Kami of Lunacy MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Spirit
Abilities	Flying,Soulshift
Released	2004-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Champions of Kamigawa
Set code	CHK
Power	4
Toughness	1
Number	119
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Daren Bader

Key Takeaways

Provides an edge by disrupting the opponent’s strategy through controlled discard during any phase.
Encourages resource acceleration, granting potential extra turns and strategic mana curve benefits.
Demands careful deck building with its specific mana and impact at instant speed.

Text of card

Flying Soulshift 5 (When this is put into a graveyard from play, you may return target Spirit card with converted mana cost 5 or less from your graveyard to your hand.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: As a powerful piece in your deck, Kami of Lunacy ups the ante by allowing you to disrupt your opponent’s strategy. Each discard effect, while hindering the adversary, simultaneously bolsters your edge in the form of knowledge and depletion of their resources.

Resource Acceleration: Should the Kami stay on the battlefield, it persistently pressures the opponent, potentially giving you more turns and opportunities to execute your game plan without the normal restraints of the mana curve.

Instant Speed: The card’s impact extends beyond the main phases. With the ability to trigger its discard effect at instant speed, you can adapt to the fluidity of the game, forcing your opponent to make tough decisions on the fly and at moments of your choosing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players who choose to incorporate Kami of Lunacy into their decks have to prepare for its distinct drawback — it requires you to throw away a card, diminishing your hand size. This aspect can be notably constraining when your options are already scarce, particularly in the mid to late game, or when facing strategies that pressure your resources.

Specific Mana Cost: Decks that aim to leverage the potency of Kami of Lunacy are faced with the challenge of its unique mana cost. The requisition of a precise combination of mana can potentially restrict its inclusion only to decks that can consistently generate the correct mana types, narrowing its applicability and flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the evolving atmosphere of the game, mana efficiency is key. Kami of Lunacy’s mana demands might be seen as onerous relative to other cards filling similar roles, possibly deterring players who are optimizing their decks for peak performance and who would rather select alternatives that offer similar benefits for a reduced cost.

Reasons to Include Kami of Lunacy in Your Collection

Versatility: Kami of Lunacy offers flexibility in deck building due to its capacity to function well in various strategies. Its disruption ability makes it a valuable asset in controlling the flow of the game, impacting your opponent’s hand.

Combo Potential: With the ability to force discards, this card can serve as an engine in discard strategies, synergizing well with other cards that capitalize on your opponent’s reduced hand size or trigger off discard events.

Meta-Relevance: Given that certain metagames are influenced by hand advantage, Kami of Lunacy can be a game-changer. It thrives in an environment where denying resources and hindering opponent’s decisions are key to victory.

How to beat

Kami of Lunacy presents an intriguing challenge on the Magic: The Gathering battlefield. The card demands a smart strategy due to its potential to disrupt opponents with its nightmarish discard ability. To effectively counter this threat, players must consider cards that neutralize or bypass its mechanics.

Utilizing instant-speed removal spells is one tactic that can mitigate Kami of Lunacy’s impact before it unleashes chaos on a player’s hand. Cards like Murder or Path to Exile provide a solution by removing the creature directly, thus preventing its ability from triggering. Additionally, graveyard interaction cards can be an asset, as they retrieve key cards discarded by Kami of Lunacy’s ability. Consider including cards that can reshuffle your graveyard into your library, such as Elixir of Immortality, or use cards that allow you to play spells directly from your graveyard.

Lastly, hand replenishment cards are essential. By maintaining a healthy hand size with draw spells, like Harmonize or Sphinx’s Revelation, players can recover from the card disadvantage inflicted by Kami of Lunacy. In conclusion, a combination of removal, graveyard recovery, and hand replenishment is vital in overcoming the challenges posed by Kami of Lunacy in a game of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Kami of Lunacy

Kami of Lunacy slots into the landscape of Magic: The Gathering as a unique creature with a focus on hand disruption. Looking at similar cards, Hypnotic Specter stands out with its ability to force card discard upon dealing damage to a player. Unlike Kami of Lunacy, Hypnotic Specter doesn’t offer a choice and targets cards at random, making it a classic threat in discard-focused decks.

Blazing Specter also shares a kinship with our Kami of Lunacy. It combines direct damage with discard, requiring the defending player to throw away a card whenever it hits them. While Blazing Specter has the added benefit of inflicting damage, Kami of Lunacy can be more strategic by providing the choice of discard to the opponent, potentially allowing a player to leverage psychological tactics.

Concluding our comparison, Kami of Lunacy holds its own by adding a layer of control and mind games to the matchup. Its distinct approach to discard enables different strategies compared to the random discard of Hypnotic Specter and the direct aggression of Blazing Specter, enriching the variety available to players within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Kami of Lunacy by color, type and mana cost

Chittering Harvester - MTG Card versions

Crossway Troublemakers - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kami of Lunacy MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa, 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 Kami of Lunacy and other MTG cards: