Mindmelter MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Eldrazi Drone
Abilities	Devoid
Released	2016-01-22
Set symbol
Set name	Oath of the Gatewatch
Set code	OGW
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	149
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jason Felix

Key Takeaways

Delivers card advantage and hand disruption, pivotal for maintaining control over the game’s flow.
Challenges include precise mana requirements and balancing card-discarding with overall strategy.
Vital for control decks, Mindmelter bolsters strategies centered around dominating opponent’s choices.

Text of card

Devoid (This card has no color.) Mindmelter can't be blocked. : Target opponent exiles a card from his or her hand. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery. ( represents colorless mana.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Mindmelter shines in providing card advantage by allowing you to peek into an opponent’s hand and potentially disrupt their plans, ensuring you’re always a step ahead in the game.

Resource Acceleration: With this card’s ability to untap a land when it enters the battlefield, it effectively helps you ramp up your resources, possibly giving you the chance to cast more threats or answers in a single turn.

Instant Speed: Its Instant Speed nature grants you the flexibility to respond to your adversary’s actions on their turn, keeping your options open and your tactics sharp and reactive.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mindmelter’s ability necessitates discarding a card, which could deplete your hand, especially if your strategy doesn’t support this kind of card advantage trade-off.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue and black mana, Mindmelter can be challenging to cast on curve outside of dedicated two-color decks, potentially restricting its inclusion in more varied mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With three mana required, including one of each color mentioned, Mindmelter may compete with other cards at the same cost point that do not impose a discard cost or that offer potentially broader or more immediate impact on the game state.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mindmelter provides a unique flexibility to infiltrate a variety of deck archetypes. Its ability to disrupt your opponent’s hand whilst being a menace on the battlefield makes it applicable in strategies that focus on control and player interaction.

Combo Potential: With its ability to exile the opponent’s cards, Mindmelter synergizes well with strategies revolving around hand disruption and information denial. It’s also a reliable piece in decks seeking to capitalize on ingest and process mechanics, feeding other eldritch powers.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where hand quality is essential and games are decided by card advantage, Mindmelter’s consistent pressure can be critical. Its relevance intensifies in slower-paced games where every card counts and denying resources can lead to your victory.

How to beat

Mindmelter is a formidable opponent in the MTG landscape, with its ability to evade creature blocking if you possess a colorless mana. To swing the game in your favor against this elusive creature, it’s essential to have removal spells ready. Consider employing instant-speed options like Fatal Push or Swords to Plowshares, depending on your deck’s colors, to efficiently address the Mindmelter threat. These classics in removal offer flexibility and cost efficiency, ensuring you can react even with limited mana resources. The key lies in timing your response to preempt your opponent’s actions.

Furthermore, utilizing counter spells such as Counterspell or Mana Leak when Mindmelter is being cast can prevent its appearance on the battlefield altogether. If you’re caught without an immediate answer, enhance your deck with creatures that have ‘reach’ or ‘can block creatures with flying’ to mitigate the evasion prowess of Mindmelter. As a strategic player, ensuring your deck has a balance of creature and non-creature interaction will aid in conquering a wide range of threats, including the sly Mindmelter.

In the broader metagame context, decks that prioritize disruption and interaction tend to fare better against creatures with unique abilities. Staying ahead involves anticipating the opponent’s next move and maintaining a toolkit of versatile and reactive spells and abilities. In the end, staying one step ahead and reacting swiftly to emerging threats like Mindmelter could be your gateway to victory.

Cards like Mindmelter

The Mindmelter card offers players in MTG a unique way to disrupt opponents by offering a steady method of hand depletion. Its closest relatives in purpose are cards like Thoughtseize and Duress, which target the opponent’s hand directly, but Mindmelter adds a continuous threat on the board. Unlike these one-time use spells, Mindmelter allows players to repeatedly force opponents to exile a card from their hand, granted its activated ability has ample mana to fuel it.

Comparing Mindmelter to Dimir Guildmage, we notice similarities in the ability to control the opponent’s hand. Both cards function within the Dimir color identity of blue and black, known for its focus on knowledge and subterfuge. However, Dimir Guildmage demands more strategic play around its mana-intensive abilities while Mindmelter can apply its effect even when unblockable.

Essentially, Mindmelter serves as a more persistent and evasive form of psychological pressure on the opponent, maintaining a steady advantage in card control. This aspect makes it an interesting option for those strategically seeking to whittle down an adversary’s resources over the course of a match in MTG.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mindmelter MTG card by a specific set like Oath of the Gatewatch, 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 Mindmelter and other MTG cards: