Clear the Stage MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica Allegiance
Set code	RNA
Number	68
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lucas Graciano

Key Takeaways

Combines creature removal with potential for card draw, leveraging creatures with power 4 or greater.
Instant speed allows strategic flexibility and surprise during an opponent’s turn in MTG games.
High mana cost and discard requirement could restrict deck inclusion and reduce efficiency.

Text of card

Target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn. If you control a creature with power 4 or greater, you may return up to one target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.

"Make way! It's time for the final act!"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Clear the Stage provides a significant edge by allowing you to potentially remove a threat and draw a card if a creature with a power 4 or greater is under your control. This dual utility ensures that the card can both stabilize the board and replenish your hand, maintaining pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly serving as a resource acceleration tool, the ability to draw a card can indirectly lead to finding more lands or spells that accelerate your resources. This can be crucial for building up to more powerful plays in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Clear the Stage offers strategic versatility. You have the freedom to wait until the most opportune moment during your opponent’s turn to cast it, keeping them guessing while you potentially disrupt their plans. The element of surprise and the flexibility to respond to threats immediately cannot be understated.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Clear the Stage requires the player to have a creature with power 4 or greater to trigger its additional effect. This can be a setback in decks that do not consistently meet this criterion, leading to a potential loss in card efficiency.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost demands both black and generic mana, potentially limiting its inclusion to only certain deck archetypes that can comfortably accommodate these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, this card competes with other impactful options in the same slot. Players might find that its cost is somewhat steep for the removal and potential card draw it provides.

Reasons to Include Clear the Stage in Your Collection

Versatility: Clear the Stage offers a high degree of versatility, adapting easily to black-based control or midrange decks. Its ability to remove creatures and potentially reclaim a valuable creature card from the graveyard makes it a valuable addition to various strategic builds.

Combo Potential: This card shines in terms of combo potential, especially in decks that emphasize on creature-based strategies or those that can benefit from the removal and recursive elements to gain an edge over opponents.

Meta-Relevance: For players facing a meta dominated by creatures, Clear the Stage is particularly relevant. Its creature removal component coupled with the potential for card advantage through its second ability makes it a strategic pick in current competitive formats where creature-based aggro and midrange decks are prevalent.

How to Beat Clear the Stage

Overcoming the challenge posed by Clear the Stage requires strategic maneuvering within the game. This powerful black card provides the dual benefit of removing a large threat while potentially retrieving a creature from your graveyard. Pivotal to disrupting your opponent’s tactics, deploying an array of low-cost creatures can effectively render Clear the Stage less advantageous for them.

Cards like Negate or Dispel serve as excellent counters, as they intercept and nullify spells directly. Another tactic is to maintain creature diversity in power and toughness on your battlefield, thereby minimizing the impact of a targeted removal spell. Additionally, leveraging graveyard hate cards such as Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can sever their line of retrieval, nullifying the card’s secondary ability.

Ultimately, staying ahead involves considering Clear the Stage’s requirements and constraints. By limiting the number of viable targets and using instant-speed reactions, you can continue to wield control over the game, preventing your opponent from fully utilizing this potent removal spell in MTG.

Cards like Clear the Stage

Clear the Stage is a dynamic force in the suite of black removal spells within Magic the Gathering. It shares similarities with cards like Murder, a straightforward and iconic removal spell that simply destroys a target creature for the same amount of mana. Unlike Murder, Clear the Stage requires a creature with power 4 or greater to unlock its full potential—offering you a card draw if you meet this condition, whereas Murder offers no additional benefit.

In comparing it to other cards, we may look at Languish, a spell that can potentially clear the board by giving all creatures -4/-4 until end of turn. This can affect multiple creatures, but unlike Clear the Stage, it doesn’t allow card advantage. Then, there’s Walk the Plank, which destroys a non-Merfolk creature without the power stipulation for less mana but is limited by its sorcery speed and creature type restriction.

Understanding the nuances between these cards is crucial for deck building. While their function is similar, Clear the Stage provides not only a path to remove a sizable threat but also an opportunity for card advantage, situating it uniquely amongst its peers for strategic play.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Clear the Stage MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Clear the Stage and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Clear the Stage has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2019-01-25	You can’t cast Clear the Stage without a target creature to get -3/-3. If either target is illegal when Clear the Stage tries to resolve, the other is still affected as appropriate.
2019-01-25	You check whether you control a creature with power 4 or greater after the target creature gets -3/-3 but before it dies, if appropriate.
2019-01-25	You may always choose a target creature card in your graveyard, even if you don’t control a creature with power 4 or greater. Whether you return the creature card is determined only as Clear the Stage resolves.