Spotter Thopter MTG Card

Spotter Thopter enhances card quality through surveil and can integrate into graveyard-based strategies. As a low-cost artifact creature, it accelerates resource availability and bolsters artifact combos. Its flying ability grants strategic flexibility, serving as both an offensive and defensive asset.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	8
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact Creature — Thopter
Abilities	Flying,Prototype,Scry
Released	2022-11-18
Set symbol
Set name	The Brothers' War
Set code	BRO
Power	4
Toughness	5
Number	80
Frame	2015
Layout	Prototype
Border	Black
Illustred by	Michael Phillippi

Text of card

Prototype — 2/3 (You may cast this spell with different mana cost, color, and size. It keeps its abilities and types.) Flying When Spotter Thopter enters the battlefield, scry X, where X is its power.

Cards like Spotter Thopter

Spotter Thopter emerges as a unique piece within Magic: The Gathering’s array of artifact creatures. It stands in comparison with other artifact creature cards, like Hangarback Walker, which also puts Thopter tokens into play. Spotter Thopter, distinctively, doesn’t require an investment to grow via counters, which Hangarback Walker necessitates for token generation. Instead, Spotter Thopter demands an artifact to be sacrificed for its ability to activate.

Breya’s Apprentice is another similar card that interacts with the artifact domain. Though it also involves sacrificing artifacts to attain an effect, the Apprentice diverges by offering a choice between two outcomes: creating tokens or manipulating the library and graveyard. Conversely, Spotter Thopter is straightforward with a single, direct purpose: to deploy Thopter tokens that can take to the skies right away.

Lastly, Pia Nalaar acts as a parallel, generating Thopter tokens, but she does so as a one-time effect upon entering the battlefield. This contrasts with Spotter Thopter’s repeatability, albeit at a resource cost. Considering the dynamics and repeatability of token generation, Spotter Thopter adds a strategic layer for players looking to control the skies with their artifact synergies.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spotter Thopter’s ability to surveil upon entering the battlefield or attacking not only refines your upcoming draws but can potentially fuel graveyard strategies, offering a clear pathway to card quality if not outright card quantity.

Resource Acceleration: Including Spotter Thopter in your deck can help ramp up your resources since it’s a low-cost artifact creature that contributes to artifact synergies, possibly unlocking powerful combos or speeding up your game plan.

Instant Speed: Spotter Thopter is not an instant, but its flying trait allows for a swift offense or defense, acting as both a persistent threat and a vigilant blocker, which provides strategic flexibility during gameplay.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Spotter Thopter demands players to discard a card to activate its ability, which could deplete your hand unwelcomely, especially in crucial game moments when retaining card advantage is pivotal.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s requirement for a particular color combination could constrain its integration, making it less versatile in a wide array of deck builds that don’t support such mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Given Spotter Thopter’s mana cost is on the higher side, evaluating its board impact against other cards in the same mana range may lead players to find alternative options that provide more bang for their buck.

Reasons to Include Spotter Thopter in Your Collection

Versatility: Spotter Thopter offers flexibility as it adapts smoothly to various playing styles. It can support flying and artifact synergies, or simply serve as a defensive mechanism against aggressive opponents.

Combo Potential: This card works well with artifact synergies, unlocking new levels of play when partnered with other cards that benefit from artifact creatures entering the battlefield or tapping for effects.

Meta-Relevance: With the shifting landscape of the game, having cards like Spotter Thopter that can adjust to different meta conditions is crucial, offering answers to popular threats while advancing your board state.

How to beat

Spotter Thopter is a nifty card that can pose a challenge on the battlefield with its aerial threat and artifact synergies. Taking it down requires a strategic approach. One effective method is to prioritize removal spells that can target flying creatures. Cards like Radiant’s Judgment or Abrade are versatile answers that can handle the Spotter Thopter without much fuss. Additionally, playing cards that can damage all creatures, such as Pyroclasm or Sweltering Suns, can be a smart move since they deal damage across the board, potentially clearing multiple threats including the Thopter.

It’s also worth considering enchantments that can limit the Thopter’s effectiveness. Ensnaring Bridge can be particularly useful for controlling creatures like the Thopter since it restricts the ability of creatures with higher power from attacking. By monitoring the power level of your hand, you can effectively sideline the Spotter Thopter and render it harmless. With the right tactics and timely responses, overcoming the Spotter Thopter can be a manageable feat, keeping you in control of the game state.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spotter Thopter MTG card by a specific set like The Brothers' War, 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 Spotter Thopter and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Spotter Thopter has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2022-10-14	A prototype card is a colorless card in every zone except the stack or the battlefield, as well as while on the stack or the battlefield if not cast as a prototyped spell. Ignore its alternative characteristics in those cases. For example, while it's in your graveyard, Blitz Automaton is a colorless creature card with mana value 7. It can't be the target of Recommission, a spell that targets an artifact or creature card with mana value 3 or less in your graveyard.
2022-10-14	Casting a prototyped spell isn't the same as casting it for an alternative cost, and an alternative cost may be applied to a spell cast this way. For example, if an effect allows you to cast an artifact card without paying its mana cost, you could either cast Blitz Automaton normally, or as a prototyped spell.
2022-10-14	If an effect copies a prototyped spell, that copy (as well as the token it becomes on the battlefield) will have the same characteristics as the prototyped spell. Similarly, if an effect creates a token that's a copy of a prototyped permanent or causes another permanent to become a copy of it, the copy would have the same characteristics as the prototyped permanent.
2022-10-14	Regardless of how it was cast, a prototype card always has the same name, abilities, types, and so on. Only the mana cost, mana value, color, power, and toughness change depending on whether the card was cast as a prototyped spell.
2022-10-14	The prototype ability functions in any zone that the spell could be cast from. For example, if an effect allows you to cast artifact spells from your graveyard, you could cast a prototyped Blitz Automaton from your graveyard.
2022-10-14	Use Spotter Thopter's power at the time its triggered ability resolves (not the time it triggered) to determine the value of X. If Spotter Thopter is no longer on the battlefield at the time the ability resolves, use its power as it existed the last time it was on the battlefield.
2022-10-14	When cast as a prototyped spell, that spell has the mana cost, power, and toughness characteristics shown in its colored, secondary text box rather than the normal values of those characteristics. Its color and mana value are determined by that mana cost. The permanent that spell becomes as it resolves has the same characteristics. If the spell leaves the stack in any other way, or the permanent it becomes leaves the battlefield, it immediately resumes using its normal characteristics.
2022-10-14	When casting a prototyped spell, use only its prototype characteristics to determine whether it's legal to cast it. For example, if Blitz Automaton is exiled with the last ability of Chandra, Dressed to Kill, you would be able to cast it for (because it's a red spell), even though you wouldn't be able to cast it as a colorless spell for its normal cost.