Disciple of Deceit MTG Card


Disciple of Deceit - Journey into Nyx
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Rogue
Abilities Inspired
Released2014-05-02
Set symbol
Set nameJourney into Nyx
Set codeJOU
Power 1
Toughness 3
Number148
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDaarken

Key Takeaways

  1. Boosts game control by trading less needed cards for strategic ones, maintaining hand size.
  2. Introduces instant speed flexibility in gameplay, allowing for responses in evolving game states.
  3. Demands precise mana and comes with a higher cost, which may limit its deck inclusion.

Text of card

Inspired — Whenever Disciple of Deceit becomes untapped, you may discard a nonland card. If you do, search your library for a card with the same converted mana cost as that card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Disciple of Deceit offers a unique avenue for card advantage by letting you trade cards you don’t currently need for ones that may be more useful in a given situation. This ability to tutor for specific cards without losing hand size can significantly impact your control over the game.

Resource Acceleration: This card doesn’t directly increase your mana pool, but by fetching exactly what you need at the moment, it accelerates your access to resources. It streamlines your deck’s performance, effectively allowing you to have the right answer or threat at the right time, which is a form of indirect resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: Disciple of Deceit’s Inspired ability allows you to utilize the tapped card at instant speed, considering you meet the requirements after the creature becomes untapped. This mechanic provides flexibility, permitting you to adapt to the evolving game state during each player’s turn, thus maximizing strategic depth and unpredictability for your opponents.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The activation of Disciple of Deceit’s ability is contingent on discarding another card. This can be a strategic setback as it demands a card from your hand, potentially depleting your resources and affecting your gameplay choices.

Specific Mana Cost: Disciple of Deceit necessitates both blue and black mana to cast, which can be restrictive, limiting the card’s incorporation to decks that support these colors and can reliably generate the required mana mix.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its utility, the mana cost of Disciple of Deceit stands on the higher side in relation to its abilities. Other options may be available in the card pool that provide similar tutoring effects at a lower cost, offering a more efficient use of mana resources during a game.


Reasons to Include Disciple of Deceit in Your Collection

Versatility: Disciple of Deceit serves as a key piece in deck archetypes that require consistency in fetching crucial combo pieces. Its ability to transmute any card from your hand for another with the same mana cost means it can adapt to various game scenarios, ensuring you’re never without options.

Combo Potential: With Disciple of Deceit, you unlock significant combo potential, being able to systematically sift through your deck for the exact pieces you need. This ensures that your strategy’s mechanics synergize efficiently, bolstering your chances of executing a winning combination.

Meta-Relevance: In metas full of grindy control or intricate combo decks, having access to a versatile tutor like Disciple of Deceit can be pivotal. This allows you to keep pace with the constantly shifting demands of competitive play and maintain an edge over less adaptable opponents.


How to beat

The Disciple of Deceit is quite challenging to play against due to its inspired ability, which unlocks the potential to tactically sift through your deck for answers or combo pieces. To triumph over this card, disrupting the untap mechanism is key. Employing creature removal before your opponent’s untap step can prevent the trigger entirely. Counterplay can also come in the form of tap-down effects or cards that keep creatures perpetually tapped, thus neutralizing the Disciple’s ability to activate.

An alternative strategy could involve graveyard disruption. Since the Disciple’s ability interacts with the graveyard, having a card like Grafdigger’s Cage can effectively stifle any plans your opponent might have to utilize their graveyard as a resource. Silence effects or spells that prevent abilities from being activated also prove to be effective since they can halt the Disciple’s ability directly, without having to remove it from the battlefield. Adjust your deck with these countermeasures, and you’ll be well-equipped to neutralize the Disciple of Deceit’s deceptive tactics.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of deception in MTG is an intricate dance, and Disciple of Deceit is your ideal partner. As you’ve seen, this card’s power comes from its card trading capacity, allowing for tactical deck manipulation with precision. For those seeking to outmaneuver opponents through strategic card selection, implementing Disciple of Deceit into your arsenal can be a game-changer. Its potential to streamline your play and adapt to shifting game dynamics is unparalleled in decks that can support its color identity. We invite you to dive deeper – gather insights, discover strategies, and refine your deck construction with us. Transform your game into a display of strategic finesse where every move is a calculated step towards victory.


Cards like Disciple of Deceit

Disciple of Deceit presents a unique strategic fondness in the roster of inspired creatures within Magic: The Gathering. Much like its counterparts, it thrives on the inspired mechanic, activating whenever it becomes untapped. When we consider other options like King Macar, the Gold-Cursed, the comparison becomes intriguing. King Macar transforms creatures into Gold tokens, outlining a different path towards resource manipulation. Whereas Disciple of Deceit, with every untap, delves into the library for a card with the same converted mana cost as the one discarded, tailoring hand contents to the situation at play.

Analogously, we see Daring Apprentice, which showcases a different approach to utility creatures. It offers a protective measure by sacrificing itself to counter target spell, shifting away from the tactical deck manipulation that Disciple of Deceit is revered for. While not based on an inspired mechanic, its ability impacts the game’s momentum directly, diverging from the subtle long-term strategizing that Disciple of Deceit encourages.

In evaluating the strategic nuances, Disciple of Deceit carves its niche in MTG gameplay. It demonstrates versatility and tactical depth that serves well for players who prefer finesse and calculated deck manipulation over more straightforward creature utilities.

King Macar, the Gold-Cursed - MTG Card versions
Daring Apprentice - MTG Card versions
King Macar, the Gold-Cursed - Journey into Nyx (JOU)
Daring Apprentice - Mirage (MIR)

Cards similar to Disciple of Deceit by color, type and mana cost

Vodalian Hypnotist - MTG Card versions
Metathran Zombie - MTG Card versions
Dimir Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Dimir Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Inkfathom Witch - MTG Card versions
Zombie Outlander - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hibernation Sliver - MTG Card versions
Woodlot Crawler - MTG Card versions
Returned Phalanx - MTG Card versions
Shipwreck Singer - MTG Card versions
Fathom Feeder - MTG Card versions
House Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Soul Diviner - MTG Card versions
Cunning Nightbonder - MTG Card versions
Sygg, River Cutthroat - MTG Card versions
Inkfathom Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Krydle of Baldur's Gate - MTG Card versions
Lazotep Chancellor - MTG Card versions
A-Krydle of Baldur's Gate - MTG Card versions
Vodalian Hypnotist - Invasion (INV)
Metathran Zombie - Invasion (INV)
Dimir Infiltrator - Planechase Anthology (PCA)
Dimir Guildmage - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Inkfathom Witch - New Capenna Commander (NCC)
Zombie Outlander - Conflux (CON)
Vedalken Ghoul - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Hibernation Sliver - Commander Masters (CMM)
Woodlot Crawler - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Returned Phalanx - Masters 25 (A25)
Shipwreck Singer - Theros (THS)
Fathom Feeder - Battle for Zendikar Promos (PBFZ)
House Guildmage - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Soul Diviner - War of the Spark (WAR)
Cunning Nightbonder - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)
Sygg, River Cutthroat - The List (PLST)
Inkfathom Infiltrator - The List (PLST)
Krydle of Baldur's Gate - The List (PLST)
Lazotep Chancellor - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
A-Krydle of Baldur's Gate - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (AFR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Disciple of Deceit MTG card by a specific set like Journey into Nyx, 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 Disciple of Deceit and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Disciple of Deceit has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2014-04-26 If an inspired ability triggers during your untap step, the ability will be put on the stack at the beginning of your upkeep. If the ability creates one or more token creatures, those creatures won't be able to attack that turn (unless they gain haste).
2014-04-26 If the inspired ability includes an optional cost, you decide whether to pay that cost as the ability resolves. You can do this even if the creature leaves the battlefield in response to the ability.
2014-04-26 If there's an in the mana cost of the card you discarded or the card you wish to search for, X is 0.
2014-04-26 Inspired abilities don't trigger when the creature enters the battlefield.
2014-04-26 Inspired abilities trigger no matter how the creature becomes untapped: by the turn-based action at the beginning of the untap step or by a spell or ability.
2017-04-18 The mana value of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves.

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