Pointed Discussion

in an artifact deck this is one of the most powerful cards in the game. she can copy ANY effect of any artifact or creature... even meaning some of the most powerful artifact and creatures in the game. sure her effects wear off when you draw that card, but the advantage is no matter what card it is, she still probably gains it's benefits. she even takes advantage of artifact lands, if you need the mana.

This card might seem powerfull, but when you realize that you are playing with your hand on the table (because your opponent get to see every card that you draw), it loses a lot of its attractive power... especially if you play counterspells.

I'm goping to have to disagree with your combos, demonic angel. It works so much better with things that actually have activated abilities.

It doesn't benefit from static abilities.

Please realize that this card not only reveals all the cards that you draw, but it only gives Skill Borrower activated abilities of artifact and creature cards on top of your library.

Here's a list of some of the times when Skill Borrower's effect doesn't benefit it:
- When you have a land, sorcery, instant, enchantment, or planeswalker (that's 5 out of 7 card types).
- When you have an artifact or creature that doesn't have an activated ability (and a lot of them do).
- When you have an artifact or creature with an activated ability that isn't useful right then or you can't pay for it.

So even if you jam pack your deck full of artifacts and creatures with activated abilities, you're still only looking at Skill Borrower being useful approximately 5% of the time or less.

However, if you have a way to put a specific card on the top of your library, it might be good, but that's a lot of work just to get a mediocre effect that also removes any element of surprise from your deck.

I believe this is definitely an underrated card. While I will agree it can be hard to use and does give away the element of surprise, there are many sick combinations that this card can produce. One such combination that I have come up with is with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and any card that untaps all of your creatures like To Arms! or Vitalize. That spells game over.

Combo with Wall of Blood.

Liliana Vess and this card are best friends.

(Squished undertentacle by Quicksilver Elemental.)

I think this is a stupid question but would skill borrower gain abilities like exalted or wither?

Gigantomancer.

I used this once when a dispeller's capsule came up and sacced skill borrower to destroy an enchantment.

But yeah, unless there's some sick combo I'm not seeing here, the card can, at best, give you one more of whatever one-time use artifact you may want to fire off, like scourglass.

I can't see it as being extraordinarily worth it, though. It'd be awesome in a circumstance where an activated ability on a card is AMAZING, but the card itself has a high mana cost. Even then, you only get it for a single turn, unless you're using Jace, the Mind Sculptor to keep that card on the top of your deck.

My friend uses this with door to nothingness.

hm , Level up is an activated ability. Has a small limited use with Brimstone mage

combos with storm crow

really unfortunate that it cannot copy planeswalker abilities, they are neither creature nor artifacts

Godsire, Elvish Piper, Avatar of Woe, Arcanis the Omnipotent a few strong activated abilities, who needs surprise

p.s. don't forget that you can activate a card's ability the turn it becomes the top card of your library, and the upkeep of the next turn before you draw the card

I love running this in my black/blue deck with Arcanis the Omnipotent, Visara the Dreadful, Gilded Lotus, Quicksilver Amulet, Alexi, Zephyr Mage, Royal As sas sin and Darksteel Pendant

She has an uber ability probably 35% of the time and at early game that means a lot...

Yes, this where I Mind Control your Skill Borrower, and then scrye a Chaos Confetti to the top of my library.

oops, sorry about your rare.

That really depends on the skillity of the players to be honest

I was sorting through some of my no-longer-standard cards today, and noticed Skill Borrower, a card I've never given much consideration to. But as I mostly play casual these days, it seems like a fun, quirky card that appeals to my combo nature. Off the top of my head she has some nice synergy with Sensei's Diving Top, making sure that the top card of your library is one you want to keep using. There are plenty of very high cost creatures that she could take advantage of too. Off the top of my head, Avatar of Woe (and she'd pave the way for a cheaper casting of the real Avatar too) and Godsire. Nothing spectacular, but combo potential is certainly there. And she's in color for Jace TMS too, making for more forced top card shenanigans.

@Guest149029etc. - unfortunately, the *only* activated ability that the Brimstone Mage (or any other level up creature for that matter) is the actual level up ability itself. Their other abilities are static abilities - for example, in the case of Brimstone Mage, it has a static ability that says "As long as this creature has 1 or 2 level up counters on it, it gains the ability "tap: Brimstone Mage deals 1 damage to target creature or player"" and another static ability that says "As long as this creature has 3 or more level up counters on it, it gains the ability "tap: Brimstone Mage deals 3 damage to target creature or player"". So essentially, you can put level up counters on Skill Borrower, but without something like Mirrorweave they're pretty useless.

@Vinifera

It doesn't matter how many cards have been printed that don't meet skill borrower's qualifications. It only matters how many cards are in your deck that don't meet the qualifications. If you jam pack you deck full of creatures and artifacts with activated abilities (say roughly 1/2 your deck) then if you have skill borrower out you have a 50% chance of having a creature or artifact with an activated ability on top.

i'd tap that

This card is an incredibly powerful combo enabler in search of a combo to be paired with. Unfortunately, I cannot find that combo.

With a Myr Propagator on top, you can pump out a few copies of her, and then when you finally land on your Arcanis, the Omnipotent or Dominating Licid it becomes all that much better.

@zerosavant : To which your opponent replies: "Yeah, sorry about your face, too." Jerk.

@zerosavant His fault for bringing a card he cared about to a game with silver-bordered cards, really.

Demonic Hordes or Minion of Leshrac, and some way to skip or undo draws...

Especially great with cards that have drawbacks beside their activated abilities that she won't 'learn'!
E.g. Puppet Conjurer, Ovinomancer, Musician. Yeah, weird examples. Merieke beats these ;)

I mentioned Wizards since I'd consider playing her in a tribal deck.

Obstinate Familiar, Sylvan Library, Information Dealer and Sensei's Divining Top keep your desired card on top.

Survivor of the Unseen allows putting a card in your hand on top.
(Also nice with Maralen)

You can then protect her with Sylvan Safekeeper, Sighted-Caste Sorcerer, Cephalid Inkshrouder (and make her unblockable) or... Morphling :D

Cryptic Gateway, Azami, Patron Wizard, Wizard Replica, Meloku the Clouded Mirror and Riku of Two Reflections are good since you can use their abilities immediately.
Especially Riku can be pretty awesome as top card, and synergizes with the Gateway.

With the first three of these cards out, Crackleburr will be devasting!
And you can even get it with Flamekin Harbinger.
(Puresight Merrow does a good job here as well - also first-hand on the field.)

The advantage when using her in a tribal deck is that all cards that work with her also work with the other cardsas well 'naturally'.

Here are some with abilities (unfortunately you'll have to wait a turn for these):
Arcanis, Niv-Mizzet, Ith, High Arcanist, Skyward Eye Prophets, Dralnu, Lich Lord, various wizards from the Magus cycle, Serendib Sorcerer, Mangara of Corondor, Alphetto Alchemist, Fatestitcher.

If you want to use her with a specific card, you should put it there with cards like Enlightened Tutor or Worldly Tutor.

Academy Ruins or Volrath's Stronghold are handy lands here.

These look interesting...:
Myr Propagator/Kiki-Jiki for duplication, Shauku, Endbringer/Avatar of Woe/Visara for creature removal, Demonic Hordes/Helldozer to destroy lands, Minion of Leshrac for both, Gigantomancer/Thriss, Nantuko Primus to turn creatures into 8/8 for or once give +5/+5 for ueot, Godsire for 8/8 tokens, Infernal Denizen to take control of creatures, Kuro, Pitlord to shrink creatures for life points, Patron of the Moon to put lands otb, Patron of the Orochi to untap forests/green stuff, Sanguine Praetor for some engineered explosives-esque creature removal, Tariel, Reckoner of Souls for her random reanimation, Elvish Aberration/Gilded Lotus/...Witch Engine for 3+ mana, Composite Golem for recycling, Hammerfist Giant for a 4-power earth quake, Kamahl, Pit Fighter for 3 damage. Kalitas. Mirror Universe. Cauldron of Souls. Scourglass.

What does seem very powerful with her though is Phyrexian Devourer if you can reduce her power in time. This can be done with Serendib Sorcerer or Vedalken Anatomist for example, or if you happen to find (Jodah's) Avenger, Cinderhaze Wretch or Devoted Druid beneath: Since the state trigger isn't copied, you can exile the devourer, then active the ability of the avenger or the druid, and then let the devourers ability resolve. The ability will check the power and notice it's just 6, and you'll keep your 6/8 power woman (with some other nice abilities)

You can ensure this works by casting Insidious Dreams or Congregation at Dawn.
Devourer on top, reduction enabler of choice next, and third when casting CaD maybe Gilder Bairn, Solarion, Spincrusher, or Sisters of Stone Death.

So, so underplayed. Hey, combos with Jace, the Mindsculptor to Brainstorm sweet artifacts or creatures onto your library.

......yeah, I'd do her.


Use with Oracle of Mul Daya if you like win-win situations. :)

Anyone notice the art mismatch? This is an artifact creature with a very Esper-ish ability, but the art is clearly of a Bantian. She's even doing Green magic, bringing forth a vine. I think WotC got their wires crossed on this one!

Ummm...Time vault?

correct me if im wrong but cant u combo skill borrower with stoneforge mystic and/or squadron hawk considering skill borrower abillity activates instantly allowing u to reveal stoneforge and since u just cast it to the battle feild wouldnt it allow u to use stoneforges abillity to grab an equipment for just entering play and the same go's for squadron hawk.in other words creatures with abillitys that are activated by being played from the hand would skill borrower be able to use them considering its abillity activates as soon as u play it allowing u to have stoneforges or squadron hawks abillity to activate from skill borrower just being played? i would really like to know becuase it is pretty good card if u can use creatures abillitys that are activated from being casted from the hand.

@Reaper420: Unfortunately not. An activated ability is an ability that follows the layout : . So, for example, Master Transmuter has an activated ability, while Squadron Hawk doesn't. Stoneforge Mystic *does* have an activated ability, but it's the second ability only that Skill Borrower could use.

For what it's worth, Squadron Hawk's ability and Stoneforge Mystic's first ability are called *triggered* abilites, as they take place when something else happens (or triggers them :P). This includes any ability that says "When enters the battlefield/comes into play" etc. There's a final kind of ability called replacement , but generally, if you treat them like triggered, you won't go too far wrong.

tl;dr? If it has "Cost" "Colon" "Effect" then it's activated, otherwise Skill Borrower is SOOL.

The obvious combo I can see is with Solitary Confinement and something like Godsire already on top of your library. Or Words of Waste or any of that cycle (in play, not on top!)

If they reprint this card, I DEMAND that the art be a guy and look like MacGyver.

This card is NOT best friends with Vess or any other planeswalker, because they are planeswalkers, not artifacts or creatures!

Unless they ever make an artifact planeswalker. I could see Tezzeret going that direction.

@RunedServitor: It works with Liliana. The card she tutors up is put on top of your library so you can get whatever ability you need.

@ Irandrura "Anyone notice the art mismatch? "

There's no art mismatch. She's summoning a vine, because she's a Skill Borrower. She's borrowing that skill from a bantian. Wizard's didn't get their wires crossed, they executed flavor brilliantly.

That aside, look closely, she's definitely partial etherium, look at right shoulder and left wrist in paticular.

tech with Sensei's Divining Top. With a top out and a non-summoning sick Skill Borrower, the borrower is almost un-killable. Tap the top, draw put it on top, now the borrower can do it too. About to eat a Terminate? Top to the rescue!

The only card I've seen in a while that makes divining top even better than it is already.

So... Essence of the Wild + a few creatures = Skill Borrowing legion?

Please note, this won't combo with walkers. The card says "artifact or creature card".

I like how this interacts with Havengul Lich. Besides, they probably both want to be in the same kind of deck.