Infiltration Lens MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact — Equipment
Abilities Equip

Key Takeaways

  1. Infiltration Lens ensures card advantage, deepening your play options with each creature block.
  2. The Lens’s additional card draw can lead to faster access to lands or pivotal spells.
  3. Despite its strategic benefits, the Lens requires blocked creatures to be effective.

Text of card

Whenever equipped creature becomes blocked by a creature, you may draw two cards. Equip

Neurok spies carry devices that let them look a few moments into the future, giving them an almost insurmountable edge.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Infiltration Lens grants the ability to draw not just one, but two cards when the equipped creature becomes blocked. This strategic element ensures that your reservoir of options deepens with each attack, possibly outmaneuvering the opponent by sheer volume of resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources in terms of mana, the Infiltration Lens can provide the acceleration of strategic resources. The additional cards drawn can lead to a quicker access to land drops or the necessary spells to maintain or turn the tide of control within a match.

Instant Speed: Although the Infiltration Lens itself does not operate at instant speed, the sudden influx of cards it provides can immediately bolster your hand, ensuring that you’re well-prepared to react at instant speed with other spells during the course of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Infiltration Lens provides an opportunity to draw additional cards, it requires your creature to be blocked. This means you won’t get any benefit if your opponent has no creatures or decides not to block, potentially leading to wasted turns without drawing benefits.

Specific Mana Cost: Infiltration Lens has a specific mana cost which is fairly accessible, but it still requires a well-managed mana pool to ensure you’re able to play it when most needed without hindering your ability to cast other spells in the same turn.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the cost of equipping Infiltration Lens is not exceedingly high, it does take a total of three mana before seeing any benefit (one to cast and two to equip). In a fast-paced game, there are alternatives that can provide immediate value or a more substantial impact on the board without waiting for the condition of a creature being blocked.


Reasons to Include Infiltration Lens in Your Collection

Versatility: Infiltration Lens offers utility in a wide array of decks, serving as an excellent tool for card draw. It is particularly effective in aggressive strategies where creatures are often blocked, ensuring a continuous flow of cards.

Combo Potential: The Lens can be a key component in synergistic interactions, particularly with cards that benefit from equipment or those that trigger upon drawing cards. It’s a low-cost investment that can turn any blocked creature into a source of advantage.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-based combat being a prevalent aspect of the game, Infiltration Lens maintains relevance. It punishes opponents for blocking and helps players maintain card advantage, essential for staying competitive in various meta environments.


How to beat

Infiltration Lens is an equipment card that holds the potential to be a nuisance in MTG, especially for those unprepared to deal with its ability to draw multiple cards upon its equipped creature becoming blocked. To mitigate the value it brings to the table, there are a few strategies players should consider.

One effective approach to counter Infiltration Lens is to use removal spells on the equipped creature before blockers are declared. This prevents the Lens’s trigger from occurring and denies your opponent the card draw. Alternatively, using bounce spells to return the equipped creature to your opponent’s hand or employing exile effects can yield similar results.

Moreover, if removal isn’t an option, consider strategies that limit the number of creatures you block with. Offering only a singular blocker reduces the Lens’s effect, minimizing the number of cards your opponent draws. In essence, understanding the mechanics of Infiltration Lens and having a solid response strategy is key to ensuring that this artifact does not become an insurmountable advantage for your opponent.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding Infiltration Lens is crucial for any MTG player aiming to optimize their gameplay. The capacity to draw cards when your creatures are blocked can turn the tides in your favor. Whether it’s adding depth to your strategy, finding the perfect synergy with other cards, or simply enhancing your ability to maintain card advantage, this card is a tactical asset in many scenarios. To incorporate Infiltration Lens effectively and explore its full potential within the MTG spectrum, we encourage you to continue learning and adapting your decks. Dive deeper into the possibilities and refine your deck to harness the power of Infiltration Lens to its utmost. Discover more strategic insights with us and enrich your MTG journey.


Cards like Infiltration Lens

In Magic: The Gathering, the Infiltration Lens offers a unique advantage for players seeking to capitalize on blocked creatures. A card like Rogue’s Gloves presents a similar effect, providing card draw when the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player. What sets Infiltration Lens apart is that card draw occurs upon the creature being blocked, ensuring card advantage even when creature attacks are not successful. Whereas Rogue’s Gloves require a successful hit to extract its benefit.

Then we have Mask of Memory, another equipment that prompts card draw. Yet, it functions with a successful combat damage trigger, and offers a card selection by discarding one of the cards drawn. This contrasts with Infiltration Lens, which assures card draw regardless of combat success and doesn’t force a discard decision. This can be particularly beneficial in strategies involving creatures your opponent is compelled to block.

In creature-heavy decks or those leveraging sacrifice mechanics, Skullclamp could be considered. It also equips to a creature but differs as it draws two cards when the creature dies. While this is distinct from Infiltration Lens’s mechanics, it provides a powerful draw mechanism in decks designed to handle creature loss.

With these comparisons, Infiltration Lens shines in its niche, offering guaranteed card draw in situations where opponents would otherwise stifle creature-based strategies, making it a unique staple in specific MTG decks.

Rogue's Gloves - MTG Card versions
Mask of Memory - MTG Card versions
Skullclamp - MTG Card versions
Rogue's Gloves - Magic 2015 (M15)
Mask of Memory - Mirrodin (MRD)
Skullclamp - Darksteel (DST)

Cards similar to Infiltration Lens by color, type and mana cost

Glasses of Urza - MTG Card versions
Wooden Sphere - MTG Card versions
Sol Ring - MTG Card versions
Iron Star - MTG Card versions
Library of Leng - MTG Card versions
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Thran Foundry - MTG Card versions
Cursed Scroll - MTG Card versions
Glasses of Urza - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Wooden Sphere - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Sol Ring - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Iron Star - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Library of Leng - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Black Vise - Revised Edition (3ED)
Urza's Chalice - Masters Edition (ME1)
Ivory Cup - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Brass Man - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Mana Vault - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Soul Net - Fifth Edition (5ED)
The Rack - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Helm of Chatzuk - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Obelisk of Undoing - Rinascimento (RIN)
Feldon's Cane - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Throne of Bone - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Meekstone - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Crystal Rod - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Thran Foundry - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Cursed Scroll - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Infiltration Lens MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Infiltration Lens and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Infiltration Lens Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Izzy.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-10-01Scars of MirrodinSOM 1672003normalblackIzzy
22022-12-02Jumpstart 2022J22 7772015normalblackIzzy

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Infiltration Lens has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-01-01 If the equipped creature becomes blocked by multiple creatures, Infiltration Lens’s ability triggers that many times.

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