Skyscanner MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeArtifact Creature — Thopter
Abilities Flying
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Skyscanner grants card advantage, cycling your hand and pressuring opponents upon its deployment.
  2. Compatibility with instant speed effects enhances Skyscanner’s tactical versatility during gameplay.
  3. Demands for specific mana and its discard requirement can limit Skyscanner’s playability in some decks.

Text of card

Flying When Skyscanner enters the battlefield, draw a card.

The municipal senate makes extensive use of the thopters, mostly to gather dirt on rival senators.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the key benefits of Skyscanner is its ability to provide card advantage upon entering the battlefield. By drawing you a card, Skyscanner helps to refuel your hand, keeping your options open and maintaining pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Though Skyscanner itself may not directly accelerate your resources, its low casting cost makes it a viable inclusion in decks that aim to ramp up their mana base quickly. Plus, after serving its purpose, it can be an added resource for artifact synergies which can lead to further acceleration.

Instant Speed: While Skyscanner itself isn’t an instant, its ability to benefit from being flickered or bounced back to your hand at instant speed makes it highly versatile. This flexibility allows you to maximize your mana usage and strategic plays throughout the game, ensuring you’re always at the ready to react swiftly to the evolving battlefield.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As with many powerful cards, Skyscanner comes at a price. To harness its ability, you’re required to discard another card from your hand. This can be particularly challenging when your hand is already dwindling, forcing you to choose between keeping a potentially vital card or utilizing Skyscanner’s effect.

Specific Mana Cost: Skyscanner demands a specific mana combination to cast, which may not align with every deck’s strategy. If your deck doesn’t naturally generate the required mana types or if you’re playing a multicolored deck, this could restrict Skyscanner’s usability and overall effectiveness within your game plan.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When it comes to resource investment, Skyscanner sits at the higher end of the scale. With numerous alternatives available in the vast pool of cards, finding a balance between cost and benefit is crucial. Players often have to weigh Skyscanner against other options that might offer more efficient utility or a lower mana investment for a similar or even better outcome.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Skyscanner offers a unique edge to any deck by fulfilling multiple roles. Its ability to provide card draw coupled with a flying body makes it a diverse asset in defensive and offensive strategies alike.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with flicker or bounce effects, as it allows for repeated card draw, churning through your deck for key pieces while maintaining board presence.

Meta-Relevance: In a format where the battlefield can become cluttered with creatures, Skyscanner’s evasion and the card draw it provides remain valuable tools for navigating through stalled board states and maintaining card advantage.


How to beat

Skyscanner, a unique artifact creature card in MTG, offers players a noticeable advantage with its ability to provide card advantage upon entering the battlefield. While flying enables it to evade ground-based defenses, the real strength of Skyscanner is its synergy in artifact-centric decks, often found in formats such as Commander or Limited.

To counter Skyscanner effectively, it’s essential to disrupt the card advantage it provides or its integrative role in artifact strategies. Artifact removal spells like Abrade or Disenchant can target Skyscanner directly, negating its draw effect if you manage to remove it in response to its enter the battlefield trigger. Of course, this requires precise timing and the right cards in hand. Another tactic includes leveraging creature removal to diminish the number of artifacts on your opponent’s field, reducing the overall synergy and benefit they receive from Skyscanner.

Lastly, playing strategically around Skyscanner’s abilities by maintaining pressure or focusing on non-creature strategies that are less affected by flying creatures will minimize its impact on the game. Considering its modest stats, direct combat engagement can also prove to be an effective way to remove Skyscanner from the board.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the ins and outs of artifact creatures like Skyscanner can give your MTG gameplay a significant boost. With its ability to grant card advantage and its synergy with bounce and flicker effects, knowing when to include Skyscanner in your deck is key. It’s essential to consider its cost-benefit balance in relation to similar cards and the specific demands of your deck’s strategy. Ready to optimize your deck and fine-tune your strategy? Dive deeper into the world of MTG with us and discover how Skyscanner could be the card that elevates your game to new heights.


Cards like Skyscanner

Skyscanner from Magic: The Gathering finds its niche among artifact creatures that provide card advantage. Like its airborne namesake that scans the skies, it allows a peek into your deck upon entering the battlefield. Its counterpart, Filigree Familiar, also grants a card draw but does so upon its departure from the field. Filigree Familiar offers additional life gain, an angle Skyscanner misses out on.

Consider also the steadfast Ichor Wellspring, which is not a creature but remains in the realm of impactful artifacts. Ichor Wellspring promises a card whenever it enters or leaves the battlefield, doubling the opportunities compared to the single card from Skyscanner. Solemn Simulacrum—lovingly dubbed ‘Sad Robot’ by fans—presents another comparison. It too grants a card draw and reaches beyond, tutoring a basic land straight to the battlefield.

Despite the varied functions of these similar cards, Skyscanner stands out with its role as a flying blocker in addition to being a card advantage engine, making it a versatile choice in decks that benefit from artifacts or creature synergies.

Filigree Familiar - MTG Card versions
Ichor Wellspring - MTG Card versions
Solemn Simulacrum - MTG Card versions
Filigree Familiar - MTG Card versions
Ichor Wellspring - MTG Card versions
Solemn Simulacrum - MTG Card versions

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Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Bösium Strip - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Static Orb - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Wall of Spears - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Skyscanner MTG card by a specific set like Core Set 2019 and Mystery Booster, 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 Skyscanner and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Skyscanner Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2018-07-13 and 2020-07-03. Illustrated by Adam Paquette.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-07-13Core Set 2019M19 2452015NormalBlackAdam Paquette
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 16312015NormalBlackAdam Paquette
32020-07-03Core Set 2021M21 2382015NormalBlackAdam Paquette
42020-09-26The ListPLST M19-2452015NormalBlackAdam Paquette

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Skyscanner has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

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