Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Acquire Easter Eggs: Hidden Design Jokes for MTG Fans
Hidden humor quietly threads through the Magic: The Gathering universe, especially in sets that celebrate cleverness and cunning. The blue sorcery known as Acquire is a perfect case study in how designers slip sly nods into card text, flavor, and even the art. When you crack the seal on this Fifth Dawn staple, you’re not just drafting a blue control spell—you’re peeking behind the curtain at a few well-placed winks that seasoned fans love to chase 🧙🔥💎⚔️.
Card at a glance
- Name: Acquire
- Mana Cost: {3}{U}{U}
- Converted Mana Cost: 5
- Card Type: Sorcery
- Set: Fifth Dawn (5dn)
- Rarity: Rare
- Colors: Blue
- Flavor Text: Sometimes "innovation" means "stealing another's secret before anyone else can."
- Illustrator: Daren Bader
- Oracle Text: Search target opponent's library for an artifact card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player shuffles.
There’s a brisk, almost rumor-like charm to Acquire. A blue spell that steals a piece of your opponent’s arsenal and places it right onto your battlefield embodies two classic MTG themes: control and theft. The phraseology is clean, almost practical, which makes the little jokes land even harder when you spot them during a tense game moment 🧙🔥.
Hidden design jokes tucked into the text
- Board game nods in a card game's DNA: The card’s name and its effect feel like a sly nod to property-saturation strategy games—think about a certain real-world board game where you acquire assets and watch opponents scramble to respond. The idea that you “acquire” an artifact by bending an opponent’s library to your will lands as a cheeky wink to the world outside Magic—where acquisition is a core mechanic, always with a bit of rivalry baked in.
- Blue’s signature sneaky steal with a twist: Blue in MTG is famous for counterspells and manipulation, but Acquire flips the script in a flavorful way: you steal the potential payoff from your opponent by commandeering an artifact from their own deck. The line between strategy and subterfuge blurs, and the flavor text seals the gag: innovation sometimes means secrecy, sometimes means a perfectly timed heist 🎭.
- Flavor text as a meta-joke about design processes: The line about innovation and secrets foreshadows a meta-commentary on how card designers borrow, remix, and reinvent ideas. It’s a light roast—accomplished designers often trade secrets to refine a mechanic, a playful reminder that sometimes the best ideas are a little audacious and just a touch scandalous.
- Shuffling as a narrative device: The mandatory shuffle after you grab an artifact can feel like a meta-joke about the chaos of deck-building and the tension of looking through someone else’s gear. The flavor text nudges you to appreciate how a single line of rules text can echo a larger storytelling beat about control, access, and reinvention.
- Set-constrained quirks that become Easter eggs over time: Fifth Dawn’s art direction and card shapes carried a transitional feel—bright, crisp, and a touch experimental. The gentle, almost pragmatic wording of Acquire fits that era’s vibe: a card that’s useful, clever, and a little mischievous without shouting its joke from the rooftops.
Art, flavor, and the wink from the artist
Daren Bader’s illustration—like many Fifth Dawn pieces—balances sharp lines with dynamic, kinetic energy. The image language in Acquire suggests careful calculation and a dash of scheming, which matches the card’s practical capability: peek into an opponent’s library, snatch an artifact, and reset the table with a single, elegant act. The artistry provides cover for the humor: you’re not merely stealing a card; you’re orchestrating a small, cinematic moment where strategy and ingenuity collide. The joke lands because the art sells the mood of a blue mage quietly pulling strings behind the scenes 🎨.
Gameplay angles: when to pull the punch
- Artifact-centric decks: If your meta features lots of powerful artifacts, Acquire lets you skew the balance by grabbing a key piece from your opponent’s library—perhaps their mana acceleration, a pivotal equipment, or a game-altering artifact. It’s a tempo swing that blue players love, especially in formats where answers are thin and tempo wins matter.
- Disruption with a payoff: The card’s twofold effect (take and shuffle) ensures you gain advantage while forcing your opponent to reassemble their engine. It’s the classic blue paradox: you remove a threat and still impose a fresh shuffle on someone else’s plan.
- Blowout potential in Commander: In multiplayer formats, Acquire can swing a turn by stealing a cornerstone artifact from the table, instantly reshaping the board state. It’s not just sweet; it’s dramatic—blue’s drama, wrapped in a clean, efficient spell 💥.
Value, popularity, and collector’s mood
For collectors, Acquire sits in a sweet niche. Its rarity (rare) and blue identity keep it in curiosity pools as players chase quirky interactions and unusual wins. Current price data shows a healthy spread: around $2.23 for non-foil copies and roughly $23.63 for foil versions in some markets, with Euros following a similar arc. It’s not the flashiest rare in Fifth Dawn, but it rewards patient collectors who love niche foils and the lore behind a well-timed heist across a crowded table 🧩.
Beyond the number crunch, everyone loves the little Easter eggs that spice up the game. It’s a reminder of why we all keep opening booster packs and scouring forums: there’s always a hidden joke, a sly reference, or a thematic wink waiting to be discovered in the next card you draw. And when you catch one with a friend, it becomes a shared moment—a quick celebration of the game’s playful spirit ⚔️🎲.
Product note
On a lighter note, if you’re browsing gear that makes life with MTG smoother off the table, consider keeping a sleek accessory handy. The linked product offers a compact, open-port design that sports practical durability—a nice nod to how we all want our playspaces to stay as sharp as our strategies. The cross-promotional link is here as a fun aside to support fellow MTG fans who like clever gear as much as clever cards.