Think Tank MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Abilities	Surveil
Released	2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Odyssey
Set code	ODY
Number	104
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Jim Nelson

Key Takeaways

Think Tank’s foresight grants players a significant edge by shaping future moves and revealing key draws.
Instant speed activation and deck synergy amplify Think Tank’s potential in control and combo plays.
The card’s flexibility shines in meta play, but it carries constraints such as mana specificity and cost.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. You may put that card into your graveyard.

Cephalids seek knowledge not to better themselves, but to best others.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: On resolving, Think Tank enables you to peek at the top card of your library, offering consistent knowledge of your upcoming draw. This continuous foresight is vital for crafting your strategy several turns in advance, maintaining a steady flow of beneficial plays.

Resource Acceleration: By streamlining your draws with Think Tank, you effectively accelerate your resource management. This can lead to quicker access to critical spells and creatures, thus improving your chances to outpace the opposition and assert dominance on the battlefield.

Instant Speed: The ability to activate Think Tank at instant speed offers tactical flexibility, allowing you to adapt to the fluid game-state without missing a beat. This can keep opponents guessing and ensures that your strategy remains shielded behind a veil of unpredictability.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Think Tank’s ability necessitates discarding from your hand, impacting your gameplay if you’re running low on cards or need to maintain a strategic hand for later turns.

Specific Mana Cost: Not only does Think Tank require blue mana, but its activation is also highly dependent on having blue mana available, which can restrict its inclusion in multicolored or colorless decks that have a tight mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Bearing a three mana value to cast, Think Tank’s cost is a consideration when you’re planning your mana curve. Given that blue has other less mana-intensive options for card draw and selection, this cost can be seen as steep for the effect it provides.

Reasons to Include Think Tank in Your Collection

Versatility: Think Tank offers a consistent source of card filtering, allowing players to tailor their draws to the current game state, making it a valuable addition to control and combo decks alike.

Combo Potential: This card shines in strategies revolving around the top deck and library manipulation. Its ability to sift through your deck synergizes well with effects that care about drawing or revealing certain types of cards.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where information is as critical as the cards in hand, Think Tank provides insight into future draws, granting a tactical advantage. Its relevance escalates in formats where setting up the perfect hand is key to outmaneuvering opponents.

How to Beat Think Tank

Think Tank, a unique enchantment in the world of Magic: The Gathering, challenges players with its subtle draw mechanic. Unlike straightforward draw spells, Think Tank requires a peek at the top card of your library at the beginning of your upkeep and allows you to draw it by skipping the draw phase. This has the potential to disrupt your normal card flow unless you employ strategies to offset its effects.

Countering Think Tank involves a mixture of deck awareness and strategic play. Artifact removal spells like Disenchant can eliminate Think Tank from the battlefield, restoring your normal draw routine. Similarly, Thoughtseize or Duress can preemptively remove it from an opponent’s hand before it becomes a nuisance. Incorporating counterspells, such as Cancel or Counterspell, to your deck ensures Think Tank never resolves.

Moreover, incorporating strategic card draws like Brainstorm ensures you draw the cards you need while still bypassing the Think Tank’s draw phase restrictions. By employing such tactics, you can outmaneuver the slow advantage of Think Tank and maintain the tempo of your game plan, keeping your strategy flowing smoothly and efficiently.

Cards like Think Tank

Think Tank is a unique fixture in Magic: The Gathering, inviting comparisons with other cards that manipulate the top of a player’s library. One such card is Soothsaying, which allows players to rearrange any number of cards from the top of their library for a similar mana cost. While Think Tank offers a consistent card reveal each upkeep, Soothsaying provides a more powerful, but mana-intensive, way to control draws.

Future Sight is another intriguing comparison. It eschews the one-card-per-turn model of Think Tank for full transparency, allowing a player to play with the top card of their library revealed and cast it if it’s a spell. This presents the opportunity for more immediate impact versus the slower, but more concealed strategy that Think Tank allows. Lastly, there’s Crystal Ball, which shares Think Tank’s subtle approach to library manipulation through scrying, instead of outright revealing cards, giving players valuable information while keeping opponents in the dark.

All things considered, Think Tank holds its own niche within Magic: The Gathering as a blue enchantment that steadily informs a player’s strategy, setting the rhythm for a more tactical and thought out playstyle.

Cards similar to Think Tank by color, type and mana cost

Threads of Disloyalty - MTG Card versions

In the Eye of Chaos - Masters Edition IV (ME4)

Energy Flux - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)

Threads of Disloyalty - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Rhystic Study - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)

Memory Erosion - Commander Anthology Volume II (CM2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Think Tank MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Think Tank and other MTG cards: