Clockwork Droid MTG Card

Clockwork Droid enhances decks through scrying and counter manipulation, yielding sustained board presence. Its activation costs and high mana demand can challenge deck-building, requiring careful strategy execution. Despite its strengths, articulate removal strategies can effectively diminish Clockwork Droid’s in-game impact.

Doctor Who (WHO)
2023-10-13 - Number 172

Doctor Who (WHO)
2023-10-13 - Number 777

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact Creature — Robot
Abilities	Exert,Scry
Power	3
Toughness	1

Text of card

You may exert Clockwork Droid as it attacks. When you do, it can't be blocked this turn and you scry 1. (An exerted creature won't untap during your next untap step. To scry 1, look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)

Cards like Clockwork Droid

Clockwork Droid joins the ranks of artifact creatures in MTG’s expansive library. When considering its counterparts, we can look at cards such as Chronomaton. Both share a cumulative aspect where they can incrementally become more formidable threats on the battlefield. Unlike Clockwork Droid, however, Chronomaton requires one generic mana to bolster its power, while Clockwork Droid’s upgrade mechanism is integrated into its attack phase.

Another similar artifact creature to gauge against is Steel Overseer, which can buff all artifact creatures on the field, including itself, without specifically needing to engage in combat. This provides a broader advantage, making Steel Overseer a potentially more strategic play than Clockwork Droid. Lastly, we can consider Adaptive Automaton, a card that, once on the field, can represent any creature type and provide an anthem effect to others of its kind. This yields an immediate board presence in contrast with the gradual growth of Clockwork Droid.

Assessing Clockwork Droid’s place among its peers reveals its unique attack phase ability to scale up. Despite some limitations compared to others with more immediate impact, it remains a versatile choice for decks exploiting artifact synergies and incremental power boosts.

Cards similar to Clockwork Droid by color, type and mana cost

Water Gun Balloon Game - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Clockwork Droid offers a repeatable scrying ability at the beginning of your upkeep, ensuring you can sift through your library for valuable cards and control your draws, leading to sustained card quality or “virtual card advantage” over the course of the game.

Resource Acceleration: With its modular nature, the Clockwork Droid can bump up the power of other artifact creatures, potentially accelerating your board state and making your artifact synergies more powerful much sooner than expected.

Instant Speed: Although Clockwork Droid itself isn’t an instant, it interacts favorably with instant-speed mechanics by allowing you to reconfigure modular counters during your upkeep. This convenience enables responsive play, letting you adapt to the evolving game without losing tempo.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Clockwork Droid requires discarding a card to leverage some of its abilities, which could prove disadvantageous when your hand is dwindling, and every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: This artifact creature comes with a color-specific activation cost, which means it may not seamlessly fit into every deck, particularly if you’re running a multi-color strategy that doesn’t heavily feature its required hue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Clockwork Droid has a mana cost that is on the higher end for its stats and abilities. When factoring in the efficiency of your plays, you might find other creatures that provide more value or versatility for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Clockwork Droid in Your Collection

Versatility: Clockwork Droid offers a broad appeal due to its flexible nature. It can serve various roles depending on the deck’s strategy, from an early blocker to a key component in intricate machine-themed decks. It’s this adaptability that makes it a valuable pick for players looking to strengthen their rosters with multi-purpose cards.

Combo Potential: For enthusiasts of synergistic play, Clockwork Droid shines when paired with cards that manipulate or take advantage of counters. It can become a crucial part of engines that untap creatures, increase counters, or translate those counters into other benefits, amplifying the power of your deck through smart combinations.

Meta-Relevance: The shifting landscape of the game often necessitates cards that can stand up to various popular strategies. Clockwork Droid slots into this role comfortably, capable of contending with a plethora of threats that might emerge in any meta. Its solid presence on the board makes it a reasonable choice for players aiming to remain competitive.

How to beat

Clockwork Droid presents itself as a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to adapt and enhance its power levels in Magic: The Gathering. Navigating this mechanical menace requires a strategy distinct from handling other creatures. To effectively combat Clockwork Droid, remember that it relies on its modular ability, which can be disrupted. Cards that remove counters, such as “Vampire Hexmage” or “Thrashing Brontodon,” can directly reduce the Droid’s power.

Additionally, employing removal spells before the Droid’s controller can accumulate enough counters to make it a significant threat is crucial. Spells like “Path to Exile” or “Doom Blade,” provide clean answers to this ticking time bomb. Alternatively, “Pithing Needle” can shut down activated abilities, preventing further modular counter interactions. Moreover, specific board wipes clear all creatures, ensuring the Clockwork Droid does not get out of hand.

Keep in mind that Clockwork Droid’s true danger lies in its potential for growth. Limit this potential, and you’ll find that the Clockwork Droid is much less of a threat. Through preemptive actions and calculated responses, players can avoid the Clockwork Droid’s mechanical clutches and maintain control over the game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Clockwork Droid MTG card by a specific set like Doctor Who and Doctor Who, 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 Clockwork Droid and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Clockwork Droid Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-10-13 and 2023-10-13. Illustrated by Andrey Kuzinskiy.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2023-10-13	Doctor Who	WHO		172	2015	Normal	Black	Andrey Kuzinskiy
2	2023-10-13	Doctor Who	WHO		777	2015	Normal	Black	Andrey Kuzinskiy

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Clockwork Droid has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2023-10-13	If an exerted creature is already untapped during your next untap step (most likely because it had vigilance or an effect untapped it), exert's effect preventing it from untapping expires without having done anything.
2023-10-13	If you gain control of another player's creature until end of turn and exert it, and then that player regains control of it, it will untap during that player's untap step.
2023-10-13	You can't exert a creature unless an effect allows you to do so. Similar effects that "tap and freeze" a creature don't exert that creature.
2023-10-13	You may exert Clockwork Droid only as you attack with it. You can't do so later in combat, and creatures put onto the battlefield attacking can't be exerted. The ability that triggers on exerting it will resolve before blockers are declared.