Field Research MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Abilities | Kicker |
| Released | 2020-09-25 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Zendikar Rising |
| Set code | ZNR |
| Number | 58 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | PINDURSKI |
Key Takeaways
- Field Research offers card advantage, crucial for staying ahead in resource competition.
- Kicker mechanic provides strategic depth, allowing for impactful, well-timed plays.
- Demands careful mana management due to specific costs and potential discard requirements.
Text of card
Kicker (You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.) Draw two cards. If this spell was kicked, draw three cards instead.
"In the field, speed-reading is a survival skill."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Field Research offers a valuable opportunity to draw multiple cards with its kicker mechanic, ensuring you stay ahead on resources and maintain a full hand.
Resource Acceleration: By drawing additional cards, you’re able to access more lands and spells, speeding up your gameplay and allowing you to outpace opponents.
Instant Speed: Though Field Research is a sorcery, the flexibility it allows in choosing when to kick it enables strategic play, timing your card draws to maximize efficiency and impact during your turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To cast Field Research, you must discard a card, which might deplete your hand just when you need more options to react to opponents’ moves. In times when every card in hand could turn the tides, this requisite may feel like a setback.
Specific Mana Cost: Field Research demands a blue mana spot, binding its potential primarily to blue-centric or blue-inclusive decks. If your mana base isn’t flexible enough or your deck doesn’t lean into blue, it’s a challenge to slot in this card effectively.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of three mana, including one blue, to gain the card advantage, it competes with other draw spells that may offer more for less. In a game where efficiency could mean victory or defeat, investing three mana for its effect might not always be the optimal move, particularly at crucial gameplay junctures.
Reasons to Include Field Research in Your Collection
Versatility: Field Research is a flexible addition to decks that aim to maintain a healthy hand size. It’s especially effective in decks that leverage card draw mechanisms.
Combo Potential: Not only does it provide card draw by itself, but in decks focused on spell-slinging or instants and sorceries, it can work in tandem with other cards, amplifying their effects.
Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where information and resources are king, Field Research ensures that you stay ahead by replenishing your options, making it a practical choice against various competing strategies.
How to Beat
Field Research presents a versatile conundrum with its kicker ability to draw cards in Magic: The Gathering. It allows players to adapt to the game’s pace, scaling from a modest draw spell into a more potent engine later in the game. To outmaneuver this card, one must apply pressure early on. Aggressive decks can outpace the mana investment required for its kicker, overwhelming the opponent before they get a chance to capitalize on their card advantage. Decks with access to counterspells or discard effects also pose a significant threat to Field Research, as they can disrupt the card draw plan altogether.
Moreover, creature-based strategies that apply consistent pressure can force Field Research users to use their mana inefficiently, opting for weaker plays in the face of relentless aggression. Utilize instant speed removal and threats to keep the Field Research player off balance. Focused disruption and a tempo-oriented game plan are key in ensuring that Field Research does not tilt the scales in your opponent’s favor.
Remember, taking control of the pace and flow of the match is essential to overcoming this card’s advantage. Stay one step ahead, and you’ll nullify the benefits Field Research could have given your adversary.
Cards like Field Research
Field Research is a noteworthy card in the pool of knowledge-acquiring options that Magic: The Gathering has to offer. It sits alongside spells such as Concentrate, which allows players to draw three cards at the same cost. But where Field Research gains an edge is its kicker ability. This versatility means that with additional mana invested, players can draw an extra card, making it potentially more potent than Concentrate.
Comparatively, one might consider Tidings, a spell that grants you four cards outright. While it does offer one more card than the kicked version of Field Research, it also comes at a higher mana cost and lacks the flexibility of a kicker option. Then, there’s Glimmer of Genius, which not only nets card advantage but also refuels your mana through energy counters. The energy counter aspect is unique to it but is set at a higher initial mana investment compared to Field Research without the same flexibility.
Ultimately, in assessing the value Field Research brings to the table, it shines with adaptability, catering to different stages of the game and aligning well with various strategies that require drawing cards at key moments.
Cards similar to Field Research by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Field Research MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Field Research 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
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Field Research has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Field Research card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-09-25 | An ability that triggers when a player casts a kicked spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger, but after targets have been chosen for that spell. It resolves even if that spell is countered. |
| 2020-09-25 | If you copy a kicked spell, the copy is also kicked. If a card or token enters the battlefield as a copy of a permanent that’s already on the battlefield, the new permanent isn’t kicked, even if the original was. |
| 2020-09-25 | If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can’t kick it. |
| 2020-09-25 | Kicker represents an optional additional cost that you may choose to pay as you cast the spell. A spell cast with that additional cost paid is “kicked.” |
| 2020-09-25 | Some instant or sorcery spells require alternative or additional targets if they’re kicked. You ignore these targeting requirements if those spells aren’t kicked, and you can’t kick those spells unless you can choose the appropriate targets. On the other hand, you can kick a permanent spell even if you won’t be able to choose targets for an enters-the-battlefield ability of that permanent once the spell resolves. |
| 2020-09-25 | To determine a spell’s total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card’s effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The converted mana cost of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was. |
| 2020-09-25 | You can’t pay a kicker cost more than once. |
