Stronghold Machinist MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Spellshaper
Released	2000-02-14
Set symbol
Set name	Nemesis
Set code	NEM
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	46
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Terese Nielsen

Key Takeaways

Stronghold Machinist excels in providing card advantage and strategic deck manipulation for artifact-heavy strategies.
Its instant speed and resource acceleration abilities enable dynamic play and unexpected tactical turns.
However, its high mana cost and specific color requirements may limit its inclusion in some decks.

Text of card

o Uo U, oc T, Discard a card from your hand: Counter target noncreature spell.

She stretches the laws of physics until they snap.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Stronghold Machinist comes with the capability to tinker with your deck; by allowing you to sift through the top cards and select the perfect piece of machinery for the moment, you’re setting yourself up for a well-oiled victory. This can significantly bolster your hand with quality over quantity.

Resource Acceleration: This clever automaton is not just about tinkering—it can put your artifacts to work. By untapping them, Stronghold Machinist ensures that your gears are always turning, providing an opportunity to use your artifacts for multiple purposes within the same turn for optimal resource use.

Instant Speed: The ability of Stronghold Machinist to operate at instant speed is like having a covert operative on the field. It enables you to make strategic responses to your opponent’s moves during their turn, keeping them guessing while you set up for your next big play.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Stronghold Machinist necessitates discarding another card to activate its ability. This can be a strategic setback if your hand is already depleted or if you’re reluctant to lose other valuable cards from your grip.

Specific Mana Cost: The Stronghold Machinist comes with a blue color-locked mana requirement. This specificity restricts its inclusion to decks that can produce blue mana consistently, potentially excluding it from a variety of multi-color or colorless strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost demanding three generic and one blue mana, Stronghold Machinist is on the pricier side. When evaluating options for a four-mana slot in a deck, players might find alternative cards that provide more immediate impact or versatility without the additional discard cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Stronghold Machinist offers a flexible role in artifact-centric and blue control decks, adept at both manipulating the board and providing a consistent threat that can adapt to various game situations.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with artifacts that have tap or untap abilities, enabling you to craft powerful interactions and continuous streams of value on your turn and even during your opponents’ turns.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to synergize with prevalent artifact strategies, Stronghold Machinist can become a keystone in decks designed to challenge the current competitive scene, offering both offensive and defensive utilities that can sway the game in your favor.

How to beat Stronghold Machinist

Stronghold Machinist may not be as ubiquitous as some creatures in the game, but it can still present a unique challenge on the battlefield. This card shines in artifact-heavy decks, where its ability to peek at an opponent’s hand and potentially snatch a noncreature, nonland card can swing momentum in your favor. However, facing this potent machine requires a tactical approach.

One strategy is to employ instant-speed removal. Cards like Murder or Fatal Push can dispatch the Machinist before its ability triggers, depriving your opponent of valuable hand information and card advantages. Additionally, counterspells are highly effective, with options such as Counterspell or Negate ready to intercept this threat before it lands. If the Machinist is already on the board, cards that force sacrifice or reshuffle it into the library can bypass its activation altogether.

It’s also wise to minimize the number of artifacts in your build when facing an artifact-centric opponent. By doing so, you lessen the impact of Stronghold Machinist’s synergistic plays. Ultimately, effective timing and disruption will keep this potent machinist at bay, maintaining your hold on the game.

Cards like Stronghold Machinist

Stronghold Machinist enters the realm of creature-based card advantage in MTG, holding its own next to cards like Thopter Spy Network. While Thopter Spy Network relies on artifact synergies to draw cards, Stronghold Machinist takes a different approach by enabling its controller to peek at the top card of their library at any time, amassing knowledge for strategic play. This Machinist shines in providing real-time deck information, whereas Thopter Spy Network rewards you with card draws for each attacking artifact creature.

Looking at the Vedalken Archmage, another card that rewards players for playing artifacts, it offers an immediate card draw each time an artifact enters the battlefield under your control. This can lead to a significant draw advantage over several turns. While the Archmage provides more aggressive card replenishment, the Machinist’s ability is constant and less dependent on other cards’ interactions. Additionally, Etherium Sculptor shares a space in artifact-centric decks, offering cost reduction rather than card advantage, which indirectly allows for a quicker build-up of a player’s board presence.

Ultimately, Stronghold Machinist holds a unique position, granting continuous deck insight which can lead to well-informed decisions, potentially shifting the flow of the game in favor of its wielder.

Cards similar to Stronghold Machinist by color, type and mana cost

Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions

Stronghold Biologist - MTG Card versions

Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions

Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions

Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions

Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stronghold Machinist MTG card by a specific set like Nemesis, 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 Stronghold Machinist and other MTG cards: