It seems like a good idea, since it
automatically becomes the best creature on the
board-- possibly for cheaper than that creature.
If you can bounce it, you could even trade up in
theory after it gets outclassed. But here's the
problem-- while it'll always be as good as the
best creature on the board, it'll never be the
best creature on the board. If you copy an
opponent's creature, you've managed to close the
gap but you still need to overtake him. If you
copy one of your own, well, you were probably
already winning on board presence. It's a good
card, but somehow it's never quite good enough.
Clone can be a difficult card to assess, which
may be part of the reason we don't seem to have
done it until now! Its most common use has often
been its most obvious one: copying creatures
like Mulldrifter to double up their
comes-into-play abilities. However, it's also
been used to destroy legendary creatures, and as
part of elaborate and sometimes not so obvious
combinations with creatures like Reveillark and
Protean Hulk. Try it out, and see what works
best for you.
Welcome back readers today's care of the day has
existed since the inception of Magic and has
strangely never been reviewed here. In standard
its a real niche card most of the time you want
to play your own threats not cards that rely on
opponents good creatures or other creatures you
control, overall it hasn't seen much competitive
action in a while. In extended and eternal the
same applies, more versatile and powerful shape
shifters see play a particular renegade one as
well as Volrath's. In casual and multiplayer
this is a versatile and popular card, the
ability to copy and kill a legendary creature or
just copy the biggest threat on the board,
provides interesting moments. In limited it can
be conditional legendary creature kill or just
turn into the biggest threat to swing or deter
opponents I wouldn't pick highly but if your in
blue.
Today's card of the day is Clone which for four
mana can come into play as a copy of any
creature on the battlefield. This is a
very useful, if obviously situational, effect
that can be used on your own or an opponent's
creature to press an advantage or even the odds
respectively. Good in all formats without
really standing out and quite solid when used on
a lord card to boost an army or on a large
creature with Flying or Trample.
For Limited being able to copy the biggest
creature in play can be a bargain provided there
is something of at least four mana or more in
play, which is fairly likely. Using it to
balance an opponent's creature is a temporary
measure at best, but combined with some form of
removal or enhancement leads to a solid
advantage. Despite being a bit dependent
on having a creature available there's almost no
situation where this is a bad topdeck, so Clone
is a good first pick in draft and an easy
inclusion for Sealed. One Blue in the
casting cost makes it easy to play in a deck
featuring multiple colors, so your options
remain quite open for other colors as needed.
In Multiplayer it is almost a sure thing that
someone will have something you will want to
copy and this is great way to play the table.
An added benefit to using Clone in this format
is that unlike playing a new creature the Clone
player gains no additional attention from the
table for playing something familiar.
