Auto-Key MTG Card

Rarity	Common
Type	Artifact — Contraption
Released	2017-12-08
Set symbol
Set name	Unstable
Set code	UST
Number	170
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Borderless
Illustred by	Jason Felix
Un-set :-)	This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

Auto-Key grants card advantage, ensuring strategic depth and hand resourcefulness in matches.
Resource acceleration from Auto-Key increases gameplay tempo, enabling quicker deployment of threats.
Instantaneous reactivity with Auto-Key lets players outmaneuver opponents for a tactical advantage.

Text of card

Whenever you crank Auto-Key, until end of turn, target creature becomes an artifact in addition to its other types and gains ": You gain 3 life."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Imagine having an arsenal of spells up your sleeve that continuously feed your hand with more options. The Auto-Key Mtg Card does just that, granting you a seamless flow of cards, ensuring you always have the upper hand in card strategy against your opponents.

Resource Acceleration: Get a jump on resources as this incredible card stimulates your mana pool, propelling you towards a swift victory. It’s like hitting the fast-forward button on your gameplay, allowing you to deploy more threats and responses faster than ever.

Instant Speed: Reactivity is the name of the game, and with this card, you can adapt to the battlefield in real-time. Use it when the moment is right, without the constraints of turn sequences, giving you the power to surprise and outmaneuver at a moment’s notice.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with an Auto-Key MTG card often necessitates the discarding of another card from your hand, which can set a player back, especially if they’re managing a thinning deck with limited options.

Specific Mana Cost: Auto-Key MTG cards often come with the requirement for specific mana types that may not seamlessly integrate with multi-color strategies, posing a challenge for deck diversity and flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The efficiency of an Auto-Key MTG card must be balanced against its mana cost, which is frequently higher than some counterparts. This can impact the tempo of gameplay and may slow down your overall strategy in a match where speed is crucial.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Auto-Key card brings a level of adaptability that’s hard to match, easily sliding into various deck builds. Its unique ability to untap permanents can be utilized in a multitude of situations, ensuring that your strategies remain fluid and responsive during gameplay.

Combo Potential: As a card with the power to unlock potential combos, Auto-Key shines. Within decks built around synergies, this card could be the linchpin that enables a cascade of actions, setting off powerful interactions that can swiftly lead your way to victory.

Meta-Relevance: Staying relevant in the ever-shifting meta is crucial, and Auto-Key’s intrinsic value in enabling and disrupting strategies makes it a worthwhile consideration for any collection. In a game where tempo and resource management are key, having Auto-Key at your disposal could give you the edge against prevalent deck types.

How to beat

The Auto-key Mtg Card presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to enable automatic pilot, granting players an edge by optimizing play sequences. Overcoming this card requires strategic timing and specific counterplays. To dismantle its advantage, consider using instant-speed removal spells at moments when your opponent is likely to activate its key function. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant can be particularly effective by directly targeting the artifact type, ensuring that the Auto-key never gets the chance to unlock its full potential. Hand disruption is another viable strategy; Thoughtseize and Duress can preemptively remove the Auto-key from your opponent’s grip before they have the opportunity to deploy it.

Additionally, efficient artifact removal spells specifically tailored to your deck’s colors can provide an edge. Red decks may employ Shatterstorm or By Force, while green mages might rely on naturalize effects such as Krosan Grip. Being mindful of the Auto-key’s presence in a match means adapting your tactics to anticipate and thwart its activation. Successfully managing to neutralize this potent artifact can minimize your opponent’s strategy and pave the way to victory.

Cards like Auto-Key

The Auto-Key card brings an innovative twist to the realm of artifact abilities within Magic: The Gathering. It stands toe-to-toe with renowned cards like Manifold Key. Both share the essential functionality of unlocking untapped potential, quite literally for tapped artifacts. Where Auto-Key veers off is in offering additional utility in certain deck archetypes, especially those that capitalize on being able to untap creatures that have significant tap effects or to reset vehicles.

Voltaic Key is another relative in the family of “untappers”. Its legacy in combo decks is not something to overlook. Unlike Auto-Key, it has a more generic mana activation cost but lacks the flexibility provided by Auto-Key’s second ability, which can be a game-changer in matches where that extra edge is crucial. Lastly, Vizier of Tumbling Sands demands comparison, with its cycling ability not only untapping a permanent but also serving as card draw. Yet, it doesn’t offer the repeatability that an artifact like Auto-Key can promise game after game.

In the ecosystem of MTG, Auto-Key admirably holds its ground, thanks to its mix of efficiency and versatility, allowing players to pivot strategies mid-game, making it a valuable asset in various deck builds.

Vizier of Tumbling Sands - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Auto-Key by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Auto-Key MTG card by a specific set like Unstable, 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 Auto-Key and other MTG cards:

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Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-01-19	Any Contraption that’s on the battlefield and wasn’t assembled immediately heads to the scrapyard. However, if it’s a not an actual Contraption card (like Copy Artifact isn’t), it goes to your graveyard as normal. Non-Contraption cards can’t be in the scrapyard.
2018-01-19	At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control any Contraptions, move the CRANK! counter to the next sprocket. You may then crank any number of Contraptions on that sprocket, causing their abilities to trigger. Cranking a Contraption is always optional.
2018-01-19	Contraptions are artifacts. Anything that interacts with artifacts will interact with Contraptions.
2018-01-19	Contraptions aren’t put into your main deck. They go into a separate deck called the Contraption deck.
2018-01-19	If a Contraption would leave the battlefield and go to any zone other than exile, it instead goes to the scrapyard, the Contraption deck’s version of the graveyard. Things that affect the graveyard do not affect the scrapyard. You can exile Contraptions just fine.
2018-01-19	If you crank multiple Contraptions, their abilities can be put onto the stack in any order. The ability put onto the stack will resolve first.
2018-01-19	If you or a permanent you control are instructed to assemble a Contraption, reveal the top card of your Contraption deck. Put it onto the battlefield on one of the three sprockets.
2018-01-19	If you or a permanent you control assembles a Contraption and your Contraption deck is empty, nothing happens. You don’t lose the game.
2018-01-19	In Constructed formats, a Contraption deck must have at least fifteen different Contraption cards and no more than one of each.
2018-01-19	In Limited formats, a Contraption deck may include any number of Contraption cards in your card pool. You don’t have to include every Contraption card you draft or open in sealed deck. In those formats, your Contraption deck may include duplicates.
2018-01-19	In silver-bordered games using Contraptions, you have three sprockets, illustrated on the back of Contraption cards. At the start of the game, put a CRANK! counter on sprocket 3.
2018-01-19	While Contraptions you control are on the battlefield, the Contraption deck is not, even if you are using it to signify the three sprockets.