Wizened Arbiter MTG Card
2019-11-07 - Number 14
2021-08-20 - Number 14
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Soldier Wizard |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Manipulates the library for strategic card advantage, ensuring critical draws for game progression.
- Requires card discard and specific mana, challenging deck integration and hand management.
- Serves versatile roles in several deck types, despite its high cost affecting early play.
Text of card
When Wizened Arbiter enters the battlefield, you may reveal a white card you own from outside the game. If you do, exchange that card with a card in your hand.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Wizened Arbiter provides a tactical edge in any match by manipulating the library. This ability can be the difference between drawing a much-needed land or a game-changing spell. Effectively using this card has the potential to ensure a steady flow of strategic options and keeps you one step ahead of your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly increasing your mana pool, Wizened Arbiter offers indirect resource acceleration by filtering the top cards of your library. This selective approach can streamline your pathway to crucial cards, substantially ramping up your ability to deploy threats and answers with greater efficiency throughout the game.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Wizened Arbiter at instant speed cannot be overstated. Whether it’s disrupting an opponent’s top-deck strategy during their draw phase or neatly sidestepping sorcery-speed removals, the instant speed of this card allows for dynamic play and precise timing to navigate complex game states.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Wizened Arbiter requires you to discard a card as part of its casting cost. This can be a significant drawback, especially in situations where hand size is crucial and each card in hand matters for your overall strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost demanding both white and blue mana, Wizened Arbiter’s integration into a deck could be complicated unless you are playing a deck that already supports these colors. This can potentially reduce the card’s versatility in various MTG formats.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Wizened Arbiter commands a high mana cost for its effects when compared to other options available in the game. This may demand players to wait until the later stages of the game to play it, potentially slowing down tempo and affecting game dynamics unfavorably.
Reasons to Include Wizened Arbiter in Your Collection
Versatility: Wizened Arbiter’s ability to disrupt opponent strategies by manipulating the stack is a rare utility that can slot into various deck types. This gives players an unexpected edge, regardless of the match-up.
Combo Potential: This card’s unique interaction with instant spells and abilities opens up for numerous combo possibilities, allowing for enhanced control over the game’s flow and opportunities to capitalize on split-second timings.
Meta-Relevance: As the metagame evolves, control decks remain a prominent force. Wizened Arbiter fits seamlessly into such decks, providing a tactical advantage by negating key opponent plays, making it a critical addition in a continuously adapting environment.
How to beat
The Wizened Arbiter adds a layer of complexity and strategy to Magic: The Gathering matches. As a card with the ability to impact the flow of a game, it requires a thoughtful approach to overcome. To beat this card, focus on maintaining card draw consistency and resource management in your deck. Efficiently utilizing counterspells or direct removal spells ensures the Arbiter’s ability does not limit your crucial turns. Moreover, including cards that can operate under constraints, such as flash creatures or instants that can be cast at opportune moments, also help circumnavigate its stifling ability.
Another effective strategy is to limit the Arbiter’s influence by playing around its effect carefully, selecting the most impactful spells when you have the opportunity to cast more than one. The Arbiter’s controller has the same restrictions, so it’s pivotal to play in a way that maximizes your advantages while minimizing theirs. Lastly, prioritize the ability to manage battlefield threats, which can reduce the efficacy of the Arbiter’s presence and help regain control of the match’s tempo.
Devising a plan that puts you ahead of the Arbiter’s game-altering capability can turn the tide to your favor, ensuring that its presence is a hurdle rather than a blockade in your path to victory.
Cards like Wizened Arbiter
Wizened Arbiter offers a unique strategic advantage for control strategies within the MTG realm. According to gameplay reports, it’s often discussed in conjunction with other cards like Grand Arbiter Augustin IV for its potential to govern spell costs. While Wizened Arbiter doesn’t provide the cost reduction for your spells that Grand Arbiter Augustin IV does, it grants you the power to control how many spells each player can cast each turn, adding a layer of restriction to the battlefield.
Looking at a card like Rule of Law, you find a similar limiting effect. Rule of Law enforces a one-spell-per-turn rule but lacks the flexibility of Wizened Arbiter, which allows players to bypass the restriction by paying additional mana. Meanwhile, Arcane Laboratory mirrors this aspect, yet it lacks the adaptability present in Wizened Arbiter’s design, which tailors to both mono-white and multicolored control decks. Finally, Ethersworn Canonist, emanating a similar vibe, limits the number of nonartifact spells played, providing a restricted but distinct type of control.
In evaluating control elements, Wizened Arbiter’s ability to modify players’ spell-casting offers tactical depth that complements a range of strategies, making it a noteworthy choice in constructing MTG control decks. Its clever design lets players exploit gaps in opponents’ plans, potentially edging out its counterparts in multicolored formats.
Cards similar to Wizened Arbiter by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Wizened Arbiter MTG card by a specific set like Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 and Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021, 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 Wizened Arbiter and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The Wizened Arbiter Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-11-07 and 2021-08-20. Illustrated by Kelly Hamilton.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 | CMB1 | 14 | 2015 | normal | black | Kelly Hamilton | |
| 2 | 2021-08-20 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 | CMB2 | 14 | 2015 | normal | black | Kelly Hamilton |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wizened Arbiter card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2019-11-12 | If you have no cards in hand, you can’t put the white card you reveal into your hand. |
| 2019-11-12 | In a casual game, a card you choose from outside the game comes from your personal collection. In a tournament event, a card you choose from outside the game must come from your sideboard. You may look at your sideboard at any time. |
| 2019-11-12 | You don’t have to reveal the card in your hand that’s leaving the game. |
