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A Sneaky Blue Loop with Kitesail Larcenist and Graveyard Recursion
Blue, the color of calculated finesse and precise reads of the battlefield, just got a touch sneakier with Kitesail Larcenist in the mix. This rare from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is a three-mana flier with a surprisingly punishing ETB effect: for each player, you may pick up to one other artifact or creature that player controls, and those permanents become Treasure artifacts whose only job is to generate mana when sacrificed. While the spell-slinging nerf-bite of blue often hides behind countermagic, Larcenist invites you to a different kind of tempo—one where every treasure gained is a little more control, and a lot more option. 🧙♂️🔥
The card’s stats—2 power, 3 toughness, flying, and ward {1}—mean it’s not just a one-and-done setup. It can pressure a board, dodge a few removal spells, and still hand you the keys to a victory turn. The real trick, though, is how you leverage its ETB to enable a graveyard-recursion plan that can keep your blue engine humming long after the initial cast. In a world of stax, flicker, and flash, Larcenist wears a conspirator’s smile: it makes your opponents’ artifacts into mana while you quietly stack a second, deeper play into the graveyard. ⚔️🎨
What Kitesail Larcenist Brings to the Table
- Versatile mana ramp via Treasure生成. You can choose your own artifacts or creatures to transform, letting you tailor the mana you generate for the moment—whether you’re paying for a big spell or fueling a recursive loop.
- Defensive cushion with ward {1}. That tempo hit buys you time to set up your graveyard recursion plan, especially in longer games where control and planning matter more than sheer speed. 🧙♂️
- Strong stat-line for blue tempo at 2/3 with flying means it can trade with a surprising range of ground blockers while keeping the air clear for your plan to unfold.
- Set-up for recursion-friendly decks by design: you’re not just building a one-shot; you’re enabling a repeatable ETB effect that you can re-enter from the graveyard with the help of blue’s toolkit.
“A well-timed Larcenist can flip a game: you siphon treasure, unlock a cascade of plays, and set up a perpetual motion of card advantage and mana.” — a blue mage’s note from the pewter-tinted depths of Ixalan
Graveyard Recursion: The Engine Behind the Loop
Graveyard recursion is the hidden backbone of a lot of blue strategies, and Larcenist gives it a direct, practical flavor. The idea is simple in theory: keep reloading the battlefield with the Larcenist itself or with other value creatures and artifacts, then re-enter with its ETB ability again and again. Each re-entry can “reset” your Treasure generation in a way that compounds over time, especially when you’ve put a few cheap, recurrent threats into the graveyard or pulled them back into play via blue's recursion suite. 🧭
From a play-pattern perspective, you’re aiming for a cycle like this: cast Larcenist, trigger its ETB, and choose your own artifact or creature to become a Treasure. Use those Treasures to fuel your next spell(s)—and then, through a blue recursion plan, return Larcenist to the battlefield or return an essential piece from your graveyard back into your hand or onto the battlefield. The result is a multi-turn engine that scales with the number of Treasures you’ve generated, offering you options to cast more draw, bounce effects, or counterspells as you see fit. The key is to be mindful of opponents’ options; turning their permanents into Treasures can tilt the table, so you’ll often want to target your own artifacts first, or at least maintain control of the mana pipeline. 💎
In practice, the combo-friendly space here benefits from a blue “recursion package”—cards and effects that help you move a card from graveyard back to hand or battlefield, re-triggering the Larcenist approach. You’re not locked into a single line; you can mix flicker-lite strategies, value cantrips, and a few targeted reanimates to rebuild after a removal war. The net effect is a deck that plays as a surgical, tempo-rich blue shell, with the graveyard as a second library waiting to be tapped. 🔄
Practical Shell: Building for Both Momentum and Resilience
If you’re drafting a deck around this concept, here are practical levers to pull without losing the flavor of blue control and graveyard resilience:
- Include a few low-cost, repeatable blue effects that can recur from the graveyard or hand. These help you keep pressure on the table even after Larcenist leaves the battlefield.
- Put a modest count of mana rocks or early accelerants so your first few turns aren’t hampered by a fragile ramp line. The Treasure-mania becomes real once you hit your third or fourth turn.
- Balance your ETB timing with targeted draw spells. You want to see Larcenist recur as promptly as possible, while also maintaining the hand size to avoid stalling on turns you need to push through a big play.
- Be mindful of your opponents’ potential to use the transformed Treasures too. If possible, tailor your ETB targets to favor your board state more than theirs, ensuring you stay ahead in the mana race.
- Include ways to protect your engine—counterspells, bounce effects, and a couple of card-draw engines keep your hand fresh while you assemble the loop.
Flavorful and practical, this approach sits at a happy intersection of tempo, resource building, and late-game inevitability. It embodies blue’s love of control while giving it a tangible, Treasure-rich payoff that can escalate quickly with the right graveyard recursion backbone. And yes, the thrill of seeing the board flip in your favor as a wave of Treasures floods the field is part of the joy here. 🧙♂️🔥
A Note on Lore, Card Design, and Collector Value
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan continues the Ixalan saga’s tradition of swashbuckling pirates and buried treasure, with Larcenist’s design leaning into the faction’s love of fast tempo and resourcefulness. The card art, courtesy of Sidharth Chaturvedi, captures the sly gleam of a pirate who knows the value of every coin—and every artifact—on the table. For collectors, the rare status of this nonfoil/foil capable card from a modern set adds a touch of excitement to any blue-focused or artifact-rich deck. The balance of flying offense, ward protection, and a unique ETB ritual makes it a memorable pivot point in many decks that want to mix tempo with graveyard resilience. 🎨⚔️
As you build toward a deck that leverages graveyard recursion with the Larcenist as the engine, you’ll find it pays to keep an eye on the broader ecosystem of blue control and artifact-based ramp. The combination isn’t just flashy; it reflects a long-running MTG truth: the most elegant plays often come from turning seemingly ordinary pieces into a coordinated machine that outpaces the opposition turn after turn. 🧙♂️🎲
If you’re curious to explore a ready-to-play option that leans into this approach, consider checking out decklists that blend recursion and treasure production. And while you’re at it, for fans who like to keep their game gear as stylish as their strategy, the Neon Card Holder Phone Case—MagSafe compatible for iPhone 13 and Galaxy S21/22—offers a slick way to carry your favorite card images and stay organized on the go. It’s a small, stylish nod to the game we all love—where every card can be a doorway to a moment of magic. 🔥