Insufferable Syphon MTG Card

Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact — Contraption
Released	2017-12-08
Set symbol
Set name	Unstable
Set code	UST
Number	191
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Borderless
Illustred by	Ralph Horsley
Un-set :-)	This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

Insufferable Syphon offers card advantage and life gain, tipping the scale in your favor during matches.
At instant speed, it provides critical flexibility and strategic timing to alter the game’s course.
It demands specific mana and a card discard, which can influence deck construction and strategy.

Text of card

Whenever you crank Insufferable Syphon, target player discards a card.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Insufferable Syphon, players gain the strategic edge of drawing a card while simultaneously depleting an opponent’s hand, seamlessly turning the tides to their favor in the card economy.

Resource Acceleration: The card not only disrupts the opponent’s momentum by forcing a discard but also expedites your own gameplay by generating an essential life point, crucial for outpacing the opposition.

Instant Speed: The alacrity of Insufferable Syphon being cast at instant speed grants players the flexibility to disrupt an adversary’s strategy at a moment’s notice, all while adapting to the fluid dynamics of MTG’s complex battlefield.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Insufferable Syphon requires the player to part with another card in their hand, which can be a significant drawback when you’re trying to maintain card advantage or simply don’t have expendable cards.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Insufferable Syphon necessitates both black and generic mana, demanding a deck that is either mono-black or well-tuned for mana fixing to reliably cast it on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When examining the current landscape of cards within the same mana threshold, Insufferable Syphon’s cost efficiency comes into question. With a casting cost of four mana, it may be deemed too pricey for the effect it provides, especially when alternative cards could accomplish similar results with less resource investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Insufferable Syphon works well with a variety of strategies, particularly ones that thrive on life drain and incremental advantage. Its flexibility allows it to slide into multiple archetypes with ease, enhancing the value it provides to your gameplay.

Combo Potential: This card opens the door for numerous combos, especially with cards that benefit from life loss triggers or have synergies with gaining life. It can seamlessly become a cog in a larger engine or the centerpiece of a dedicated strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where games can extend and incremental advantages count, Insufferable Syphon offers recurrent benefits that can tiptoe around opponent defenses. It can contribute significant value against a wide array of current popular decks, making it a savvy addition to your collection.

How to beat

Insufferable Syphon presents a challenge with its ability to disrupt the flow of the game by draining your life with each spell cast. To counter this vampiric aspect of the card, strategic deck building is key. Consider including cards that allow you to gain life, such as life-link creatures, or cards that can counteract or neutralize abilities, like instant speed removal or counterspells.

Deck pacing can also be a decisive factor. Playing a deck with a lower curve, enabling you to cast spells before Insufferable Syphon comes into play, might minimize the impact on your life total. On the other side, a control deck could handle the threat by maintaining card advantage and removing it before its ability wreaks havoc. Whether it’s through swift aggression or meticulous control, keeping the Syphon’s presence brief on the battlefield is essential.

In essence, beating Insufferable Syphon requires a mix of preemptive actions, reactive measures, and a focus on life management. By effectively combining these strategies, the card’s influence can be greatly diminished, allowing you to sustain a stronghold over the match.

Cards like Insufferable Syphon

Insufferable Syphon stands as an intriguing piece in the Magic: The Gathering repertoire, especially when looking at cards designed to disrupt the opponent’s plans. One card that often comes up in conversation is Thoughtseize, which also targets the opponent’s hand, allowing you to choose and discard a nonland card. However, unlike Insufferable Syphon, Thoughtseize lacks the lifegain aspect, offering a straight advantage in terms of card choice while costing a single black mana.

Another card worthy of comparison is Duress, a popular spell that also allows players to glimpse into an opponent’s hand and discard a noncreature, nonland card at only a single mana cost. While not tapping into lifegain, Duress compensates with its inclusion in decks that might not rely on life as a resource. Meanwhile, agonizing Remorse gives the option to exile the chosen card from a hand or graveyard, though at the cost of a life point.

Each of these cards carries its merits depending on the deck’s strategy, player preference, and the dynamics of the gameplay. However, Insufferable Syphon distinguishes itself with the dual capabilities of hand disruption and slight lifegain, positioning it as a utility card that can sway the game’s momentum while bolstering your own defenses.

Cards similar to Insufferable Syphon by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Insufferable Syphon 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 Insufferable Syphon and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Insufferable Syphon 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.