Chronozoa MTG Card

Chronozoa excels in multiplying, leveraging death to double its presence, escalating potential for board dominance. Effective in decks that manipulate time counters, it matches well with instant-speed interactions for strategic depth. While powerful, Chronozoa’s requirement for specific conditions and higher mana cost demands calculated deck design.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Illusion
Abilities	Flying,Vanishing
Released	2007-02-02
Set symbol
Set name	Planar Chaos
Set code	PLC
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	37
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	James Wong

Text of card

Flying Vanishing 3 (This permanent comes into play with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.) When Chronozoa is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no time counters on it, put two tokens into play that are copies of it.

Cards like Chronozoa

Chronozoa holds a unique place in the pantheon of blue creatures in Magic: The Gathering. It shares conceptual space with creatures like Mitotic Slime, which also multiply upon death. However, Chronozoa carries the unusual ability to clone itself if it had no age counters when it died. Mitotic Slime, in contrast, consistently produces smaller Ooze tokens regardless of the board state when it perishes.

Looking at the broader spectrum, we see the likes of Murderous Redcap. While not a direct comparison, this card also utilizes persist, which enables it to return to the battlefield and cause mayhem another day. Chronozoa’s duplication is more passive but has the potential for exponential growth under the right conditions. Similarly, Luminous Broodmoth grants flying creatures a form of reincarnation, but it’s the one-time resurrection of creatures that contrasts with Chronozoa’s indefinite cloning capability.

Ultimately, while there are creatures that mimic aspects of Chronozoa’s functionality, it stands apart for its potential to dominate the game board with successive duplications under ideal situations. It’s these replication strategies that elevate Chronozoa among other MTG cards with similar mechanics.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chronozoa creates a unique card advantage by duplicating itself. Upon dying with a time counter, this creature’s ability triggers, putting two copies onto the battlefield. This mechanic effectively doubles your presence on the field, escalating the potential for future card advantages each time they clone.

Resource Acceleration: While Chronozoa itself does not directly accelerate resources, it plays nicely with cards that manipulate time counters to accelerate the cloning process. Integrating it into a deck focused on manipulating these counters can expedite your board state’s growth without expending additional cards from your hand.

Instant Speed: Chronozoa benefits from instant-speed spells that can remove time counters or protect it in response to threats. The ability to interact during an opponent’s turn, thereby safeguarding your Chronozoa or setting up for a cloning effect, adds an important layer of tactical depth to your game plan.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of Chronozoa is that it necessitates a careful strategy around card selection, as it does not have a built-in self-replicating mechanism and relies on specific board conditions or other cards to trigger its duplication ability.

Specific Mana Cost: Chronozoa has a casting requirement of two blue mana, making it less flexible as it mandates a deck with a strong blue mana base. This can be restrictive for multicolored decks that may have difficulty ensuring the necessary blue mana is available on demand.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing four mana to get onto the battlefield, Chronozoa may be seen as an investment with delayed return. While its ability to create copies upon death is potentially valuable, it might be considered too slow or expensive compared to other options that provide more immediate impact or efficiency for the same mana investment.

Reasons to Include Chronozoa in Your Collection

Versatility: Chronozoa has a unique place in decks that manipulate time counters or focus on token generation. Its ability to create copies of itself upon dying can lead to various strategies that work well in different playstyles.

Combo Potential: With the right setup, Chronozoa can multiply out of control. It pairs nicely with cards that remove time counters or sacrifice mechanisms, making it a powerful piece in combo decks.

Meta-Relevance: As the game environment shifts towards strategies that rely on creature effects and board presence, Chronozoa offers an interesting dynamic by increasing the creature count each time it’s dealt with conventionally.

How to beat

Chronozoa is a unique creature in MTG that can be quite a challenge to deal with. Its ability to clone itself when it dies if it has a time counter on it, makes it a potential threat that can quickly multiply on the battlefield if not addressed properly. To effectively combat this card, players should focus on exile or tuck effects that can remove Chronozoa without triggering its death ability. Cards with abilities that say “exile target creature” are better suited than regular destruction spells. Efficient exile spells include Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares which can handle the creature before the duplicates come into play.

Another viable strategy is to apply removal during the end step before your turn. This can minimize the chances of Chronozoa’s time counters being replenished, preventing it from duplicating. Additionally, board wipes that do not destroy but rather change all creatures’ characteristics, such as Polymorphist’s Jest, can prove handy in neutralizing the threat posed by Chronozoa without triggering its detrimental effect.

Addressing Chronozoa calls for strategic planning and the intelligent use of removal spells. Proper timing and the selection of the right kind of removal can help ensure that the swarm of jellyfish doesn’t overrun your game, maintaining control of the match.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Chronozoa MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos, 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 Chronozoa and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chronozoa has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2007-02-01	Chronozoa’s last ability creates two Chronozoa tokens that each enter the battlefield with three time counters and have all of Chronozoa’s abilities.
2007-02-01	If Chronozoa becomes a copy of another creature and is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, no copies will be created. If another creature becomes a copy of Chronozoa and is put into a graveyard from the battlefield (with no time counters on it), two copies of Chronozoa will be created.
2007-02-01	The ability checks to see if Chronozoa had no time counters on it at the time it was put into a graveyard from the battlefield. This doesn’t necessarily mean it must have been sacrificed due to vanishing; it could have been put into the graveyard some other way (say, while the sacrifice ability of vanishing is on the stack).