Lady Octopus, Inspired InventorHow it works & interactions with other cards

Harnessing Ingenuity

Lady Octopus features a triggered ability that triggers whenever you draw your first or second card each turn. Each time this happens, she receives an ingenuity counter. Note that this counts the first card you draw in your draw step as well as additional draws. If you draw two cards at once, the ability triggers twice, and she gains two counters. However, drawing a third, fourth, or fifth card in a single turn will not provide any additional counters.

Casting Without Cost

The activated ability of Lady Octopus allows you to tap her to cast an artifact spell from your hand for free. The restriction is that the spell's mana value must be less than or equal to the number of ingenuity counters currently on her. You cast the spell during the resolution of this ability, meaning you follow all normal timing rules for casting, except you ignore the mana cost. If you choose not to cast anything as the ability resolves, you cannot save the effect for later in the turn.

Strategic Considerations

A common mistake is forgetting that Lady Octopus can gain counters on opponents' turns. If an effect causes you to draw cards during an opponent's turn, she will still gain ingenuity counters for the first and second card drawn that turn. Additionally, remember that if a spell has {X} in its mana cost, X is considered 0 when determining if its mana value fits within your current counter count.

Interaction examples

A Quick Start

Ornithopter of Paradise

During your draw step, you draw your first card of the turn. This triggers Lady Octopus, and she receives one ingenuity counter. You can now tap Lady Octopus to cast Ornithopter of Paradise from your hand without paying its mana cost, as its mana value of 2 is not yet met, but at 1 counter you could cast an artifact with mana value 0 or 1. If you wait until you draw a second card, you can cast the Ornithopter easily.

Multi-Turn Genius

Faerie Mastermind

With Faerie Mastermind on the battlefield, an opponent draws their second card, causing you to draw a card. Since this is your first draw of that opponent's turn, Lady Octopus gains an ingenuity counter. Later, you activate Faerie Mastermind's ability to make everyone draw. This is your second draw of that turn, giving Lady Octopus another counter. You have now rapidly increased her power without it even being your turn.