Arcane Spyglass MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Artifact
Released	2004-02-06
Set symbol
Set name	Darksteel
Set code	DST
Number	93
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Trevor Hairsine

Key Takeaways

Peering into future draws, Arcane Spyglass gifts players with crucial card selection to maintain tactical flow.
Stocking the graveyard with Arcane Spyglass paves the way for synergistic strategies involving graveyard interactions.
Use Arcane Spyglass at instant speed to mystify opponents, flexing tactical muscle without revealing plans.

Text of card

, , Sacrifice a land: Draw a card and put a charge counter on Arcane Spyglass. Remove three charge counters from Arcane Spyglass: Draw a card.

It breaches not physical distances but temporal ones.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Arcane Spyglass is a dynamic card that, when activated, provides a peek into your future draws, allowing you to select among them and ensuring the cards in hand are tailored to upcoming challenges. The ability to sift through the top four cards of your library and keep one provides a strategic edge, keeping your plays relevant and maintaining a steady flow of resources.

Resource Acceleration: Beyond card selection, Arcane Spyglass presents a strategic boon in resource management. By putting the remaining cards into your graveyard, Arcane Spyglass sets the stage for potential graveyard strategies, adding a layer of depth to your game plan. Moreover, this process can indirectly accelerate your resource capabilities by stocking the graveyard with fuel for other spells and abilities that thrive on such resources.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Arcane Spyglass is a tactical asset, allowing players to wait until the most opportune moment to utilize its effect. Whether it’s during an opponent’s end step or in response to an action, the ability to activate Arcane Spyglass without telegraphing your moves beforehand provides a level of unpredictability that can be leveraged to great effect, keeping opponents on their toes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Necessitating the discard of a card to utilize Arcane Spyglass, this can set players back, especially when hand size is critical for maintaining playable options.

Specific Mana Cost: Arcane Spyglass demands a precise mix of mana types for activation, potentially restricting its integration into a wide array of deck archetypes that can’t readily produce the necessary mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its activation cost sitting at a premium, players often weigh Arcane Spyglass against other cards offering similar or enhanced effects with a lower mana investment, leading to competitive evaluation when crafting decks.

Reasons to Include Arcane Spyglass in Your Collection

Versatility: Arcane Spyglass offers a unique blend of card selection and resource acceleration, making it a versatile addition to multiple deck archetypes. Its ability to scry and potentially draw cards each turn provides consistent value.

Combo Potential: This card opens avenues for combos by filtering draws to assemble pieces more quickly and providing an additional resource to cast combo elements earlier in the game.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where long-term card advantage and incremental gains can be the difference between winning and losing, Arcane Spyglass can keep you one step ahead of opponents by refining the quality of your draws and ramping up your mana.

How to beat

Arcane Spyglass represents a unique piece in the strategic puzzle of Magic: The Gathering, offering players the ability to peek at the top card of their library and manipulate their draws. While this can provide a consistent advantage, overcoming the Spyglass requires an understanding of its mechanics. It’s a card that, when ignored, can slowly tilt the scales in favor of the user, making it imperative to address directly or indirectly.

Dealing with Arcane Spyglass starts with card disruption. Players should prioritize abilities that shuffle the opponent’s library, thwarting the planned draw setup. Hand disruption spells can also be useful to remove it before it’s even played. In addition, artifact removal is key – straightforward, efficient spells like Naturalize or Shatter can deal with the Spyglass directly, negating its benefits. Fast-paced aggressive decks can also outpace the value generated by the Spyglass, as can control strategies that limit the impact of incremental advantages.

Ultimately, thwarting Arcane Spyglass relies on staying one step ahead. Keeping up pressure or using targeted removal ensures that your opponent’s visions of the future remain nothing more than a mirage.

Cards like Arcane Spyglass

The Arcane Spyglass is an intriguing tool for deck manipulation in Magic: The Gathering, similar in some respects to the well-known Crystal Ball. Both cards offer the ability to scry, enabling a player to rearrange the top cards of their library. However, Arcane Spyglass allows for a more immediate effect, as it can draw a card at the same time, which Crystal Ball does not.

Surveyor’s Scope is another comparable card, giving players the chance to search for lands and put them into play, contingent on opponents having more lands than you. While not directly interacting with drawing cards, it provides an alternative form of card advantage through land acceleration. Conversely, Card: Arcane Spyglass encourages card advantage through direct draw, potentially leading to more immediate impact on the game state.

When weighing up the benefits, Arcane Spyglass offers a balance between setting up future plays and advancing current options. Its ability to scry ensures top-deck quality, making it competitive within its category for offering both foresight and immediate resource gain.

Cards similar to Arcane Spyglass by color, type and mana cost

Krark-Clan Ironworks - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Arcane Spyglass MTG card by a specific set like Darksteel, 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 Arcane Spyglass and other MTG cards: