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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day
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Image from Wizards.com |
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Mindless Automaton
Exodus Rare
Reviewed March 22, 2004
Constructed: 2.8
Casual: 3.1
Limited: 2.4
Ratings are
based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ...
average.
5 is the highest rating
Click here to see all
our
Card of the Day Reviews
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Chris
Gerhardt
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game store owner in CA,
ShuffleAndCut.com |
Wow... this is
retardedly good in Arcbound deck! (eg:
see
Arcbound Overseer,
Arcbound Ravager &
Arcbound Bruiser). Since, when an
Arcbound creature (a creature with Modular) dies, it gets to put it's
counters on another creature, you just shift them
to Mindless Automaton and you get to draw cards.
Nice. This is seriously amazing. Now repeat after
me; "Card advantage wins games." If you're playing
a casual Arcbound deck, this is a must include!
In other play, it's
basically trade 2 in my hand for drawing 1. In
limited, it's not horrible filler.
Constructed:
3
Casual: 4.5 (Arcbound decks)
Limited: 3
Current Price:
Mindless
Automaton $1.41
Arcbound
Overseer $5.66
Arcbound
Ravager $26.95
Arcbound
Bruiser $0.19
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Judge
Bill
*Level 2
MTG Judge
*game store employee
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Mindless Automaton
An old school card for contrrol decks, this let
you sacrifice two bad cards
for one new good one, and it is in itself a
cantrip, as if it resolves, it
can replace itself by removing both counters.
These days though, it has been obsoleted in any
format that it can be played
(save block conctructed) by Compulsion. I never
found myself wanting more
than 4 Compulsions, so I don't know why I would
want to play this.
If you've got a deck that moves around counters
like mad (Power Conduit,
maybe?) then this might be a good casual card. I
don't see it though.
In limited, it's a body, but Tempest limited was
often dominated by shadow,
so this wasn't as good. Still playable as a
cantrip though.
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 2
Limited: 2.5 |
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX)
* pro tour player
* Scrye writer since 2002 |
Mindless Automaton
I really want to
like this card but I can't. I personally only
know of one deck that was any good with this
card at all. It had some uses in its own block
format, but not much else.
In limited play, I
guess I would used it, but it wouldn't be a high
choice. Casual players would just turn their
head at this card, since you can get a lot more
for your mana.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 2
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Jeff Zandi
5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
Level 2 Judge |
Mindless Automaton
Modular, schmodular! Mindless Automaton probably
SHOULD have been reprinted in the current
“artifact block”. This artifact creature would
work great with the stack, putting damage on the
stack in combat in order to kill a creature before
relinquishing its precious life-giving +1/+1
counters to let you draw cards. In constructed,
Mindless Automaton was a favorite in a few combo
decks focused around artifacts. Very cool.
CONSTRUCTED: 3.5
CASUAL: 3.5
LIMITED: 3.5
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Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer
*Game Store Owner (Gamer's Edge) |
Mindless Automaton
Mindless Automaton has
been used in many decks, and while 4 for a 2/2
seems costly, his ability makes him worth having,
and his synergy with so many different decks and
types makes him one of the most versatile cards
ever made. My good friend Tim has also pointed out
that, for casual games, this guy is stunningly
good with the Arc Bound creatures from Dark Steel.
Constructed:
4
Casual:
4
Limited:
3
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Jason
Matthews
* Level 1 DCI
Judge
*game store employee
* gaming for over 15 years |
Mindless Automaton I
really like this guy. His abilities are pretty
cool and I could see playing him in a madness
driven deck. He makes a pretty solid pick in a
draft and I was back playing when he was in
constructed but I know that the metagame was
pretty mean so I don’t think I would have used him
that much. The card draw is pretty good
considering that if you have to he can replace
himself immediately by just removing his two
counters when he comes into play. You add this guy
into the current standard and he could really go
well with a modular heavy deck.
Constructed 2.5
Casual 3.5
Limited 3.5 |
Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Mindless Automaton
Ah, Otto the
Automaton, how I knew thee well. This guy worked
nicely with Necro, providing an outlet for any
extra cards you might need to discard during your
end step. I wonder how much play he might have
seen if he had been included with the Madness and
Threshold cards in Odyssey block (yoiks!).
Regardless, he was a fringe character, but solid
enough to creep into a deck here and there.
This guy combos
fantastically with the new Modular mechanic from
Darksteel. I have a friend who sports a casual
deck with four of these and a whole bunch of
Modular creatures; he has a great time in group
games with it. Recurring him also makes for a
good time, either with Corpse Dance or just with
Oversold Cemetery. He’s a lot of fun, and is a
fine use of a card in Mental Magic, serving as
both a Madness outlet and generating occasional
card advantage. Don’t be ashamed to use him with
a 4cc artifact.
His primary problem in
limited was being in a block in which the curve
really capped at three or four a lot of the time.
Discarding stuff to him was never really an option
because you probably just didn’t have a lot of
cards in hand. Regardless, he always managed to
replace himself, at the very least, and could
occasionally be a monster.
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 4.0
Limited: 2.5
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Chase
Secret Squirrel
on the
Pojo.com
Message
Boards |
Mindless Automaton
Where have I seen this mechanic before? Oh yeah,
Thopter Squadron, Pentavus and various Arcbound
creatures running around today. Is it good? Not
really. Card disadvantage + mana for more cards
isn’t the best thing. It is reusable but I don’t
want to spend my mana on this.
In Casual, why would I want to discard cards
for more cards? If I wanted more cards, I’d play
the engines themselves.
In Limited, it’s reusable card advantage
which aint so bad. But it has a heavy cost.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 2
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