Tinker's Tote MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Artifact |
| Released | 2023-11-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan |
| Set code | LCI |
| Number | 40 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Julia Metzger |
Text of card
When Tinker's Tote enters the battlefield, create two 1/1 colorless Gnome artifact creature tokens. , Sacrifice Tinker's Tote: You gain 3 life.
Never leave home without a gnome.
Cards like Tinker's Tote
Tinker’s Tote has carved its own niche in the Magic: The Gathering artifact landscape. The card echoes traits found in utility artifacts like Aether Spellbomb and Origin Spellbomb, both of which offer flexibility in how they can be leveraged during the game. Aether Spellbomb and Tinker’s Tote share the potential for a draw mechanism, but Tinker’s Tote requires an additional mana investment to gain that card advantage.
Another artifact to note is Ichor Wellspring which, like Tinker’s Tote, draws you a card when it enters the battlefield. Moreover, Wellspring draws an additional card upon leaving the battlefield, providing a clear advantage over the singular draw from Tinker’s Tote. The two cards share a similar mana cost, but Ichor Wellspring’s ability to draw upon exiting can lead to more strategic plays as part of a sacrifice-synergy deck.
Assessing these similarities and differences, Tinker’s Tote stands as a moderate choice among artifact options in Magic: The Gathering. While it offers card draw and restricts an opponent’s choices, the cost of activating its draw ability could make players consider other options like Ichor Wellspring for a more immediate and guaranteed return on investment.
Cards similar to Tinker's Tote by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Tinker’s Tote enables card filtering by allowing you to swap less useful cards from your hand for potentially game-changing top-deck draws, thereby maintaining the flow of your strategy and increasing your options each turn.
Resource Acceleration: With Tinker’s Tote, you can build up your available mana faster. This enhances your ability to cast more impactful spells earlier than usual, giving you a significant edge over opponents who are developing their board more slowly.
Instant Speed: The flexibility provided by Tinker’s Tote’s instant speed cannot be overstated. It allows you to adapt to the evolving game state, acting at the most opportune moment, whether it’s at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to an unexpected threat, ensuring you’re always a step ahead.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Tinker’s Tote comes with a discard condition; leveraging its artifact recursion ability forces you to part with another card in hand. This can place you at a disadvantage, particularly in stages of the game where maintaining card advantage is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s necessity for specific mana allocation can be restrictive. The mana cost for Tinker’s Tote may not seamlessly fit into every deck, especially those running a multi-color scheme that might struggle to consistently generate the required mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Looking at its mana value, Tinker’s Tote has a significant cost for its effect. In games where speed is of the essence, this higher casting cost can be a liability, lagging behind other lower-cost cards that activate similar effects or offer strategic advantages sooner.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Tinker’s Tote can seamlessly adapt to various deck archetypes, notably those that make use of artifact synergy or require efficient ways to safeguard key pieces.
Combo Potential: The card unlocks numerous combo avenues, as it can fetch crucial artifacts from your deck, setting in motion powerful plays or enabling a swift combo execution.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta that heavily features artifact-centric strategies or decks that hinge on specific powerful artifacts, Tinker’s Tote provides a reliable searching mechanism, ensuring you have the right tool at the right time.
How to beat
Tinker’s Tote presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, offering players a way to consistently repair their artifacts in MTG. Yet, for every defense, there’s a counter-strategy waiting to be unleashed. Tinker’s Tote requires an artifact-centric deck to shine, so disrupting the synergy between artifacts can cripple its effectiveness. A well-timed shatter effect or utilizing cards that specifically target artifact permanents can strip the tote’s influence, leaving your opponent’s strategy in disarray.
Moreover, by attacking your opponent’s artifact resources directly, you force them to make difficult decisions on what to preserve, potentially diverting their planned course of action. Cards like By Force or Vandalblast can serve as a decimator of artifact accumulations. Playing around Tinker’s Tote isn’t just about destruction—it’s also about pacing the game in a way that your opponent can’t capitalize on the incremental advantages it provides. Remember, timing is crucial, and holding onto your removal until it can cause maximum disruption is often the key to dismantling the support structure that Tinker’s Tote offers.
Keep in mind, however, that MTG is a game of unforeseen moves and strategies. Familiarize yourself with other potential threats in your opponent’s deck, and plan your moves to ensure that when you do act against Tinker’s Tote, it’s with winning certainty.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Tinker's Tote 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 Tinker's Tote 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 Tinker's Tote 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 |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |