Using Embeddings to Group Similar Cards for Eyes of Gitaxias

In TCG ·

Eyes of Gitaxias card art from March of the Machine

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Group Think in a Tankard of Blue: Embeddings and Eyes of Gitaxias

If you’ve ever built a playlist of cards that feel like they were cut from the same cloth, you already know the magic of embeddings—turning a card’s mana cost, color identity, mechanics, and lore into coordinates you can compare and cluster. For a blue spell like Eyes of Gitaxias, those coordinates point to a very specific neighborhood: a thoughtful, tempo-forward **Incubate** engine that doubles as a card draw spell. In the wild world of March of the Machine, this common rarity gem doesn’t roar with flashy finisher text, but it hums with strategic potential 🧙‍♂️🔥. It’s a perfect anchor for illustrating how embeddings help us group similar cards and spot meaningful synergies at a glance 🎯.

Eyes of Gitaxias in a nutshell

  • Mana cost and color: {2}{U} — a classic three-mana blue spell that fits neatly into many control, tempo, and midrange shells.
  • Type and rarity: Sorcery, common. Accessible for budget decks and reliable in long games where every card counts.
  • Core mechanics: Incubate 3 (create an Incubator token with three +1/+1 counters) and Transform this token by paying {2}. It then becomes a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature with those counters. Draw a card as the other half of the spell resolves.
  • Lore and flavor: Flavor text—“No longer bound by the myopic limitations of flesh, Ekken would truly see the realms”—invites players to imagine a blue thirst for perception and control that borders on the arcane. The art by Cristi Balanescu reinforces the sense of icy clarity peering through a shifting reality 🧊🎨.
“Incubate 3” isn’t just a cute line of text; it’s a ticking clock for the board—three counters, three potential turns of transformation, and a layered path to victory that rewards patient planning.

In an embeddings mindset, Eyes of Gitaxias sits near the blue cards that prize card advantage and incremental disruption. It pairs well with other incubate or transform-oriented cards, and it sits comfortably in decks that lean into long games where you want to outdraw and outlast your opponent. The card’s relatively low mana commitment makes it a natural fit for tempo-plus-demand decks that want to deploy a deceptive threat while keeping counterspells or bounce in reserve. And because it’s common, it also serves as a friendly gateway for players who enjoy mapping out a machine-like deck-building strategy without breaking the bank 🧙‍♂️💎.

From features to deck design: leveraging embeddings in real play

Think of an embedding as a mapping from a card’s features to a vector in a high-dimensional space. When you cluster Eyes of Gitaxias with other blue incubate or transform spells, you start noticing patterns: mana costs that happily land on curve, tokens that scale into real value, and the draw engine that extends your lines of play. Here are practical takeaways for applying this concept on your kitchen-table setup:

  • Curves and synergy: Eyes of Gitaxias hits at 3 mana, which sits comfortably after a one-mana cantrip or a two-mana allocation in many blue shells. In an embedding view, it clusters with other efficient cantrips and card-draw enablers, suggesting a tempo-forward arc rather than a pure control finish.
  • Incubate as a design signal: The Incubate mechanic introduces a token that grows with time. In a cluster, it aligns with other token-friendly or artifact-themed spells, signaling a path to midgame inevitability as incubator counters accumulate and the transformed Phyrexian artifact threatens to stabilize the battlefield.
  • Transform dynamics: Transform cards create threats that evolve, a dynamic that rewards planning and resource sequencing. When you map Eyes of Gitaxias against other transform-capable spells, you spot a shared tempo of “play now, transform later, draw later” that can swing games in your favor around turns 4–6 🧩⚔️.
  • Rarity and accessibility: As a common, it’s a reliable inclusion in budget-conscious builds. In embedding terms, common cards often sit near clusters of similar utility, making them ideal anchors for new players learning the space—your own little map legend 🗺️.

Flavor, art, and the tactile side of collecting

Beyond raw numbers, Eyes of Gitaxias offers a glimpse into the evolving Phyrexian saga that fans have tracked across sets. The transform-or-accumulate arc is a microcosm of the set’s broader themes: adaptation, grafting, and a relentless search for enhanced perspective. The artwork captures a cold, calculated gaze—an eye that seems to be peeling back layers of reality—and the flavor text anchors that sense of discovery in a narrative you can point to while explaining why you love this space. It’s a reminder that MTG is as much about storytelling as it is about optimal lines of play 🔥🎨.

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Eyes of Gitaxias

Image/Data © Scryfall

Eyes of Gitaxias

{2}{U}
Sorcery

Incubate 3. (Create an Incubator token with three +1/+1 counters on it and "{2}: Transform this token." It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.)

Draw a card.

No longer bound by the myopic limitations of flesh, Ekken would truly see the realms.

ID: c4303347-3fbd-4bbd-ab3f-e7ddbe0e0a9d

Oracle ID: 7ef6ca6e-a8b8-4ea6-b13d-a08eb847c12d

Multiverse IDs: 607078

TCGPlayer ID: 491744

Cardmarket ID: 704753

Colors: U

Color Identity: U

Keywords: Incubate, Transform

Rarity: Common

Released: 2023-04-21

Artist: Cristi Balanescu

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 17778

Set: March of the Machine (mom)

Collector #: 57

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — legal
  • Timeless — legal
  • Gladiator — legal
  • Pioneer — legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.03
  • USD_FOIL: 0.17
  • EUR: 0.07
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.10
  • TIX: 0.04
Last updated: 2025-11-14