Brine Seer MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Wizard
Released	1999-06-07
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Destiny
Set code	UDS
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	28
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Donato Giancola

Key Takeaways

Brine Seer grants deck manipulation, enhancing draw quality and strategic planning in your games.
At instant speed, its ability adjusts strategies reactively, maintaining a competitive edge.
Combining Brine Seer with other cards can unlock powerful deck synergy and control.

Text of card

o U, oc T: Reveal any number of blue cards in your hand. Counter target spell unless its controller pays o1 for each card revealed this way.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Equipped with the ability to manipulate the top card of your deck, Brine Seer can set you up to draw into better options, ensuring you have the right tools at the right time.

Resource Acceleration: Although Brine Seer doesn’t directly generate additional mana or tokens, its foresight can indirectly lead to better resource management, allowing you to plan your plays more effectively and make the most of your turns.

Instant Speed: Since Brine Seer’s ability can be activated at instant speed, it enables savvy players to respond to their opponents’ actions and adapt their strategy on the fly, staying one step ahead in the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Brine Seer demands that you part with another card from your hand to activate its ability, which could deplete your options particularly when you are trying to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Brine Seer’s casting requirement includes blue mana, restricting its integration in decks that aren’t centered around or can’t reliably produce blue mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sporting a mana value of three and an additional cost for its ability, Brine Seer can be considered mana-intensive compared to other creatures or spells with similar or better abilities, potentially slowing down your game plan.

Reasons to Include Brine Seer in Your Collection

Versatility: Brine Seer lends flexibility to blue-oriented decks with its ability to manipulate upcoming draws, ensuring you get the cards you need when you need them.

Combo Potential: For aficionados of intricate plays, Brine Seer’s foresight ability can set up powerful synergies, especially in decks that capitalize on stacking the top of the library.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where knowing the next move is crucial, Brine Seer offers unique advantages in predicting and preparing for an opponent’s strategy, thereby improving your game decisions.

How to beat Brine Seer

Brine Seer is a unique creature that possesses the ability to look at and rearrange the top cards of your library in MTG. While this card isn’t a high-impact threat on its own, gaining strategic insight into upcoming draws can be a subtle advantage. To effectively counteract Brine Seer, it’s essential to apply strategies that disrupt library manipulation or inhibit creature abilities.

Utilizing instant-speed removal spells to eliminate Brine Seer before its ability can be activated is a straightforward tactic. Counterspells are also effective, disallowing Brine Seer to enter the battlefield in the first place. In addition, including cards in your deck that can control or switch the top card of your opponent’s library, like Feldon’s Cane or Pyxis of Pandemonium, might throw off their planning, diminishing Brine Seer’s utility.

Ultimately, while Brine Seer provides strategic benefits to a player’s game, maintaining control over the stack and the field, alongside proactive library interference, can ensure that Brine Seer’s effect on the game remains minimal.

Cards like Brine Seer

Brine Seer stands out in the realm of creature-based control available in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to see into the future of the game by rearranging the top cards of a player’s library is an invaluable tool. A similar card with predictive capabilities is the well-known Crystal Ball, allowing players to scry two for a small cost, although, unlike Brine Seer, it is not a creature but an artifact.

Another comparable card is Muzzio, Visionary Architect, who brings an element of control and suspense by allowing a look at the top three cards and potentially putting an artifact into play. However, Muzzio’s ability leans more toward an artifact synergy rather than Brine Seer’s straightforward approach to library manipulation. Augury Owl is yet another peer in this category, offering a scry 3 upon entering the battlefield. This card is creature-based like Brine Seer but trades repeated use for a one-time effect with a smaller mana investment and a flying body.

Ultimately, Brine Seer provides a unique combination of repeatable library manipulation attached to a creature, making it a valuable asset for players who prioritize control and foresight in their strategic planning in Magic: The Gathering.

Muzzio, Visionary Architect - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brine Seer MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny, 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 Brine Seer and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Brine Seer has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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