Skywatcher Adept MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Merfolk Wizard
Abilities	Flying,Level Up
Released	2010-04-23
Set symbol
Set name	Rise of the Eldrazi
Set code	ROE
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	88
Frame	2003
Layout	leveler
Border	black
Illustred by	Tomasz Jedruszek

Key Takeaways

Advantageous level up mechanic can turn Skywatcher Adept into a compelling aerial threat over time.
Instant speed capability allows for strategic responses and unexpected combat trickery.
Mana intensity and color limitation can challenge deck-building flexibility and efficiency.

Text of card

Level up (: Put a level counter on this. Level up only as a sorcery.) LEVEL 1-2 2/2 Flying LEVEL 3+ 4/2 Flying

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Skywatcher Adept presents a potential for card advantage through its level up mechanic. As it levels up, it can become a flying threat, pressing opponents to deal with it or ultimately succumb to a growing presence in the skies.

Resource Acceleration: While Skywatcher Adept itself does not produce additional resources directly, its ability to level up allows for efficient use of mana at various stages of the game, giving players the agility to develop their board while potentially keeping mana open for other plays.

Instant Speed: The capability to level up Skywatcher Adept at instant speed provides strategic depth. It allows players to adapt to their opponent’s actions, potentially using mana that would otherwise remain untapped during the opponent’s turn, and surprise attackers with an unexpected aerial blocker.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With the activation of certain abilities on Skywatcher Adept, you may be required to discard a card. This might pose a challenge when your hand is already depleted, effectively setting you back in the game by losing vital resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Skywatcher Adept demands a blue mana to play, which can restrict its inclusion to decks that are capable of generating that specific type of mana. Players running multicolor decks might find this requirement somewhat limiting.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Levelling up Skywatcher Adept to unlock its full potential incurs additional mana costs. When compared to other creatures in the same mana range, the total investment to make Skywatcher Adept formidable may be perceived as steep, potentially detracting from its overall efficiency in your deck.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Skywatcher Adept presents as a flexible addition to decks requiring a climb in power levels. It starts as an unassuming one-drop, but with its level up ability, it can adapt to various in-game situations. This makes the Adept a great card for strategies that benefit from scalable creatures.

Combo Potential: When paired with support cards that untap creatures or proliferate to add additional counters, this card can become a heavyweight flyer quickly. Its ability to grow and become a more powerful threat aligns well with decks that exploit such combo synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames where flying creatures dominate, Skywatcher Adept can shine by transforming into a potent aerial threat. Its ability to scale means it can hold its own against other flyers, maintaining relevance throughout different stages of the game.

How to beat

Skywatcher Adept presents an intriguing challenge in MTG, boasting the level up ability that allows it to transform from a modest 1/1 flyer into a formidable threat. Effectively combating this card requires strategic planning. In early gameplay, it’s vulnerable, so quick removal spells are efficient against it. Lightning Bolt or Fatal Push can dispatch the Adept before it accumulates levels. Board wipes like Wrath of God remain a clean answer to sweep it aside regardless of its size.

Distraction tactics can also be key. Deploying multiple threats can overwhelm an opponent focused on leveling up their Adept, forcing them to divert resources. If the Adept has already grown, enchantment-based removal such as Pacifism or creature-based solutions like Frost Lynx can neutralize it. Remember, although it flies high, your ground troops can race it down if the Adept is left alone. Keeping the skies clear or having a faster game plan can ensure that Skywatcher Adept doesn’t outmaneuver you.

Ultimately, knowing when to counter its growth or overpower its advancements can be the linchpin to securing victory against a player wielding this adaptable creature.

Cards like Skywatcher Adept

Skywatcher Adept brings an aerial advantage to decks in Magic: The Gathering, not unlike other creatures with flying prowess. When examining cards with comparable traits, Mistral Charger emerges as a creature that shares the flying ability with a stable two mana cost. Skywatcher Adept, while initially weaker, separates itself with the level up mechanic, allowing it to grow stronger over time and providing strategic depth.

Comparatively, Aven Skirmisher also enters the battlefield as a one-cost flyer, ready for early air dominance. However, unlike the Adept, it lacks the potential for growth which can be a critical factor in the mid to late game. Conversely, Kitesail Apprentice boasts the advantage of granting flying to a land-bound creature when equipped, offering a different angle of flexibility in deck building.

Amid these various flyers, Skywatcher Adept demands a balanced evaluation. Its initial cost efficiency and evasive ability make it a standout, especially when one considers the long-term benefits of the level up feature that can turn it into a formidable threat in the skies of Magic: The Gathering.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Skywatcher Adept MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi, 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 Skywatcher Adept and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Skywatcher Adept has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2010-06-15	A creature’s level is based on how many level counters it has on it, not how many times its level up ability has been activated or has resolved. If a leveler gets level counters due to some other effect (such as Clockspinning) or loses level counters for some reason (such as Vampire Hexmage), its level is changed accordingly.
2010-06-15	Effects that modify a leveler’s power or toughness, such as the effects of Giant Growth or Glorious Anthem, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature’s power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters) and effects that switch its power and toughness.
2010-06-15	Effects that set a leveler’s power or toughness to a specific value, including the effects from a level symbol’s ability, apply in timestamp order. The timestamp of each level symbol’s ability is the same as the timestamp of the leveler itself, regardless of when the most recent level counter was put on it.
2010-06-15	If another creature becomes a copy of a leveler, all of the leveler’s printed abilities — including those represented by level symbols — are copied. The current characteristics of the leveler, and the number of level counters on it, are not. The abilities, power, and toughness of the copy will be determined based on how many level counters are on the copy.
2010-06-15	The abilities a leveler grants to itself don’t overwrite any other abilities it may have. In particular, they don’t overwrite the creature’s level up ability; it always has that.