Unlucky Witness MTG Card

Unlucky Witness - Streets of New Capenna

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Citizen
Released	2022-04-29
Set symbol
Set name	Streets of New Capenna
Set code	SNC
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	128
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Tyler Walpole

Key Takeaways

Unlucky Witness provides card advantage and potential for instant-speed plays, enhancing strategic flexibility.
It has specific mana requirements, which may limit its inclusion in multicolored decks.
Despite a higher mana cost, its utility in card draw and meta-relevance makes it valuable.

Text of card

When Unlucky Witness dies, exile the top two cards of your library. Until your next end step, you may play one of those cards.

The guard took a midnight shift to earn a promotion. Unfortunately, so did the assassin.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Unlucky Witness offers players a key opportunity to gain card advantage. Upon its demise, you get the chance to draw a card, keeping your hand replenished and potentially unearthing more answers or threats against your opponents.

Resource Acceleration: While Unlucky Witness itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its death-triggered card draw can lead you to resources or spells that ramp up your mana capabilities, smoothing out your gameplay and paving the way for casting more influential spells sooner.

Instant Speed: This creature’s ability to interact at instant speed adds a layer of tactical depth. You can effectively plan your turns, knowing you have the potential to draw into new options almost immediately, especially when combined with instant-speed spells or abilities that might sacrifice Unlucky Witness for a strategic advantage.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bringing Unlucky Witness into play can come at the cost of parting with another card in your hand. This discard requirement can hamper you, particularly if your hand is running low on cards and you’re forced to get rid of a potentially crucial spell or creature.

Specific Mana Cost: Unlucky Witness demands a precise mana composition to cast, which could complicate its integration into multicolored decks. The mana requirement must be met exactly to leverage this card’s abilities, challenging its versatility across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating the mana investment against its in-game impact, Unlucky Witness might not measure up cost-effectively. With a notable mana cost for its effects, players might consider alternative cards that provide more significant board presence or strategic advantage for a similar, if not lower, mana investment.

Reasons to Include Unlucky Witness in Your Collection

Versatility: Unlucky Witness fits into various deck archetypes due to its low casting cost. Its ability to provide you with card draw upon death makes it a valuable asset, not just for sacrifice-themed decks but also for those looking to maintain card advantage.

Combo Potential: This card thrives in synergy with sacrifice outlets or strategies that benefit from creatures entering the graveyard. The card draw it offers could be the key to assembling your combo pieces more efficiently.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves and graveyard strategies become more prominent, Unlucky Witness’s relevance increases. It’s a wise pick in an environment where every card and resource matters, positioning your deck to have an edge.

How to beat

Unlucky Witness has emerged as a unique creature card in the Magic: The Gathering roster. Its strength lies in its ability to provide valuable intel on an opponent’s deck through its reveal mechanic upon death. However, this can be turned to a player’s advantage. By minimizing the instances where Unlucky Witness is forced to confront death, one can reduce the intel gained by the opponent. Using indirect removal spells such as Doom Blade or Shatter the Sky can circumvent Unlucky Witness’s ability as these do not trigger its death-threshold effect.

Utilizing graveyard manipulation strategies may also impair the card’s utility. Actions such as exiling it from the graveyard can ensure that the reveal ability becomes a one-time occurrence. It’s prudent to have a strategy in place that addresses not only Unlucky Witness but similar cards that thrive on information leakage. Keeping control over the flow of information during a match can often be the dividing line between victory and defeat, making it essential to have a game plan against cards like Unlucky Witness that are designed to disrupt that control.

Controlling the battlefield and maintaining the element of surprise are crucial components of a winning strategy, especially in formats where information can be as much of an asset as the creatures themselves. With careful planning and the right tools, overcoming the challenge posed by Unlucky Witness is well within any player’s reach.

Cards like Unlucky Witness

Unlucky Witness joins the ranks of creatures featured in Magic: The Gathering that trigger upon death. It bears a resemblance to cards like Doomed Traveler, granting a beneficial effect when it leaves the battlefield. However, Unlucky Witness differentiates itself by providing a peek into the top card of your deck, allowing a strategic setup for your next draws. Doomed Traveler, instead, offers a token creature which could be a more immediate benefit but lacks the potential for future planning.

In terms of information management, Black Cat is another comparable card as it provides a disruptive element by forcing an opponent to discard when it dies. Though it impacts the opponent’s hand, it does not aide in sculpting your own upcoming turns as Unlucky Witness does. Then there is Sultai Emissary, which manifests the top card of the library when it dies. This card offers a potential for a creature but does not guarantee the knowledge or card economy provided by Unlucky Witness with its death-triggered ability.

Comparatively, Unlucky Witness uniquely situates itself among creatures with last-gasp value, combining deck insight with a body on the board, making it a compelling option for players who enjoy leveraging both battlefield presence and hand advantage.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Unlucky Witness MTG card by a specific set like Streets of New Capenna, 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 Unlucky Witness and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Unlucky Witness has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	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 Unlucky Witness card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2022-04-29	You must pay all costs and follow all normal timing rules for a card played this way. For example, you may play a land card this way only during a main phase of your own turn when the stack is empty, and only if you haven't yet played a land this turn.