Psychic Theft MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set name	Prophecy
Set code	PCY
Number	40
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Don Hazeltine

Key Takeaways

Psychic Theft offers card advantage and potential board control by using your opponent’s resources.
Its instant speed allows for flexible and reactive gameplay, disrupting opponents effectively.
High mana cost and discard requirements may limit its inclusion in certain deck strategies.

Text of card

Look at target player's hand, choose an instant or sorcery card from it, and remove that card from the game. You may play the card as though it were in your hand as long as the card remains removed from the game. At end of turn, if you haven't played the card, return it to its owner's hand.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Psychic Theft gives you the edge by ensuring a steady flow of cards into your hand. It unlocks options and increases your chances of drawing into answers or threats necessary to control the game’s pace.

Resource Acceleration: The spell’s ability to potentially disrupt your opponent’s draw by playing the top card of their library with any color of mana accelerates your resources. It means faster plays, unexpected twists, and the chance to utilize your opponent’s strategies against them.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Psychic Theft enables strategic flexibility. Play it at the end of your opponent’s turn to keep them guessing, or use it in response to an opponent’s action to not only foil their plans but also to weave your own plots without skipping a beat.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Psychic Theft prompts you to let go of a precious card from your hand, which might not always be advantageous especially when your options are limited.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a particular blend of blue mana, which can be a restrictive factor for decks that aren’t tailored around blue or lack mana fixing capabilities.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring a total of three mana including two blue, Psychic Theft may be deemed costly given there are alternatives available that could provide similar benefits for a lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Psychic Theft in Your Collection

Versatility: Psychic Theft isn’t just a spell to disrupt your opponent’s plans; it also offers the opportunity to benefit from their strategy. By playing their own spells against them, you can adapt this card to numerous situations and different types of decks within the format.

Combo Potential: For players who revel in crafting intricate combos, Psychic Theft opens a realm of possibilities. It can seamlessly integrate into decks that exploit casting multiple spells in a single turn or strategies that capitalize on the use of an opponent’s spells to achieve victory.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to borrow from an opponent’s strategy, Psychic Theft remains a card with enduring relevance in many metas. When facing decks that rely on powerful spells for winning tactics, Psychic Theft can turn the tides in your favor, making it a valuable addition to your arsenal.

How to beat

Psychic Theft shines as a strategic play within Magic the Gathering, challenging opponents with its unique ability to manipulate draws and pilfer spells. This card can sway the tide of a match by setting traps with the spells you swindle from your adversary’s deck. To counter this deceptive maneuver, ensure your hand is stocked with versatile instant-speed interaction. Cards like counter spells or options that provide hexproof to your library can thwart the pilfering before it begins or protect your essentials from getting snatched.

To fortify your defense against such sly tactics, consider employing card types that are naturally resilient to hand disruption. Cards with flashback or escape can be cast from the graveyard, rendering Psychic Theft’s control over your hand less effective. Additionally, adjusting your gameplay tempo to be less predictable can inconvenience a Psychic Theft user. Playing less valuable spells when Psychic Theft might be in play forces the opponent to make less impactful decisions, minimizing the card’s potential to harm your strategy.

Resilience and resourcefulness are your allies in facing down the scheme of Psychic Theft. With appropriate countermeasures in your deck, you can prevent the loss of crucial spells and maintain your pace in the battle of wits and strategies that Magic the Gathering offers.

Cards like Psychic Theft

Psychic Theft stands out in Magic: The Gathering as an intriguing means of hindering opponent strategies while simultaneously fueling your own game plan. It draws parallels to cards like Praetor’s Grasp that also delve into an opponent’s library to extract resources. However, Psychic Theft takes a unique twist by allowing you to play the stolen card and potentially siphon away an emblematic spell from your opponent’s arsenal. This characteristic sets it apart from other theft-type spells.

Another card worth mentioning is Gonti, Lord of Luxury, who shares the concept of using opponents’ cards against them. Although Gonti targets the library and leaves you with mana value restrictions on what you can cast, its effect remains static on the battlefield. In contrast, the one-shot nature of Psychic Theft might offer a surprise element by plucking and casting a key card at a critical moment.

Evaluating Psychic Theft within the realm of disruption and theft in Magic: The Gathering showcases its adaptive playstyle and strategic depth. Amidst similar cards, it carves a niche by combining immediate disruption with the possibility of a significant payoff, creating an interesting dynamic for players to exploit.

Gonti, Lord of Luxury - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Psychic Theft by color, type and mana cost

Fae of Wishes // Granted - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Psychic Theft MTG card by a specific set like Prophecy, 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 Psychic Theft and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Psychic Theft has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Psychic Theft 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	The card is revealed to all players while it is exiled.
2004-10-04	The card may only be cast once. Once it is announced and put on the stack, the card is no longer exiled and the effect of Psychic Theft ends.
2004-10-04	You can cast the instant or sorcery during the End step after you put the “at the beginning of the end step” trigger on the stack, as long as you do so before that trigger resolves.
2014-02-01	If you target yourself with this spell, you must reveal your entire hand to the other players just as any other player would.