Telepathic Spies MTG Card

Urza's Destiny (UDS)
1999-06-07 - Number 47

Telepathic Spies - Seventh Edition (7ED)

Seventh Edition (7ED)
2001-04-11 - Number 101★

Seventh Edition (7ED)
2001-04-11 - Number 101

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Wizard
Power	2
Toughness	2

Key Takeaways

Knowledge of opponents’ hands with Telepathic Spies can significantly shift game dynamics in your favor.
Using instant-speed draw or discard effects diminish the card’s spying advantage during gameplay.
While valuable, the card’s mana specificity and higher cost can limit its inclusion in diverse decks.

Text of card

When Telepathic Spies comes into play, look at target opponent's hand.

"Do try to keep an open mind, would you?"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Telepathic Spies provides valuable knowledge of your opponent’s hand, allowing you to better anticipate their moves and counter them effectively. This insight can often mean the difference between victory and defeat in a tightly-contested match.

Resource Acceleration: By knowing exactly what’s in your adversary’s arsenal, you can strategically plan your own resource deployment, ensuring that you’re not wasting valuable assets into unwinnable situations and instead accelerating your game plan with precision.

Instant Speed: The ability to use Telepathic Spies at instant speed offers immense flexibility. Cast it during your opponent’s turn to gather information right before they play their crucial spells, allowing for a more informed defense or enabling you to set up a decisive counterattack.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Telepathic Spies necessitates you to discard another card to activate its ability. This can be especially crippling when your hand is already dwindling, forcing tough decisions on what to keep and what to sacrifice.

Specific Mana Cost: You’ll need both blue and colorless mana to cast this spell, which restricts its integration into multicolored decks that might not support such specific mana requirements flexibly.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that isn’t particularly low, you may find Telepathic Spies less appealing compared to other options. Spells or creatures with lower mana costs might provide similar or greater value more quickly and with less opportunity cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Telepathic Spies fits into a range of blue-based strategies, adept at slipping into control decks as well as more aggressive builds that aim to disrupt opponents’ hands.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with other cards that benefit from knowledge of the opponent’s hand, possibly amplifying discard effects or powering up cards that react to the number of cards in an opponent’s hand.

Meta-Relevance: With a game that frequently sees information as a pivotal resource, Telepathic Spies holds its ground in metas where anticipating and countering an opponent’s plan is critical, making it a smart inclusion in your tactical arsenal.

How to beat

Telepathic Spies is a nuanced card that brings an elusive challenge to the table in MTG. It allows players to glimpse into their opponent’s hand, thus gaining crucial information that can shift the tides of a game. To counteract this advantage, savvy players can employ several strategies. First, ensure your hand is packed with redundant or less impactful cards whenever Telepathic Spies’ ability might be triggered. This minimizes the intelligence your opponent gathers.

Another effective tactic is to use spells or abilities that allow you to draw cards at instant speed. This way, if an opponent targets you with Telepathic Spies, you can respond by drawing cards, ideally leaving only the card you draw for your opponent to see. Additionally, cards with cycling or discard effects can alter your hand’s contents, undercutting the relevance of the spy’s information. Always remember to play around potential threats by holding onto cards that can deal with or negate the effects of problematic opponents’ spells. Being unpredictable and keeping up a sturdy defense are keys to undermining the strategic edge Telepathic Spies might give to your adversary.

While Telepathic Spies can initially seem overwhelming, with thoughtful play it becomes just another creature that you can outsmart on your path to victory.

Cards like Telepathic Spies

Telepathic Spies marks its territory in the realm of creature-based card advantage within Magic: The Gathering. Although it doesn’t match the raw power of Information Dealer in terms of sheer card selection, it compensates with a sneaky peek at any opponent’s full hand without a tribe restriction. Compared to Peek, which grants a similar hand reveal and draws a card at instant speed, Telepathic Spies offers a body on the battlefield that can block or attack in addition to the intel gathered.

Meanwhile, Thought Courier offers a similar functionality as Telepathic Spies with its card draw utility. However, Thought Courier’s ability to draw and then discard allows for more active sculpting of your own hand, rather than just gaining knowledge of an opponent’s. Lastly, Looter il-Kor shares a similar draw and discard effect but adds stealth to the equation with its shadow ability, making it less about information warfare and more about consistent hand filtering.

As a result, while assessing utility and onboard presence, Telepathic Spies ensures a distinctive role blending both reconnaissance and creature advantages in players’ strategic arsenals, making it a versatile pick in its class.

Cards similar to Telepathic Spies by color, type and mana cost

Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions

Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions

Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions

Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions

Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Telepathic Spies MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny and Seventh Edition, 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 Telepathic Spies and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Telepathic Spies Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-06-07 and 2001-04-11. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1999-06-07	Urza's Destiny	UDS	47	1997	Normal	Black	Thomas M. Baxa
2	2001-04-11	Seventh Edition	7ED	101★	1997	Normal	Black	Jim Nelson
3	2001-04-11	Seventh Edition	7ED	101	1997	Normal	White	Jim Nelson