Manipulate Fate MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Invasion
Set code	INV
Number	60
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Matson

Key Takeaways

Manipulate Fate ensures consistent draws by exiling cards from your library, enhancing deck performance.
While restrictive in mana and deck type, its unique exile function prepares powerful future plays.
It stands out in blue-focused strategies and holds relevance in certain MTG metagames.

Text of card

Search your library for three cards, remove them from the game, then shuffle your library. Draw a card.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Manipulate Fate shines by allowing you to draw a card after exiling three cards from your library. This benefit can set you up for more consistent draws and chip away at finding your key pieces.

Resource Acceleration: By filtering your deck with exiling, you substantially increase the chances of drawing into more valuable, actionable cards, indirectly speeding up your ability to utilize your critical resources.

Instant Speed: Though Manipulate Fate is not an instant, the function it serves is similar to an instant speed setup, preparing your draws for subsequent turns which can be crucial in faster-paced games where timing is everything.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In every match, having a full grip of options equates to having more possibilities. When playing Manipulate Fate, the absence of a discard requirement misses an opportunity to fuel graveyard strategies or synergize with cards benefiting from discards.

Specific Mana Cost: Manipulate Fate’s requirement for one blue mana might seem light but it does tether the card to decks that run blue. This color specificity might exclude it from various other deck archetypes that can’t afford or don’t support blue mana in their strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Three mana to exile cards and draw a card might not seem like too steep a cost at first glance, but compared with other card draw or card manipulation options available in the wider MTG universe, Manipulate Fate may be seen as a less economical choice for accelerating your game plan. Other cards could offer a more immediate impact on the board state or hand for a similar, if not lower, mana investment.

Reasons to Include Manipulate Fate in Your Collection

Versatility: Manipulate Fate allows you to sift through your deck and exile three blue cards, fine-tuning your strategy and setting up future plays. This function makes it a useful tool in various blue-focused decks that benefit from manipulating their library and graveyard.

Combo Potential: With Manipulate Fate, you can set up powerful card interactions, especially in combo decks that leverage the exile zone. It is an integral piece in decks that utilize ‘exile matters’ mechanics, enabling cunning plays that can outmaneuver opponents.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to quickly cycle through your deck and enhance consistency, Manipulate Fate holds its ground in metas where control or combo decks prevail. Its unique effect can give you an edge in sculpting your hand to respond to or set the pace of the game.

How to beat

Manipulate Fate is a unique card in the Magic: The Gathering universe that provides card advantage by allowing a player to sift through their deck and exile cards they can later cast. To effectively counter this card, the best strategy is to limit the opportunities for your opponent to take advantage of the exiled cards. This could involve using strategies like graveyard disruption to remove the cards that Manipulate Fate targets before your opponent gets a chance to benefit from them.

Another tactic is to apply pressure early in the game. By establishing a strong board presence, you force the opponent to react to your threats instead of setting up their own strategies. Cards with counterspell abilities can also be crucial in dealing with Manipulate Fate, as you can directly deny the card from resolving and disrupting your opponent’s intended plays. In essence, being proactive and disrupting your opponent’s game plan is key to overcoming the potential card advantage granted by Manipulate Fate.

Through careful planning and strategic play, you can nullify the impact of Manipulate Fate and maintain control over the game, ensuring that the card advantage it could potentially provide is mitigated or completely invalidated.

Cards like Manipulate Fate

Manipulate Fate is a unique card in the pantheon of Magic: The Gathering, serving as a noteworthy tool for players who thrive on planning ahead. This card holds a resemblance to other cards that manipulate library content, such as Foresight, which also allows you to look at and rearrange the top cards of your library. However, unlike Foresight, Manipulate Fate shifts the game by allowing you to remove cards from your deck, streamlining your draws to come.

Another card in a similar category is Strategic Planning, letting you look at the top three cards of your library and then putting one into your hand and the rest into your graveyard, which can provide fuel for other graveyard-based strategies. While both cards let you dig into your deck, Manipulate Fate takes this a step further by exiling cards altogether, which could be advantageous with cards that synergize with exile.

When evaluating these alternatives, the capacity of Manipulate Fate to excise specific cards from your deck is a double-edged sword—it can be a boon for finely-tuned strategies, ensuring you draw into your combo pieces more reliably. For aficionados of foresight and precision, Manipulate Fate holds its place securing its identity as a cunning piece in any player’s strategy in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Manipulate Fate by color, type and mana cost

Fae of Wishes // Granted - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Manipulate Fate MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Manipulate Fate and other MTG cards: