Urza's Contact Lenses MTG Card
Key Takeaways
- Unlimited hand size from the artifact supports large draw strategies without worrying about discarding.
- Direct mana cost and discard requirement may hinder early game tempo and hand advantage.
- Unique untap phase ability adds strategic depth, especially in combo and information-heavy decks.
Text of card
Urza's Contact Lenses comes into play tapped and does not untap during its controller's untap phase. All players play with their hands face up. Clap your hands twice: Tap or untap Urza's Contact Lenses.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Urza’s Contact Lenses provides an unlimited hand size for the duration of the game, ensuring you never have to discard due to a full grip of cards. This is a substantial boon in formats and strategies where drawing numerous cards is common, therefore preventing the downside of discarding to hand size limits.
Resource Acceleration: While the card itself does not directly produce mana or accelerate resources, maintaining a full hand can indirectly lead to resource acceleration by ensuring you have the lands and spells you need when you need them. This can lead to more consistent play and the ability to deploy more threats or answers.
Instant Speed: Urza’s Contact Lenses enters the battlefield untapped and can be activated immediately. Albeit not an instant, its impact is immediately felt on the board state, allowing for swift adaptation to ongoing game conditions without waiting for summoning sickness to subside.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Players must toss another card from their hand into the graveyard to get Urza’s Contact Lenses into play. This might not seem like much, but in a game where every card counts, being forced to lose hand advantage can sometimes backfire, leaving players at a strategic disadvantage.
Specific Mana Cost: For a card that doesn’t immediately impact the battlefield, Urza’s Contact Lenses requires a very specific mana investment. Its double colorless cost can be cumbersome early in the game when mana resources are limited, potentially throwing off a player’s momentum as they set up their mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the card offers a unique ability, its relatively steep four mana cost is a significant investment, particularly when there are numerous other artifacts that are cheaper to cast and provide more immediate value to the game state.
Reasons to Include Urza’s Contact Lenses in Your Collection
Versatility: Urza’s Contact Lenses can be seamlessly incorporated into a wide array of deck builds. Its unique ability to untap all permanents on each player’s untap step adds a layer of strategy to both multiplayer and duel formats.
Combo Potential: This artifact thrives in decks designed for combo plays. By enabling all players to keep their cards revealed, it pairs well with cards that benefit from hand information and those that manipulate opponents’ strategies.
Meta-Relevance: Depending on the shifting landscape of the current game, Urza’s Contact Lenses can become an essential tool. In environments where knowledge is power and the element of surprise is diminished, having this card can give you a pivotal advantage over your adversaries.
How to beat
Urza’s Contact Lenses stands out as a unique artifact in the vast library of cards in the world of Magic: The Gathering. As an unassuming accessory, this card functions without a hitch under the right circumstances. To effectively play against it, one must understand the nuances of its ability to unlock hidden information by rendering all cards revealed while it remains untapped.
Counterplay revolves around tactics that limit its impact, such as employing instant-speed spells to disrupt synergy before the lenses untap. Utilizing card types that Urza’s Contact Lenses is unable to interact with, like morph cards, can also create an edge. Additionally, targeted artifact removal spells are key to dismantle its influence on the game state. Remember, navigating around this card requires strategic dexterity and a timely response. By integrating these countermeasures, players can tilt the balance of clandestine knowledge in their favor and diminish the card’s potential to sway the endgame.
Cards like Urza's Contact Lenses
Urza’s Contact Lenses represents a niche segment within Magic: The Gathering’s pantheon of unchecked oddities. It shows parallels with cards like Winter Orb, given their ability to influence the untap phase, a critical time when players replenish resources for their next move. Unlike Winter Orb, which limits untapping to just one land per turn, Urza’s Contact Lenses offers a different twist—it doesn’t allow any permanents to untap during an untap step, requiring a player’s hands to be free to circumvent this restriction.
Howling Mine is another card that manipulates drawing, giving all players an extra card during their draw steps, while Urza’s Contact Lenses affects untapping permanents. The Lenses require an active and constant decision within game dynamics, compared to the passive benefit of Howling Mine. Relic Barrier might also draw comparisons; it taps artifacts during the upkeep phase, controlling the battlefield tactically, akin to how Urza’s Contact Lenses can strategically dictate the untap phase. However, the Lenses’ unique interaction with the hand-free condition sets it apart in Magic’s ecosystem.
Therefore, as we evaluate the effect and utility of such cards, Urza’s Contact Lenses stands out for its potential to transform the conventional rhythms of gameplay, marking its place as an intriguing component in a player’s arsenal.
Cards similar to Urza's Contact Lenses by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Urza's Contact Lenses MTG card by a specific set like Unglued, 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 Urza's Contact Lenses and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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