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Delving into Enchantments and Artifacts with Stealth Mission
When you slide Stealth Mission off the top of the library, you’re not just paying mana for a quick tempo play—you’re stepping into a delicate dance with the macro mechanics of enchantments and artifacts. This War of the Spark common is a blue sorcery that costs {2}{U}, but its real power unfolds in the way it plays with auras, equipments, and all the subtle permissions around targeting. The spell reads simply: Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature you control. That creature can’t be blocked this turn. It’s a compact package, yet it reveals a lot about how blue tempo and the broader battlefield interact 🧙🔥💎.
What the spell actually does, in plain terms
Two +1/+1 counters might seem modest at first glance, but they act as a permanent pump that compounds with your turn-based tempo. The “cannot be blocked this turn” clause grants you a single, crucial window to push damage through, raid in value, or set up for a decisive next turn. The target must be a creature you control, and the mana cost is deliberately efficient for focused, reactive play in blue decks. In War of the Spark, Stealth Mission sits among a flood of other blue choices that care about drawing cards, tempo, and controlling the battlefield. The flavor text from Lazav—“What they don’t know will definitely hurt them”—hints at Dimir-style subterfuge: you’re quietly strengthening your threat while your opponent looks for a way to respond 🚀🎲.
Enchantments (Auras) on the battlefield: how do they interact?
- Auras you control attached to the targeted creature: The aura remains on the creature as long as you maintain control of both Stealth Mission and the aura, since none of Stealth Mission’s effects interfere with enchantments themselves. Your creature gets the counters, and the aura keeps granting whatever it already granted. The result is a bigger, sneakier beater that still belongs to you—and now it can’t be blocked that turn, too 🧙🔥.
- Auras that grant shroud or protection: If the creature you target is also a creature with shroud or hexproof, you still can choose it with Stealth Mission if you can legally target it. Remember that you must target a creature you control when you cast the spell, and shroud would stop you from targeting that creature with Stealth Mission in the first place. So, timing and targeting choices matter: you can’t simply grab a shrouded creature as your target—the spell’s targeting rule remains strict.
- Auras that alter combat outcomes: Any auras that would modify how combat damage works or alter a creature’s power/toughness interact with the +1/+1 counters. In practice, you can chain the effects: the +2/+2 (via two +1/+1 counters) plus any aura modifiers can push your creature into a robust, unblockable threat by the end of the cast phase, which is exactly the tempo blue loves to squeeze out of a single card.
Artifacts on the battlefield: battlefield buddies or dynamic roadblocks?
- Equipment that attaches to your creature: If your creature is equipped (say with a +2/+2 boost from an artifact weapon), Stealth Mission’s counters effectively compound on top of that boost. You’re stacking incremental value in the same combat step, and the creature becomes an even more frightening beacon of pressure. The separate artifact effects still apply; the counters and the “unblockable this turn” clause work in tandem for a moment of glory ⚔️.
- Artifacts granting shareable benefits or tap effects: Artifacts that tap for mana or create tokens don’t directly interfere with the counters, but they can influence your curve and the number of turns you survive while your stealthy threat is in motion. The beauty here is that Stealth Mission doesn’t require any specific artifact type to function—it simply benefits from the broader artifact-heavy board state you might be building in control or tempo shells.
- Artifacts with static auras or control elements: If an artifact grants an aura or a protective shield, the interaction can become layered. You might be pumping a creature and making it unblockable while your opponent tries to stabilize with removal or a tap/untap effect on other threats. The result is a chess-like sequence where you force trades and slip through for the win 🧭.
Tempo, evasion, and the art of timing
Stealth Mission excels as a tempo tool in blue decks that value early pressure and late-game inevitability. The card’s mana parity and the surprise factor of “unblocked this turn” allow you to push damage while holding up countermagic and tap-down spells for protection. When you couple this with enchantments that grant evasive prowess or artifacts that enable strong combat tricks, you create a cascade of decisions for your opponent. Do they allocate blockers and risk losing a key creature to a sudden counter or removal spell? Do they hold back and risk you pressing for lethal damage next turn? The dynamic is quintessential blue, combining card draw, counterplay, and crisp combat swings 🧙🔥💥.
Lore, flavor, and the Mirage of Espionage
War of the Spark isn’t shy about presenting planeswalkers and masterminds with shadowy motives, and Lazav’s lore quote under Stealth Mission’s flavor text captures the spirit of a Dimir mind game: knowledge is power, and you wield it with precision. The art by Heonhwa Choe brings a brisk, shifty energy to a card that wants you to think several steps ahead. The interplay with enchantments and artifacts amplifies the sense that you’re engineering a stealthy strike—not just a one-turn bluff, but a carefully choreographed sequence that leaves opponents second-guessing their silences and counters 📜🎨.
Practical deck-building notes
- In tempo-focused blue builds, Stealth Mission can function as a value engine in the early to mid-game, especially when you already have a couple of auras or a trusted artifact on a key creature. Use it to push through for damage and draw closer to your late-game plan 🧙♂️.
- Pair with counterspell-heavy protection. If you can shield the targeted creature from removal or disruption while the unblockable effect is online, you create a window where your threat’s power spikes do real work.
- Consider limited formats where you’re drafting a suite of speed-enhancing cards. The two counters are a meaningful boost for a common spell, and the unblockable turn can tilt crucial combat decisions in your favor.
- Be mindful of shroud or hexproof in your meta when selecting targets. If you can legally target a creature you control with Stealth Mission, you’ll maximize its impact without getting tripped up by opponent’s protection layers.
For readers who enjoy marrying collectible magic with practical play, Stealth Mission is a neat study in how a single card can sing when played with the right mix of enchantments and artifacts. It’s a reminder that blue isn’t just about drawing cards; it’s about shaping the battlefield’s tempo, one quiet turn at a time 🧙♀️🎯.
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