Sleeper's Robe MTG Card


Sleeper's Robe - Invasion
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant
Released2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set nameInvasion
Set codeINV
Number273
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byAlan Pollack

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card draw on successful combat damage, enhancing hand size and strategic depth.
  2. Suits blue-black decks but restricts versatility due to specific mana needs.
  3. Essential for stealth-based or creature-triggered strategies in your MTG collection.

Text of card

Enchanted creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. Whenever enchanted creature deals combat damage to an opponent, you may draw a card.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sleeper’s Robe provides an avenue for consistent card draw. When the enchanted creature deals combat damage to a player, you’re entitled to draw a card, ensuring you have access to more options and strategies as the game progresses.

Resource Acceleration: The Robe’s ability to draw additional cards can indirectly lead to resource acceleration by consistently providing you with the resources you need. This can lead to a more efficient deployment of spells and creatures, keeping you one step ahead of your opponent.

Instant Speed: The flexibility provided by Sleeper’s Robe lies not in the casting speed of the card itself but in its synergy with creatures that have flash. By equipping at sorcery speed and attacking with a flash creature, the Robe allows you to surprise your opponent and draw cards at unexpected moments, upending their strategy at a critical time.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Sleeper’s Robe demands a discard from your own hand to trigger its card drawing ability. This can set you at a disadvantage, particularly if your hand is already struggling to hold valuable plays or if you face an opponent with hand disruption strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue and black mana, Sleeper’s Robe has a cost that restricts it to only decks running these colors. Players embracing other color combinations may find this card incompatible with their deck’s mana base, thus limiting its versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the card provides a card draw plus the potential for unblockable attacks, its combined setup and activation cost is mana-intensive when compared to other options in the format. In fast-paced games, this could mean sacrificing speed and efficiency for potential card advantage.


Reasons to Include Sleeper’s Robe in Your Collection

Versatility: Sleeper’s Robe allows creatures to slip past enemy lines with unblockable prowess when equipped, making it a solid inclusion in decks that seek to deliver consistent damage or leverage hit-based triggers.

Combo Potential: By enabling a creature with combo pieces or abilities that activate upon dealing combat damage to a player, this card unlocks an array of strategic maneuvers, ranging from card draw to direct effects on the game state.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature strategies are prevalent, Sleeper’s Robe can turn any creature into a significant threat. It not only disrupts opponent’s tactics but also acts as a card advantage engine, allowing you to maintain hand superiority over the course of the game.


How to beat

Sleeper’s Robe is a unique enchantment aura in Magic: The Gathering that equips your creature with the advantageous combination of fear and card draw. When the enchanted creature deals combat damage to a player, you get to draw a card, which can quickly become a pesky problem for opponents. To tackle creatures draped in Sleeper’s Robe, focus on creating an impenetrable defense with artifact creatures or colorless creatures, as fear only prevents creatures of colors from blocking. Moreover, enchantment removal spells are your allies here; cards like Disenchant or Naturalize can send Sleeper’s Robe straight to the graveyard.

It’s also wise to keep instant-speed creature removal at the ready. By removing the equipped creature before it deals combat damage, you prevent your opponent from benefitting from the card draw effect. Moreover, handling the wearer of the Sleeper’s Robe before it inflicts damage will stop the cumulative value this card generates over time. Strategies that limit the capability of the opponents to attack, such as cards that tap creatures, can also mitigate the impact of this aura. Keep these tips in mind and the Sleeper’s Robe will be less likely to disturb your winning dreams.


Cards like Sleeper's Robe

Exploring the nuanced world of creature enhancements, Sleeper’s Robe proves to be a unique addition. Like Sleeper’s Robe, Whisper Silk Cloak not only grants unblockability to the equipped creature but also protection from targeting, adding an extra shield. However, one potential downside is its higher equip cost compared to the Robe’s more accessible fee.

Delving into the Rogues’ Gallery, we find cards like Aqueous Form. This enchantment provides unblockability as well, coupled with the scry ability, enhancing control over the upcoming draws. What Sleeper’s Robe offers instead is the immediate card draw advantage every time the creature deals combat damage, a benefit that can quickly outpace the incremental scry value.

Lastly, considering the synergy of cheap equip costs and immediate impact, Mask of Memory stands out. It hits a similar note by promising card draw on combat damage, though the need to discard as a part of its effect contrasts with Sleeper’s Robe, which adds to the hand without any additional cost.

Putting them side by side, Sleeper’s Robe not only facilitates evasion but also fuels the hand with a consistent flow of cards, making it a compelling choice for players who prioritize stealthy strikes with the added boon of refilling their strategic options.

Aqueous Form - MTG Card versions
Mask of Memory - MTG Card versions
Aqueous Form - Theros (THS)
Mask of Memory - Mirrodin (MRD)

Cards similar to Sleeper's Robe by color, type and mana cost

Spatial Binding - MTG Card versions
Rogue Class - MTG Card versions
Spatial Binding - Mirage (MIR)
Rogue Class - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (AFR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sleeper's Robe 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 Sleeper's Robe and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sleeper's Robe has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks