Stone Retrieval Unit MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact Creature — Construct |
| Released | 2022-11-18 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Brothers' War |
| Set code | BRO |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 248 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Andreas Zafiratos |
Text of card
When Stone Retrieval Unit enters the battlefield, create a tapped Powerstone token. (It's an artifact with ": Add . This mana can't be spent to cast a nonartifact spell.")
Automatons could be rebuilt. Powerstones could not.
Cards like Stone Retrieval Unit
When exploring the unique facets of artifacts in Magic: The Gathering, Stone Retrieval Unit steps into the limelight. It bears a resemblance to the functionality of cards like Feldon’s Cane or Elixir of Immortality, which allow players to recycle their graveyard into their library. Stone Retrieval Unit is distinct as it targets only artifact cards, enabling a more focused retrieval strategy within artifact-centric decks.
Comparing this unit to Scrap Trawler offers insight into retrieval versatility differences. Scrap Trawler retrieves lower-cost artifacts from the graveyard to your hand, thereby establishing a continuous value chain. While it shares the artifact retrieval theme, the Stone Retrieval Unit’s approach is broader, pulling any artifact regardless of cost, but putting them back into the library instead of the hand.
In assessing the strengths of Stone Retrieval Unit, it’s worth noting the synergy it provides in decks that heavily utilize artifacts. Given its specific retrieval type, it shines in environments where players are looking to recycle valuable artifact pieces consistently. Its role in such strategies bolsters its position as a card of choice for MTG enthusiasts dedicated to artifact manipulation.
Cards similar to Stone Retrieval Unit by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Stone Retrieval Unit offers players an effective way to reclaim key artifacts from the graveyard, ensuring a continuous flow of resources and maintaining card advantage over opponents.
Resource Acceleration: By efficiently returning artifacts to your hand, Stone Retrieval Unit can lead to potential cost reductions for subsequent plays, effectively speeding up your game plan through enhanced resource acceleration.
Instant Speed: Operating at instant speed, this card allows for strategic flexibility, enabling players to react to game states and opponent actions on the fly, preserving resources while maximizing tactical advantage.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Stone Retrieval Unit requires discarding a card, which could deplete your hand, especially if you’re already struggling to maintain card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: This unit’s activation revolves around a specific mana cost that includes colorless mana, potentially restricting its integration into multi-colored decks that might not always have colorless sources readily available.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its activation cost being comparatively high, the Stone Retrieval Unit might be less preferable to options that bring permanents back from the graveyard to your hand for less investment, making it a less agile choice in fast-paced games.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Stone Retrieval Unit fits well in decks that require recursion of artifacts. Its ability to retrieve key pieces from the graveyard makes it a flexible addition to a variety of strategies.
Combo Potential: With the right setup, this card can become a fundamental part of a combo, repeatedly bringing back artifacts that can be sacrificed or tapped for benefits, thus enabling intricate plays that can lead to game-winning turns.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta heavy with artifact-based interactions, Stone Retrieval Unit can provide consistency and edge. It can often mean the difference between having access to the tools needed for victory or falling behind opponents who can better leverage their graveyard resources.
How to beat Stone Retrieval Unit
The Stone Retrieval Unit can be a real roadblock in a game of MTG, offering a recurring advantage to its controller with its artifact-based card advantage mechanism. Mounted on a highly durable body, it takes more than just a simple damage spell to effectively counteract it. Breaking through this stone wall requires a strategic approach, possibly involving removal spells that exile or force the opponent to sacrifice it.
A direct way to tackle the Stone Retrieval Unit is by using cards like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, effectively removing it from the game without triggering its death-related card retrieval capability. Alternatively, making your opponent sacrifice it through effects like Diabolic Edict circumvents the death trigger as well. If you can’t remove it, counter it upon casting with a spell like Counterspell or negate its utility by employing graveyard hate cards such as Relic of Progenitus to disrupt its recursion ability. Stopping the flow of recurring value is key to ensuring your opponent doesn’t gain the upper hand with this formidable card.
Whether you remove it directly, force a sacrifice, negate its abilities, or counter it outright, the strategic removal of Stone Retrieval Unit from the battlefield is significant to curtail an opponent’s card advantage and press on towards victory.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Stone Retrieval Unit 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 Stone Retrieval Unit and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Stone Retrieval Unit has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Stone Retrieval Unit 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 | Although all the cards in The Brothers' War that create Powerstone tokens create a tapped Powerstone token, entering the battlefield tapped isn't part of the token's definition. Notably, if you create a token that is a copy of a Powerstone token, the token copy won't enter the battlefield tapped. |
| 2022-10-14 | Powerstone tokens are a kind of predefined token. Each one has the artifact subtype "Powerstone" and the ability ": Add . This mana can't be spent to cast a nonartifact spell." |
| 2022-10-14 | You can use the added by a Powerstone token on anything that isn't a nonartifact spell. This includes paying costs to activate abilities of both artifact and nonartifact permanents, paying ward costs, and so on. |