Check for Traps MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Released | 2021-07-23 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Adventures in the Forgotten Realms |
| Set code | AFR |
| Number | 92 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Zoltan Boros |
Key Takeaways
- Offers card advantage through potential opponent library disruption and hand information gain.
- Instant speed allows for flexible play and better mana management during opponent turns.
- Demands a black mana focus and has drawbacks such as forcing the player to discard.
Guide to Flash card ability
Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.
Text of card
Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. Exile that card. If an instant card or a card with flash is exiled this way, they lose 1 life. Otherwise, you lose 1 life.
"Relax. I'm a professional."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Check for Traps provides a unique advantage by potentially revealing two cards from the top of your opponent’s library, disturbing their plans and simultaneously building your informational edge.
Resource Acceleration: Should you discover a noncreature, nonland card among those, Check for Traps accelerates your resources by replacing itself with another card from your library—ensuring that your hand remains full and ready to face upcoming challenges.
Instant Speed: The ability to cast Check for Traps at instant speed gives you the flexibility to adapt to the evolving game state. Not only can you disrupt your opponent’s strategy on their turn, but you can also efficiently manage your mana and make decisions with more context from the game’s progression, potentially catching your opponent off-guard.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: When casting Check for Traps, players are required to discard a card, which might deplete their hand, especially when they’re trying to maintain card advantage over their opponents.
Specific Mana Cost: Check for Traps demands a precise mana cost, two black and one of any color, making it a less flexible option for decks not heavily invested in black mana sources.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The three mana needed to play Check for Traps is sizeable when considering other cards in the game that can disrupt opponents’ strategies for a lower cost, potentially putting you behind on board state development.
Reasons to Include Check for Traps in Your Collection
Versatility: Check for Traps offers a nimble solution for players seeking to disrupt opponents by hand manipulation. Its ability to target specific cards makes it adaptable across various situations and matchups, enhancing deck resilience.
Combo Potential: This card plays well with strategies that benefit from knowledge of an opponent’s hand. It can strategically remove combo pieces or threats, laying the groundwork for your own combos to unfold unimpeded.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta teeming with intricate strategies and powerful synergies, Check for Traps provides a direct way to weaken your opponent’s plans. The card thrives against decks that rely on key cards to execute their strategy, making it a timely addition to your arsenal.
How to beat
Check for Traps is a utility spell in Magic: The Gathering that offers players a unique form of interaction with an opponent’s hand. This card allows players to look at their opponent’s hand and choose a nonland card from it. The opponent then has the choice of either discarding that card or suffering a penalty of life points. Despite being a disruption tool in the game, Check for Traps can be circumvented with careful strategy.
To effectively counteract Check for Traps, consider diversifying the threats within your deck. Opt for an array of low to high-value cards that make the choice of discarding less impactful. Additionally, employing cards with graveyard retrieval capabilities can nullify the loss of a discarded card. In the same breath, instant-speed cards that alter a player’s hand composition can shield key pieces from being targeted by such hand disruption spells.
Leveraging these strategies can help mitigate the impact of Check for Traps on your game plan. By spreading the significance of your cards and having recovery methods in place, you maintain a strong position even when facing such targeted disruption from an opponent.
Cards like Check for Traps
Delving into the tactical depths of Magic: The Gathering, Check for Traps emerges as a strategic choice for hand disruption. It’s akin to Duress, a classic option that targets an opponent’s noncreature, nonland card at a lower cost of one black mana. While Duress excels in early game disruption, Check for Traps allows players to target any nonland card for two mana, offering broader flexibility at a slightly higher cost.
On a parallel track lies Thoughtseize, a powerful spell that can extract any card from an opponent’s hand, not just nonland ones. Thoughtseize’s reach comes at the price of two life, a trade-off for its lower mana cost and wider range of disruption. In contrast, Check for Traps also presents the advantage of gaining 2 life if at least four more cards than your starting hand size are in your hand, something neither Duress nor Thoughtseize can claim. Agonizing Remorse is another relative, with the ability to exile cards from the hand or graveyard at the expense of 1 life, bridging the gap between hand attack and graveyard control.
Therefore, Check for Traps positions itself as a form of disruption with particular merit in Magic: The Gathering. It effectively balances cost, flexibility, and added life-gain benefits, making it a valuable card in the right circumstances and deck strategies.
Cards similar to Check for Traps by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Check for Traps MTG card by a specific set like Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Check for Traps and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Check for Traps has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
