Canal Courier MTG Card

Canal Courier shines in generating card advantage and ensuring a steady resource flow in-game. It provides versatility and resilience, becoming a robust addition to decks focused on combat damage. However, its higher mana cost and specific color restriction may limit its use in diverse strategies.

Canal Courier - Conspiracy: Take the Crown

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Rogue
Released	2016-08-26
Set symbol
Set name	Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Set code	CN2
Power	3
Toughness	5
Number	28
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Raymond Swanland

Text of card

When Canal Courier enters the battlefield, you become the monarch. Whenever Canal Courier and another creature attack different players, Canal Courier can't be blocked this combat.

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Cards like Canal Courier

Canal Courier brings a unique touch to creature cards in Magic: The Gathering with its combination of capabilities. When looking at other cards that offer similar functionalities, one can’t help but draw parallels with the likes of Jhessian Thief. Both creatures possess the ability to generate card advantage through combat, with Jhessian Thief drawing cards whenever it deals combat damage to a player. Yet, Canal Courier offers the additional upside of potentially becoming unblockable when it carries a counter.

Similarly, Stealer of Secrets stands in the same family, rewarding players with card draw after a successful attack. Where Canal Courier distinguishes itself is the innate resilience given by the hexproof condition once it has a counter, which isn’t something Stealer of Secrets can boast about. This makes Canal Courier a more robust choice in environments saturated with targeted removal. On a beefier note, Rogue’s Gloves provides an equipment alternative for repeated card draw, requiring successful strikes to activate. Nonetheless, Canal Courier remains a more integrated option, having the card draw built into the creature’s function without any additional mana investment post-casting.

Delving into this array of options showcases Canal Courier’s strength in the MTG universe. It deftly combines combat-driven card advantage with enhanced survivability, a blend that is well-suited for both defensive and aggressive strategies.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the notable strengths of Canal Courier is its capacity to generate card advantage in the long game. Upon connecting with an opponent, it allows you to draw a card, which can provide a consistent flow of resources and an upper hand against your adversary.

Resource Acceleration: On top of the card draw, Canal Courier offers resource acceleration by enabling you to create clues that can be cashed in for extra cards. This way, it not only sustains your momentum but also helps you dig deeper into your deck for key spells and answers.

Instant Speed: The icing on the cake is the creature’s instant-speed ability to become unblockable. This allows you to catch opponents off-guard, slipping past defenders at critical moments, which can often shift the tide of the match in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Canal Courier’s connive ability may come at a price, as leveraging this to draw requires the player to discard, a trade-off that can be risky when your hand is your valuable arsenal.

Specific Mana Cost: Locking its playability in decks that incorporate blue mana can be restrictive, limiting the card’s versatility across the diverse realm of MTG strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that leans towards the higher end, Canal Courier competes with other powerhouse cards that might offer greater impact or immediate board presence for the same investment.

Reasons to Include Canal Courier in Your Collection

Versatility: Canal Courier is a flexible card that can slide into a variety of decks. Its role as a blocker with a potential card advantage can be invaluable, especially in limited formats like draft or sealed.

Combo Potential: When equipped with artifacts or benefiting from other cards that reward you for dealing combat damage to a player, Canal Courier can generate significant value and synergize with various strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where slower, more controlling decks are prevalent, Canal Courier can shine by surviving common removal spells while offering a continuous threat that must be answered.

How to beat Canal Courier

Canal Courier, a creature card in MTG, presents players with a unique challenge thanks to its robust combination of evasion and card advantage when it connects with an opponent. The card gains significance in longer games where attrition can determine the victor. To effectively counter this card, one should consider removing it before it has the chance to equip itself with the notorious clues that aid in drawing extra cards.

Strategies vary from direct removal spells to circumventing its hexproof capability once it has a clue. Cast removal spells like Doom Blade or Path to Exile early to handle the Canal Courier before it becomes a more significant problem. If it’s too late for that, board wipes such as Day of Judgment become invaluable. Moreover, utilizing bounce spells can reset the board state, stripping away those critical clues and reducing the card’s impact on the game. Another angle is to decrease its combat effectiveness through cards that alter combat math, such as those imposing penalties to attack or block, like Ensnaring Bridge, making it harder for the Courier to fulfill its role.

Timing and the right counters are essential in mitigating the advantages Canal Courier brings to the table, keeping the game in your favor and preventing your opponent from leveraging its benefits.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Canal Courier MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown, 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 Canal Courier and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Canal Courier has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Canal Courier card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2016-08-23	Abilities that trigger whenever you “become the monarch” trigger only if you aren’t already the monarch. For example, if you are already the monarch as Custodi Lich enters the battlefield, its last ability won’t trigger.
2016-08-23	Attacking a planeswalker isn’t the same thing as attacking a player. Both Canal Courier and the other creature must attack different players for the last ability to trigger.
2016-08-23	Being the monarch carries two inherent triggered abilities. “At the beginning of the monarch’s end step, that player draws a card” and “Whenever a creature deals combat damage to the monarch, its controller becomes the monarch.”
2016-08-23	If the triggered ability that causes the monarch to draw a card goes on the stack, and a different player becomes the monarch before that ability resolves, the first player will still draw the card.
2016-08-23	The game starts with no monarch. Once an effect makes one player the monarch, the game will have exactly one monarch from that point forward.