Steam Augury MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Steam Augury offers choice and versatility, elevating strategic gameplay with its instant-speed flexibility.
  2. Opponents dictate outcomes, adding a psychological layer to this card’s use in MTG matches.
  3. This card fosters strategic baiting and bluffing, enhancing the MTG metagame experience.

Text of card

Reveal the top five cards of your library and separate them into two piles. An opponent chooses one of those piles. Put that pile into your hand and the other into your graveyard.

Keranos is a fickle god, delivering punishment as readily as prophecy.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Steam Augury shines by offering a significant selection of cards to potentially add to your hand, giving players a strategic edge by increasing their options on subsequent turns.

Resource Acceleration: With the right outcome, this card can effectively sort through the top five cards of your library, helping to sift through and draw into the resources you need more quickly.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Steam Augury at instant speed is a strategic advantage, allowing the flexibility to respond to an opponent’s moves during their end step or after they have fully committed to their own strategy.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the notable downsides of Steam Augury is its requirement to potentially discard assets. When you reveal the cards from your library, your opponent has the power to decide which pile you receive, leading potentially to a loss of crucial resources from the discarded pile.

Specific Mana Cost: Steam Augury demands a precise mana investment, specifically one red and one blue mana. This requirement can pose a challenge, particularly in multicolored decks where mana flexibility is key to executing a diverse array of strategies efficiently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Holding a cost of four mana, Steam Augury sits at a point on the curve where players expect a significant impact on the game. While the card provides valuable selection, the fact that the opponent makes the ultimate decision can diminish its value when compared to other card draw options available at a similar cost.


Reasons to Include Steam Augury in Your Collection

Versatility: Steam Augury offers flexibility in both aggressive and control strategies. As a card that facilitates digging through the top five cards of your library, it allows you to adapt to various game states by choosing the most suitable spells or lands in the moment.

Combo Potential: This card shines in decks that capitalize on graveyard strategies or need to fill the bin for delve and other mechanics. It also can be a piece in puzzles involving card draw manipulation or spells that trigger upon casting from the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: Knowledge of your deck and your opponent’s strategy is key in competitive play. Steam Augury’s ability to provide card advantage while feeding information about potential future plays makes it a worthy asset when facing a variety of decks in the ever-evolving MTG meta.


How to beat

Steam Augury offers players in Magic: The Gathering a unique twist on impulse draw effects, reminiscent of the classic Fact or Fiction. This instant spell allows you to reveal the top five cards of your library; an opponent then separates them into two piles, and you choose one to add to your hand. The catch? Savvy opponents will skillfully split the piles to limit your gains.

To effectively counter this card’s advantage, the key lies in understanding your opponent’s deck and their current board state. By assessing their potential needs for lands, spells, or creatures at that moment, you can distribute the cards in a way that gives them the least benefit. Also, putting high-impact cards in different piles forces a tough choice.

Moreover, graveyard manipulation also becomes a strategic element. If your opponent relies on graveyard synergy, adding such cards to the hand pile could backfire. Conversely, giving them cards they could potentially recur from the graveyard isn’t always wise. Managing Steam Augury effectively is a delicate balance between knowledge and bluffing, making it a challenging but surmountable hurdle in gameplay.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the dynamic decision-making that Steam Augury brings to your MTG gameplay. This instant-speed card teases the tactical mind, as it tests both the player’s and the opponent’s strategy during pile separation. If you’re intrigued by the cerebral aspect of MTG, where predicting and manipulating opponent’s choices plays a pivotal role, delving into the nuances of Steam Augury can sharpen your competitive edge. Whether you’re tailoring a control deck or engineering a new combo, understand how to maximize the card’s advantages and mitigate its risks. Join us at BurnMana to enhance your deck-building skills and decision-making prowess for your next MTG challenge.


Cards like Steam Augury

Steam Augury represents its distinct place within the repertoire of spell choices for MTG players. It invites comparison to the well-known card Fact or Fiction, which also divides cards into two piles for a player to choose from. However, Steam Augury brings with it the twist of an opposing player making the piles, adding a psychological layer to the game not present in Fact or Fiction. This makes the strategic depth of Steam Augury an interesting alternative for deck builders who enjoy forcing difficult decisions upon their opponents.

Other parallels can be drawn with the card Gifts Ungiven, a popular instant that operates on a similar pile separation principle. Although Gifts Ungiven offers more control to the caster by selecting four different cards, Steam Augury counters with a potentially higher card yield at the cost of less control. It’s a trade-off that could lead to higher rewards if the MTG player can successfully anticipate the opponent’s choices.

Ultimately, when analyzing Steam Augury against its counterparts, the card distinguishes itself through the interplay it fosters and the pronounced risk-to-reward ratio it offers. It finds favor among those who relish in the nuances of strategic baiting and bluffing endemic to the MTG metagame.

Fact or Fiction - MTG Card versions
Gifts Ungiven - MTG Card versions
Fact or Fiction - Invasion (INV)
Gifts Ungiven - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Steam Augury MTG card by a specific set like Theros and Duel Decks: Speed vs. Cunning, 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 Steam Augury and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Steam Augury Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2013-09-27 and 2015-11-13. Illustrated by Dave Kendall.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12013-09-27TherosTHS 2052003normalblackDave Kendall
22014-09-05Duel Decks: Speed vs. CunningDDN 682015normalblackDave Kendall
32015-11-13Commander 2015C15 2332015normalblackDave Kendall

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Steam Augury has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-09-15 If one of the piles is empty, the opponent will choose whether to put the cards from the other pile into your hand or into your graveyard.
2013-09-15 Steam Augury doesn't target any opponent. In a multiplayer game, you choose the opponent as the spell resolves.

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