021-06-18	If an effect refers to a “suspended card,” that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
2021-06-18	If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2021-06-18	If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card’s owner’s next upkeep.
2021-06-18	If the second triggered ability is countered, the card can’t be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2021-06-18	If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it’s exiled.
2021-06-18	If you can’t cast the card, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2021-06-18	If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” such as with suspend, you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those if you want to cast the card.
2021-06-18	Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that causes you to cast the card when the last time counter is removed. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of that creature (or, in rare cases, you lose control of the creature spell while it’s on the stack).
2021-06-18	The mana value of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn’t paid.
2021-06-18	When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) triggers. It doesn’t matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
2021-06-18	You are never forced to activate mana abilities to pay costs, so if there is a mandatory additional mana cost (such as from Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), you can decline to activate mana abilities to pay for it and hence fail to cast the suspended card, leaving it in exile.
2021-06-18	You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage’s ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.