Lost in Thought MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2002-05-27
Set symbol
Set name	Judgment
Set code	JUD
Number	45
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Ben Thompson

Key Takeaways

Lost in Thought offers card advantage and resource acceleration, crucial for maintaining game momentum.
Its instant speed allows for strategic flexibility and opponent hand disruption at critical moments.
Despite benefits, it requires careful play due to discard conditions and a specific, higher mana cost.

Text of card

Enchanted creature can't attack or block and its activated abilities can't be played. Its controller may remove three cards in his or her graveyard from the game to ignore this ability until end of turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When you cast Lost in Thought, the inherent ability to potentially disrupt your opponent’s hand while simultaneously fueling your own strategy with additional cards can tilt the scales in your favor during a match.

Resource Acceleration: Lost in Thought can serve as a means of resource acceleration by filtering your cards, allowing you to sift through your deck more efficiently and access your vital resources when you need them most. This sort of selective advancement can be crucial at any stage of the game.

Instant Speed: The instant-speed nature of Lost in Thought offers flexibility in gameplay, letting you wait until the most opportune moment to cast it. This can offer a strategic advantage by keeping your options open and responding more effectively to in-game developments, all while keeping your adversaries guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Lost in Thought requires a card to be discarded to unlock its full potential, which can be harmful to your hand size, particularly if you are in need of all the cards you possess.

Specific Mana Cost: The card demands both blue mana and colorless mana, restricting it to decks that can consistently produce blue mana pools and potentially rendering it less versatile across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that may seem steep considering its effect, players might find that other cards provide more efficient mechanics or impactful outcomes with a lower or more flexible mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Lost in Thought is a card that can serve multiple roles in various deck archetypes. Its ability to disrupt the opponent by thwarting strategies and protecting your plays from disruption stands out as a utility in both offensive and defensive scenarios.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with decks that aim to capitalize on hand manipulation. It can be a cog in a larger engine that focuses on drawing cards, discarding, or reanimating from the graveyard, tapping into the potential for powerful card interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where control or combo decks reign supreme, Lost in Thought can be a key tool. It can help control the pace of the game and provide a critical edge by efficiently dealing with an opponent’s strategic moves.

How to Beat Lost in Thought

Lost in Thought is one of those intriguing blue enchantments in Magic: The Gathering that can frustrate many players by turning a creature into a potential liability. It forces an opponent to think twice before deploying their strategy. The key to overcoming this pesky aura lies in flexible card play. Strategies include deploying low-value creatures that minimize the potential downside or using enchantment removals like Disenchant or Naturalize to directly target and destroy Lost in Thought.

Another efficient tactic involves utilizing hexproof or shroud to prevent Lost in Thought from attaching to a key creature. Cards like Dive Down or Swiftfoot Boots can protect your creatures from becoming targets. Additionally, focusing on non-creature spells or abilities can sidestep Lost in Thought’s effect, allowing players to advance their board without hindrance. Adaptability and smart deck building are paramount when maneuvering around such control cards.

Managing the demands of the mind game that Lost in Thought introduces, Magic: The Gathering players must leverage their deck’s flexibility and removal options to ensure that the enchantment does not derail their path to victory.

Cards like Lost in Thought

Lost in Thought is an intriguing spell that finds its place in the library of blue control cards within Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relative in function is likely Claustrophobia. Both cards serve to incapacitate creatures without removing them from the battlefield. Lost in Thought, however, takes a more subtle approach by not only tapping the creature but also preventing it from untapping during its controller’s untap step as long as Lost in Thought remains on the battlefield.

Another card worthy of comparison is Encrust, which similarly disables targeted creatures and artifacts. While Encrust has the added versatility of targeting artifacts, Lost in Thought edges out in terms of cost efficiency, necessitating only two mana and providing ongoing control over a creature. Then there’s Ice Cage, which operates quite similarly to Lost in Thought by rendering a creature unable to attack or block, but with the added limitation that Ice Cage breaks if the creature becomes the target of another spell or ability.

Despite the subtle nuances between these cards, Lost in Thought holds its ground by offering a consistent and cost-effective means of neutralizing a threat. In the realm of creature control spells, its straightforward application and lower mana cost make it a valuable tool in a player’s arsenal.

Cards similar to Lost in Thought by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lost in Thought MTG card by a specific set like Judgment, 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 Lost in Thought and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lost in Thought has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	You can take the “exile three cards” action any time you have priority without using the stack.
2016-06-08	Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “ -ost: -ffect].” Some keywords are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text.