Glint-Sleeve Siphoner – MTG Card Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

It really is too bad that the main thing we remember about Kaladesh right now is the banned cards and the craziness that had to do with tournaments at that time. The fact is, it had a lot of other interesting things in it. There were enough crazy cars and trains to recreate episodes of Top Gear, for one thing; and cards like Glint-Sleeve Siphoner that dealt with energy counters did some cool stuff, even if it could feel bad that you can’t interact with energy as an opponent. The Siphoner is a callback to powerful black cards like Dark Confidant and Phyrexian Arena, but gives you more control over when and how you make the trade, and can just generate energy for other cards if you don’t need to draw extra cards for some reason. Your opponent may not always see it coming if they’re expecting things from larger formats, and it’s a strong reason to go black in energy decks just in general.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

Effectively a Phyrexian Arena for energy…if you have the way to make it happen. On its own, Glint-Sleeve Siphoner will generate one extra card every 2 turns, which is a pretty fair rate of return for a 2-mana creature. It also is a 2/1 with menace, a stat line that lets it pose a threat early and maybe even contribute later. It’s a “fair” energy card (which means it’s not a huge standout, thanks to energy’s reputation as a busted mechanic), but decks that have energy as part of the package will like this, and it also generates value on its own.

Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.75
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.5