Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Artifact |
| Abilities | Craft,Transform |
| Released | 2023-11-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Set code | LCI |
| Number | 262 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Transform |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Aldo Domínguez |
Text of card
: Add one mana of any color. Craft with one or more (, Exile this artifact, Exile one or more other permanents you control and/or cards from your graveyard: Return this card transformed under its owner's control. Craft only as a sorcery.)
Cards like Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy
Exploring the vast array of cards within Magic: The Gathering often leads to interesting discoveries like Sunbird’s Effigy. Comparable to other artifact cards that manipulate the flow of the game, it’s akin to Mirari, which also promises potential value over time. Where Sunbird’s Effigy shines is its ability to look deeper into your library to cheat spells into play, differing from Mirari’s copy spell capacity, which requires additional mana to trigger.
Another analog is Pyromancer’s Goggles, which also resonates with the red mana spell duplication theme but focuses solely on instants and sorceries. Sunbird’s Effigy is not restricted by card type, allowing a broader spectrum of spells to be played. Furthermore, Goggles targets a single spell to copy, while the Effigy may reveal more options, giving a player multiple chances to cast impactfully.
In assessing the merits of each, players can appreciate Sunbird’s Effigy for its potential to transform games by cascading through a strategically constructed deck. It fares well when compared to its counterparts by offering a unique and potent approach to deploying spells.
Cards similar to Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Sunbird’s Effigy offers a dynamic method of potentially revealing multiple spells from the top of your deck, based on the converted mana cost of the spell you cast. This leads to significant card advantage as you could be playing extra spells for no additional mana cost, keeping your hand full and options open.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing resource acceleration, the Sunbird’s Effigy’s effect essentially discounts future spells that you cast for free, assuming they match the triggered condition. This could translate into a form of cost reduction, giving you a pseudo acceleration in your game plan.
Instant Speed: While Sunbird’s Effigy itself isn’t an instant-speed artifact, it unlocks the potential to cast high-powered spells at instant speed if they are revealed from the top of your library on casting another spell. This can dramatically alter the pace of the game, allowing you to surprise opponents with spells during their turn, typically reserved for yours.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Sunbird’s Effigy demands a nonland card to be discarded when it enters the battlefield. This can put players at a disadvantage by depleting their hand, especially in the early game where card advantage is critical. For players looking to maintain a range of options, this prerequisite can be restrictive and potentially disrupt strategic plays.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Sunbird’s Effigy is quite specific, requiring one red mana. This can pose a challenge in multicolored decks that may struggle with color fixing or in situations where having the exact mana combination is difficult. Players may find it limiting when building a deck that wishes to include this card but also maintain a stable mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana valuation set at six, Sunbird’s Effigy sits at a higher end on the mana curve. This alone could turn players towards alternative permanents or spells that offer similar or better effects at a lower cost. In fast-paced games, where efficiency is paramount, the Effigy’s mana cost can be a significant deterrent to its inclusion in competitive decks.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Sunbird’s Effigy excels as a dynamic tool in red-aligned decks, capable of cascading into powerful spells that match the mana cost of the one vous have just cast, opening up possibilities across multiple deck archetypes.
Combo Potential: This card is a perfect enabler for synergistic plays, allowing you to exploit its trigger to cast spells for free continuously, potentially leading to game-winning combos in the right setup.
Meta-Relevance: In a standard format where casting big spells can often decide the outcome of the game, having Sunbird’s Effigy can give you recurring value and an upper hand against the prevalent deck types.
How to beat
The Sunbird’s Effigy card can be a real game-changer in MTG, bringing potential card advantage and facilitating powerful plays by revealing cards from your library. Its ability to cheat on mana costs by allowing a cast of a spell with equal or lesser value after you cast your first spell each turn is undeniably impactful. However, there are strategies to dismantle this advantage.
Targeted removal spells are a direct method to handle Sunbird’s Effigy. Naturalize or Disenchant grant you the ability to destroy it outright, mitigating the card’s effectiveness immediately. Efficient counterplay can also come from counter spells when your opponent tries to cast Sunbird’s Effigy — countering it before it can impact the game.
Controlling the board state and maintaining pressure on your opponent requires a keen understanding of timing. By playing on your own terms and disrupting your opponent’s strategy, gameplay can pivot in your favor. Always be mindful of the spells you cast and anticipate your opponent’s moves to neutralize the Effigy’s influence—turning their potential advantage into your opportunity.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy MTG card by a specific set like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, 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 Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | 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 Sunbird Standard // Sunbird Effigy card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-11-10 | Craft abilities are activated abilities with costs that have a mana component as well as an additional "materials" component. |
| 2023-11-10 | Craft abilities are written "Craft with -aterials] -ana]", which means " -ana], Exile this permanent, Exile -aterials] from among permanents you control and/or cards in your graveyard: Return this card to the battlefield transformed under its owner's control. Activate only as a sorcery." |
| 2023-11-10 | If a card that isn't a transforming double-faced card becomes a copy of a card with craft, it'll stay in exile if you activate the craft ability. It won't return to the battlefield. |
| 2023-11-10 | If the materials required include multiple objects, you may exile some of them from among permanents you control and the rest from among cards in your graveyard. You don't have to choose all permanents or all cards from your graveyard. |
| 2023-11-10 | The back faces of some cards with craft refer to cards "used to craft" it. This refers to the cards exiled as part of the cost of the craft ability of the front face. Those cards are considered to be "used to craft" that permanent as long as they remain exiled and the permanent remains on the battlefield, even if the permanent's controller changes or some of its characteristics change (because of a copy effect, for example.) |
| 2023-11-10 | The five colors are white, blue, black, red, and green, and as such, Sunbird Effigy's characteristic-defining ability can't set its power and toughness higher than 5/5. Similarly, Sunbird Effigy's last ability can produce at most five mana (one of each of color). |
| 2023-11-10 | You may exile tokens you control as part of the materials required. However, because they aren't cards and won't stay in exile, any abilities that refer to what you "used to craft" the back faces won't refer to anything. |