Case of the Shifting Visage MTG Card

Gain an edge with card selection and mana efficiency for impactful, earlier plays, elevating your strategic gameplay. Balance its casting challenges against its flexibility and utility across various deck archetypes and strategies. Understand its competitive value and its transformative abilities to adeptly navigate the evolving MTG meta.

Case of the Shifting Visage - Murders at Karlov Manor Commander

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment — Case
Abilities	Surveil
Released	2024-02-09
Set symbol
Set name	Murders at Karlov Manor Commander
Set code	MKC
Number	19
Frame	2015
Layout	Case
Border	Black
Illustred by	Chris Seaman

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, surveil 1. To solve — There are fifteen or more cards in your graveyard. (If unsolved, solve at the beginning of your end step.) Solved — Whenever you cast a nonlegendary creature spell, copy that spell. (The copy becomes a token.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Case of the Shifting Visage allows for a subtle yet powerful form of card selection by having the player seek a nonland card among the top three cards of their library, thereby keeping their hand stocked with relevant choices during gameplay.

Resource Acceleration: Besides digging for answers or key pieces, this card also permits the casting of the chosen nonland card with a cost reduction, effectively stretching your mana further and allowing for potentially game-changing plays earlier than expected.

Instant Speed: Being playable at instant speed, Case of the Shifting Visage provides flexibility, allowing players to wait until the most opportune moment to cast it, be it for snatching the perfect card just before their turn or in response to an opponent’s action.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Case of the Shifting Visage necessitates discarding a card, which might deplete your hand and reduce your strategic options, especially if you’re already at a card disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a defined combination of mana types to cast, which could be restrictive for decks that don’t easily generate the necessary colors or that operate on a tight mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the ability to transform into different creatures can be useful, the mana cost for activating this feature can be quite steep relative to other transformative or versatile cards in the game, potentially slowing down your overall game plan.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Case of the Shifting Visage offers flexibility in gameplay, allowing for creative uses in a broad spectrum of decks. With the ability to manipulate identity, it’s a wildcard that can adapt to various situations and serve multiple roles in your strategies.

Combo Potential: This card has inherent synergy with strategies that benefit from shifting characteristics, such as clone effects or shapeshifters. It can become a critical piece in combo setups, turning the tides by mimicking powerful abilities or unexpected threats.

Meta-Relevance: Given its chameleon-like nature, Case of the Shifting Visage fits well into a constantly evolving metagame. It’s a tactical asset that can answer to prevalent deck themes and align with the current demands of competitive play, ensuring its usefulness in diverse gaming environments.

How to beat

Case of the Shifting Visage introduces a shroud of mystery in MTG games as a card that can continuously swap identities, always keeping opponents guessing. Overcoming this adaptive enchantment requires a strategic approach, focusing not just on the card itself but on the underlying mechanics that enable its shapeshifting antics. It’s an unpredictable card by design, so the best method to tackle it is through diligent board control and removal of potential threats before they can leverage the card’s transformative nature.

Utilizing spells that force the opponent to sacrifice enchantments or employing creatures with capabilities to bypass its elusive attributes can turn the tides in your favor. Additionally, integrating cards into your deck that counteract or nullify activated abilities can severely limit the effectiveness of Case of the Shifting Visage, stripping it of its capability to disrupt your gameplan. Keep in mind that timing is critical; an early neutralization can prevent the snowballing of threats that this card can present when left unchecked on the battlefield.

Indeed, while Case of the Shifting Visage can be a formidable foe, a well-prepared player with a deck designed to manage and negate variable threats can maintain control and pave the way to victory.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Case of the Shifting Visage MTG card by a specific set like Murders at Karlov Manor Commander, 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 Case of the Shifting Visage and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Case of the Shifting Visage has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2024-02-02	Any choices made when the spell resolves won’t have been made yet when it’s copied. Any such choices will be made separately when the copy resolves.
2024-02-02	Being solved is not part of a permanent’s copiable values. A permanent that becomes a copy of a solved Case is not solved. A solved Case that somehow becomes a copy of a different Case stays solved.
2024-02-02	Cases don’t lose their other abilities when they become solved.
2024-02-02	Each Case has two special keyword abilities: to solve and solved.
2024-02-02	If a permanent spell is copied, it’s put onto the battlefield as a token as the spell resolves rather than putting the copy of the spell onto the battlefield. The rules that apply to a permanent spell becoming a permanent apply to a copy of a spell becoming a token.
2024-02-02	If the spell that’s copied has an X whose value was determined as it was cast, the copy has the same value of X.
2024-02-02	Once a Case becomes solved, it stays solved until it leaves the battlefield.
2024-02-02	The copy is created on the stack, so it’s not “cast.” Creating the copy won’t cause abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell to trigger.
2024-02-02	The meaning of “solved” differs based on what type of ability follows it. “Solved — -ctivated ability]” means “ -ctivated ability]. Activate only if this Case is solved.” Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “ -ost: -ffect].”
2024-02-02	The token that a resolving copy of a permanent spell becomes isn’t “created” and won’t interact with abilities that care about tokens being created, such as that of Case of the Pilfered Proof.
2024-02-02	The triggered ability Case of the Shifting Visage has when it’s solved and the copy it creates will resolve before the spell that caused the ability to trigger.
2024-02-02	You can’t choose to pay any additional costs for a copied spell. However, effects based on any additional costs that were paid for the original spell are copied as though those same costs were paid for the copy too.
2024-02-02	“Solved — -riggered ability]” means “ -riggered ability]. This ability triggers only if this Case is solved.” Triggered abilities use the word “when,” “whenever,” or “at.” They’re often written as “ -rigger condition], -ffect].”
2024-02-02	“Solved — -tatic ability]” means “As long as this Case is solved, -tatic ability].” Static abilities are written as statements, such as “Creatures you control get +1/+1” or “Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost less to cast.”
2024-02-02	“To Solve — -ondition]” means “At the beginning of your end step, if -ondition] and this Case is not solved, it becomes solved.”
2024-02-02	“To solve” abilities will check for their condition twice: once when the ability would trigger, and once when it resolves. If the condition isn’t true at the beginning of your end step, the ability won’t trigger at all. If the condition isn’t true when the ability resolves, the Case won’t become solved.