Rapid Prototyper MTG Card


Rapid Prototyper - Unstable
RarityMythic
TypeArtifact — Contraption
Released2017-12-08
Set symbol
Set nameUnstable
Set codeUST
Number200
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBorderless
Illustred byJason Felix
Un-set :-)This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants card advantage and helps players consistently access key deck components during matches.
  2. Enhances resource management, providing a quicker route to powerful game-winning plays.
  3. Permits play at instant speed, offering flexibility and a strategic edge in competitive MTG.

Text of card

Whenever you crank Rapid Prototyper, create an X/X colorless Construct artifact creature token, where X is the number of artifacts you control.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rapid Prototyper stands out by providing consistent card advantage, allowing you to effectively scout for your deck’s key pieces. This edge often translates into a substantial lead over your opponent, especially when it comes to assembling the right combo or setting up defenses.

Resource Acceleration: An integral part of excelling in MTG is effectively managing your resources, and Rapid Prototyper aids in this by accelerating your resource accumulation. It can boost your mana pool quickly, ensuring you have the resources needed to deploy your game-winning strategies ahead of the curve.

Instant Speed: The aptitude to act at instant speed confers a significant strategic upper hand, enabling you to remain flexible in response to your adversary’s moves. With Rapid Prototyper, you have the freedom to adjust to the evolving game state, making it a formidable tool when navigating the complex waters of competitive play.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing a Rapid Prototyper requires you to discard a card, which could put you at a resource disadvantage, especially in the early game when your hand options are limited.

Specific Mana Cost: The card demands a precise combination of mana types. If you’re running a multicolored deck, it may be challenging to consistently provide the right mana just when you need it.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Given its mana cost, Rapid Prototyper can be less appealing compared to other cards in your deck with similar or better effects but at a lower cost, potentially slowing down your game tempo.


Reasons to Include Rapid Prototyper in Your Collection

Versatility: Rapid Prototyper shines in its ability to slip into various deck builds, adapting effortlessly to strategies that hunger for quick creature development and artifact synergy.

Combo Potential: This card has the power to unlock explosive plays, harmonizing with mechanics that capitalize on artifact creation or those that leverage the untapped potential of constructed artifacts.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to churn out artifacts at an impressive pace, Rapid Prototyper holds its ground in a meta dominated by decks that exploit artifact dynamics, making it a valuable addition to your arsenal in ever-shifting competitive scenes.


How to beat

Rapid Prototyper presents a unique challenge on the battlefield. This artifact creature accelerates the development of construct tokens as you cast noncreature spells, potentially swarming the board with a mechanized army. Overcoming this card requires a strategy that disrupts this token generation process or nullifies the tokens’ effectiveness. One approach is to use removal spells that can cleanse the board of multiple creatures at once, like Wrath of God or Doomskar, essentially resetting the field and negating the Prototyper’s ability to accumulate a large presence.

Alternatively, you could employ strategies that aim to prevent the Prototyper from coming online in the first place. Counterspells like Counterspell or Dovin’s Veto are straightforward solutions as they can stop the Prototyper from ever entering the game. Another option is to include cards that restrict the ability to cast multiple spells in one turn, such as Rule of Law or Deafening Silence, thereby limiting the number of constructs that can be created. Whichever method you choose, timely intervention is key. Allowing Rapid Prototyper to establish control over the game can quickly lead to an overwhelming situation that is difficult to recover from.


Cards like Rapid Prototyper

Rapid Prototyper is a nuanced entry into the category of artifact cards in MTG that offer deck manipulation abilities. When looking at similar cards, Whir of Invention immediately comes to mind, with its ability to search your library for an artifact card and put it directly onto the battlefield. Although Whir of Invention’s cost is variable and can be more mana-intensive, it trades instant-speed action for a more targeted artifact fetch. Rapid Prototyper, in contrast, allows for a recurring prototype creation at the beginning of your upkeep, yet it doesn’t guarantee the specific artifact you might need.

Modaligos, Null Prototype offers another comparison, behaving as a creature that can become an artifact with utility. While Modaligos boasts a flexible nature and a higher power and toughness, Rapid Prototyper shines in its consistent artifact generation which could synergize well with strategies revolving around artifact count or sacrifice mechanics.

To wrap things up, within the sphere of artifact-centric cards in MTG, Rapid Prototyper secures its position with consistent output and synergistic potential, making it a formidable option for decks aiming to exploit artifact mechanics for strategic advantages.

Whir of Invention - MTG Card versions
Whir of Invention - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rapid Prototyper 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 Rapid Prototyper and other MTG cards:

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Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Rapid Prototyper 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.

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