Thieves' ToolsHow it works & interactions with other cards

Immediate Riches

When Thieves' Tools enters the battlefield, its triggered ability goes on the stack to create a Treasure token. This token is an artifact that can be sacrificed at any time for one mana of any color. This allows you to potentially play another spell immediately or save the mana for the Equip cost later in the turn.

How Infiltration Works

The primary benefit of Thieves' Tools is making the equipped creature unblockable, but this is conditional on the creature's power. The game checks the creature's power specifically during the declare blockers step. If the creature has a power of 3 or less at the moment your opponent would choose blockers, they cannot assign any creatures to block it.

Timing and Power Shifts

A common mistake is worrying about power buffs after blockers are declared. If your creature is power 3 or less when you move to the declare blockers step, it becomes unblockable. You can then use spells or abilities to increase its power to 4 or more during the declare blockers or combat damage steps, and it will remain unblocked. Conversely, if your creature is already blocked, reducing its power to 3 will not remove the blocker.

When to Deploy

Play Thieves' Tools when you need to trigger 'combat damage to a player' effects or when the board is stalled with high-toughness creatures. Because it provides a Treasure, it is also useful in artifact-heavy strategies or as a way to fix your mana colors in a pinch.

Interaction examples

Generating Mana Momentum

Sol Ring

You can use two mana from a Sol Ring to cast Thieves' Tools. When it enters, you create a Treasure token. You can then immediately sacrifice that Treasure to add one mana of any color, effectively making the Thieves' Tools cost only one mana.

Fixing Colors for Equipment

Arcane Signet

If you have an Arcane Signet and Thieves' Tools on the field, you have excellent mana flexibility. You can tap the Signet for a color in your identity and sacrifice the Treasure from Thieves' Tools for any other color, ensuring you have the two mana required for the Equip ability even if your lands don't match your needs.

Sneaking Past Blockers

Treasure

With Thieves' Tools equipped to a 3/3 creature, you declare an attack. During the declare blockers step, the game sees the creature's power is 3, so the opponent cannot block it. After blockers are bypassed, you could sacrifice a Treasure to cast a spell that boosts your creature's power for extra damage.