Bribery MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Bribery grants immediate board presence by playing creatures from an opponent’s deck.
  2. It’s versatile in blue decks, but has a specific mana requirement and high cost.
  3. Players can counter Bribery’s effects with no-creature decks, shuffling, or counterspells.

Text of card

Search target opponent's library for a creature card and put that card into play under your control. That player then shuffles his or her library.

In Mercadia City, loyalties extend only as far as your purse can stretch.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bribery offers a significant edge by letting you search through an opponent’s library and put a creature card directly onto the battlefield under your control. This not only potentially weakens your opponent’s future plays but also gives you immediate access to new strategies and power on the board.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly related to mana generation, Bribery effectively accelerates your board state by taking control of a crucial piece from your opponent’s deck without spending any of your own creatures or spells. This act of ‘theft’ can bypass several turns of resource buildup and can be pivotal in seizing the momentum of the game.

Instant Speed: Although Bribery is a sorcery, the instantaneous impact it has on the game is undeniable. Playing an opponent’s creature during your turn can be as unpredictable and disruptive as any instant, often catching adversaries off guard and forcing them to deal with threats they had planned to deliver themselves.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As a part of its additional costs, Bribery requires the discarding of cards, which could lead to a reduced hand size, trapping players in a tough spot without ample resources.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a precise combination of blue mana, potentially restricting its integration into multicolored or colorless decks that might struggle to meet the mana composition, hence limiting its versatility across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Bribery commands a substantial five mana investment, which can be hefty compared to other control or creature-commandeering options within the game. This significant cost may delay its deployment, causing players to potentially fall behind while attempting to set up this strategic move.


Reasons to Include Bribery Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Bribery fits a wide range of blue-based control and combo decks, allowing you to adapt to various opponents by accessing the best creatures in their library.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with deck manipulation and clone effects, enabling strategies that can exploit the most powerful creatures from multiple angles.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where big creatures reign supreme, Bribery can turn an opponent’s major threat into your game-winning advantage, making it a smart choice for competitive play.


How to beat

Bribery is a prominent spell favored for its ability to turn the tide of a MTG game by allowing a player to put a creature card from an opponent’s deck onto the battlefield under their control. This can seem overwhelming, but like every strategy in MTG, it has its counterplays. One straightforward way to mitigate Bribery’s impact is by utilizing cards with no creatures or decks that rely on versatile creatures that don’t provide significant benefit to the opponent when taken.

An additional tactic includes incorporating cards that shuffle your library or put cards on the bottom – essentially reducing the potency of Bribery by limiting the opponents choices. Counter spells also stand as a bulwark against Bribery, enabling you to deny it before it ever takes effect. Lastly, including instant-speed removal allows you to eliminate the creature that was taken from your deck should the Bribery resolve, minimizing the advantage your opponent gains.

Any of these strategies can diminish the effect of Bribery on your game plan and can help to preserve your momentum. Skilled players know that being prepared for such high-impact cards can be the difference between a win and a loss in the intricate world of MTG.


BurnMana Recommendations

Bribery is a spell that holds immense power in the right deck, thrusting you into a position of control by utilizing your opponent’s most formidable creatures against them. As with any card, understanding how to maximize its abilities and counteract its drawbacks is key to ensuring your deck operates at peak effectiveness. Whether you’re tweaking a blue-enchantment deck or planning out your next competitive lineup, Bribery has the potential to be a game-changer. We encourage players to absorb the knowledge of how to effectively integrate this card into their arsenal. To further explore the depths of this strategic card and enhance your MTG expertise, we invite you to dive deeper with us.


Cards like Bribery

Bribery stands out in Magic: The Gathering’s repertoire of control cards, with a unique ability that lets players seize a creature from an opponent’s deck. Like Bribery, Acquire also dives into an adversary’s library, but targets artifacts rather than creatures. Acquire provides strategic resource manipulation, yet doesn’t offer the immediate board presence that Bribery affords.

Another parallel can be drawn with Gilded Drake. This card exchanges control of creatures, presenting a different twist on commandeering opponents’ threats. While Gilded Drake is confined to swapping for creatures already on the battlefield, Bribery allows the selection of any creature within a deck, providing a broader range of options. Similarly, Control Magic enables commandeering by attaching to a creature already in play, but lacks the preemptive impact seen in Bribery’s ability to affect the board before a creature is even cast.

Considering the strategic depth and potential to swing games, Bribery holds a solid position in MTG as a formidable tool for players looking to leverage their opponents’ strengths against them.

Acquire - MTG Card versions
Gilded Drake - MTG Card versions
Control Magic - MTG Card versions
Acquire - MTG Card versions
Gilded Drake - MTG Card versions
Control Magic - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Bribery by color, type and mana cost

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Library of Lat-Nam - MTG Card versions
Psychic Transfer - MTG Card versions
Balance of Power - MTG Card versions
Cruel Fate - MTG Card versions
Temporal Manipulation - MTG Card versions
Ancestral Memories - MTG Card versions
Brilliant Plan - MTG Card versions
Time Warp - MTG Card versions
Reverse Engineer - MTG Card versions
Invoke the Winds - MTG Card versions
Essence Fracture - MTG Card versions
Rush of Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Temporal Fissure - MTG Card versions
Acquire - MTG Card versions
Petals of Insight - MTG Card versions
Heed the Mists - MTG Card versions
Ribbons of the Reikai - MTG Card versions
Reduce to Dreams - MTG Card versions
Tidings - MTG Card versions
Traumatize - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bribery MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Magic Online Promos, 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 Bribery and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bribery Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 621997NormalBlackAndrew Robinson
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 469282003NormalBlackCynthia Sheppard
32003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 64★2003NormalBlackAndrew Robinson
42003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 642003NormalWhiteAndrew Robinson
52019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 4112015NormalBorderlessRorubei
62023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 772015NormalBlackKai Carpenter
72023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 4822015NormalBlackKai Carpenter
82023-08-04Commander Masters Art SeriesACMM 62015Art seriesBorderlessKai Carpenter

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bribery has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Bribery 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 Because the “search” requires you to find a card with certain characteristics, you don’t have to find the card if you don’t want to.
2004-10-04 You put the creature onto the battlefield, so you control it and any “enters the battlefield” abilities it has.

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