Sphinx Summoner MTG Card


Sphinx Summoner provides card advantage by fetching artifact creatures, enhancing your strategy on the battlefield. Its tutor ability boosts resource acceleration but requires careful hand and mana management. This card is versatile and relevant in artifact-synergistic decks for its combo potential and meta-relevance.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Sphinx
Abilities Flying
Power 3
Toughness 3

Text of card

Flying When Sphinx Summoner comes into play, you may search your library for an artifact creature card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library.


Cards like Sphinx Summoner

Delving deep into the synergistic world of artifact creature cards in MTG, Sphinx Summoner presents itself as an intriguing match to its counterparts. It shares an affinity with other creature cards like Trophy Mage, as they both offer the player the ability to search their library for specific artifact cards. While Sphinx Summoner searches for any artifact creature, offering flexibility in deck building, Trophy Mage is limited to fetching an artifact with a mana cost of exactly three.

In the spectrum of blue creature cards, we can also look at Phyrexian Metamorph. This card stands out with its cloning ability, allowing it to become a copy of any artifact or creature on the battlefield. Though it does not have the tutoring capability of Sphinx Summoner, its versatility in gameplay is noteworthy. Shaheeli’s Artistry also plays in the field of duplication, but unlike Phyrexian Metamorph, it can copy any creature or artifact while also creating a token copy of an artifact the player controls.

Ultimately, when picking out cards for an artifact-based MTG deck, Sphinx Summoner proves to be a strong selection. It offers the strategic upper hand of a tutor along with a sizeable body to impact the game board, making it a well-rounded choice in comparison to cards with similar attributes.

Trophy Mage - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Metamorph - MTG Card versions
Trophy Mage - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Metamorph - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Sphinx Summoner by color, type and mana cost

Vectis Agents - MTG Card versions
Etherium Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vectis Agents - MTG Card versions
Etherium Abomination - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sphinx Summoner grants you a strategic edge by searching for an artifact creature upon entering the battlefield – a perfect way to ensure you have the right resources for upcoming challenges.

Resource Acceleration: This ability to fetch a key artifact creature from your deck acts as an accelerator, indirectly boosting your resource management and bringing you closer to your endgame quicker.

Instant Speed: While Sphinx Summoner itself may not be instant speed, the artifact creatures it retrieves can have varied casting speeds, potentially offering you instant-speed interactions depending on your deck’s composition.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Summoning Sphinx Summoner often forces players to strategize hand management keenly. If your hand is depleted, activating its ability to tutor for an artifact creature becomes a costly investment, as holding on to key cards is crucial in the strategic ebb and flow of the game.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Sphinx Summoner is not only specific but also somewhat inflexible, necessitating both blue and black mana. This can pose a dilemma in mana sequencing and limit its inclusion strictly to decks that can reliably produce both colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a five mana investment required to bring Sphinx Summoner to the battlefield, it stands on the higher end of the mana curve. Given its specific utility, players often weigh its cost against other options in the same mana bracket, which may offer more immediate board impact or versatility.


Reasons to Include Sphinx Summoner in Your Collection

Versatility: Sphinx Summoner offers flexibility in deck building, as it’s a creature that can search your library for any artifact creature card. This makes it a useful tool in any deck that seeks to build around artifact synergies or requires specific creature solutions.

Combo Potential: Its ability to tutor an artifact creature directly into your hand allows for powerful combo setups. Whether you’re aiming to assemble a particular artifact combination or just looking to enhance your board presence with the perfect creature, Sphinx Summoner serves as an essential enabler for intricate strategies.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of artifact-based strategies in various formats, having Sphinx Summoner in your arsenal can give you an edge. The card’s capacity to fetch key pieces from your deck helps you keep pace with or even outmaneuver the evolving competitive scene.


How to beat

Sphinx Summoner, a prominent creature in MTG, brings a unique angle to gameplay, thanks to its ability to fetch artifact creatures from a player’s deck to their hand. This advantage of card selection is a strategic aspect that requires a certain finesse to overcome. When facing Sphinx Summoner, one of the most effective methods is to limit the player’s access to their library. Strategic use of cards that impose draw restrictions, such as Spirit of the Labyrinth, can be crucial. By preventing the additional draw that Sphinx Summoner’s ability provides, you successfully neutralize its advantage.

Moreover, maintaining a robust line of removal spells is essential to deal with Sphinx Summoner promptly. Using instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can remove the Sphinx Summoner before its ability triggers upon casting or entering the battlefield. This preemptive approach ensures the opponent does not reap the benefits of tutoring their desired artifact creature. Additionally, graveyard hate cards like Relic of Progenitus can be employed to handle any artifact creatures retrieved if they happen to find their way into the graveyard, thus hampering recursion strategies that might want to use the Sphinx Summoner multiple times.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the strategic world of MTG with Sphinx Summoner. Offering both tactical advantage and card versatility, this creature represents an essential addition for deck builders and players aiming to initiate powerful combos or searching for meta-relevant artifact creatures. While Sphinx Summoner has its challenges, such as demanding specific mana types and a higher cost, the advantages it provides in the right deck are undeniable. Interested in optimizing your artifact strategy or understanding how to keep pace with competitive play? Join us for more insights, and refine your collection to ensure you’re always one step ahead in the game.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sphinx Summoner MTG card by a specific set like Conflux and Commander 2016, 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 Sphinx Summoner and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sphinx Summoner Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2009-02-06 and 2020-08-07. Illustrated by Jaime Jones.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-02-06ConfluxCON 1272003NormalBlackJaime Jones
22016-11-11Commander 2016C16 2232015NormalBlackJaime Jones
32020-08-07Double Masters2XM 2202015NormalBlackJaime Jones

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sphinx Summoner has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2009-02-01 The card you find must be both an artifact and a creature.