Cloudform MTG Card
2015-01-23 - Number 32
2018-08-09 - Number 83
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Abilities | Manifest |
Text of card
When Cloudform enters the battlefield, it becomes an Aura with enchant creature. Manifest the top card of your library and attach Cloudform to it. (To manifest a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.) Enchanted creature has flying and hexproof.
Cards like Cloudform
The strategic complexity of Cloudform lies in its blend of traits which are shared with a select few cards in Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to cards like, say, Mastery of the Unseen, Cloudform offers its own spin on manifesting the top card of your library and giving it abilities beyond mere concealment. While Mastery of the Unseen requires an activation cost for each manifest, Cloudform simplifies the process, manifesting once upon enchantment and gifting hexproof and flying to the wrapped card.
Looking at Whisperwood Elemental, another parallel emerges with the manifest mechanic, but the Elemental’s capability to do so at each end step and its sacrificial trigger to protect from mass removal enforces a more defensive strategy. Cloudform stands apart by immediately bolstering your board presence with evasion and durability in one go. Yet another similar mechanistic relative is Jeskai Infiltrator, which confuses opponents by shuffling into your library when it hits an opponent, then manifesting the top card, albeit without granting hexproof or flying to the manifested card–snippets of similarity, but with a clear difference in utility and form.
In sum, Cloudform graces Magic: The Gathering with its distinctive synthesis of surprise, aerial dominance, and protective measures, settling in as a unique choice for players who delight in obfuscating their tactics and preserving their field presence.
Cards similar to Cloudform by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Cloudform gives you a unique edge by manifesting the top card of your library, effectively turning any card into a mystery threat on the battlefield. This ability contributes to maintaining your card advantage as it allows you to keep cards in hand while still developing your board presence.
Resource Acceleration: Although Cloudform itself doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, the manifested card can potentially be a land or other permanents that when turned face up, can contribute to your mana pool or other resource-based strategies.
Instant Speed: Casting spells at instant speed is a tactical advantage in MTG, and while Cloudform is an enchantment, it can be brought into play using other cards with flash. Deploying Cloudform at the right moment can surprise your opponent by introducing an unforeseen blocker or attacker, disrupting their strategy.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Cloudform mandates that you shuffle a card from your hand into your library. This can be a hindrance if your hand already has pivotal cards crucial for your game strategy, potentially disrupting your plan.
Specific Mana Cost: Costing one blue and two generic mana, Cloudform requires a commitment to blue mana sources in your deck. This may restrict its inclusion only to decks with a strong blue mana base or those that can reliably generate various color mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Cloudform provides a manifested creature and grants it flying and hexproof, its three mana cost can be steep, especially if the top card of your library isn’t a creature card or doesn’t have a high power/toughness ratio to leverage the investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Cloudform can enhance multiple deck types due to its ability to manifest the top card of your library and give it flying and hexproof. This means any card type can suddenly become a more formidable aerial threat.
Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with library manipulation or top-deck strategies. Knowing the top card allows players to create powerful creature spells out of non-creature cards, unexpectedly bolstering their board presence.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where targeted removal is prevalent, the hexproof provided by Cloudform makes it a resilient choice for protecting key creatures or surprise manifested permanents.
How to beat Cloudform
Cloudform is a unique enchantment card from Magic: The Gathering that can give players a significant edge with its blend of hexproof and flying abilities. Similar to other enchantments like Ocular Halo, Cloudform creates a formidable shield by manifesting the top card of your library and granting it the aforementioned abilities. Nevertheless, it does have its vulnerabilities.
One effective strategy against Cloudform is employing enchantment removal spells, such as Disenchant, that can directly target and eliminate it. Another tactic includes board wipes like Wrath of God or Doomskar that ignore hexproof and can clear the board of all creatures, including the manifested one under Cloudform. Playing around Cloudform also means managing your removal wisely or applying pressure in a way that forces your opponent to block unfavorably, putting their manifest creature at risk.
Ultimately, understanding the weaknesses of Cloudform, such as its initial investment without an immediate impact, can guide your strategy. By staying prepared with appropriate removal spells or strategies to apply pressure, you can navigate around the advantages Cloudform offers and maintain control in your matches.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Cloudform MTG card by a specific set like Fate Reforged and Commander 2018, 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 Cloudform and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Cloudform Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Noah Bradley.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015-01-23 | Fate Reforged | FRF | 32 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Noah Bradley | |
| 2 | 2018-08-09 | Commander 2018 | C18 | 83 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Noah Bradley |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Cloudform has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cloudform card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-11-24 | A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren’t affected. |
| 2014-11-24 | Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. |
| 2014-11-24 | At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect allows you to or instructs you to. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because face-down creatures don’t have names, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a manifested creature would have morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its morph cost. |
| 2014-11-24 | If the enchanted creature is turned face up, the “Form” will continue to enchant it. |
| 2014-11-24 | If you have no cards in your library as the ability resolves, the “Form” will be put into its owner’s graveyard as a state-based action. |
| 2014-11-24 | Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still can’t be turned face down. |
| 2014-11-24 | The face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It’s colorless and has a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant or change any of these characteristics. |
| 2014-11-24 | There are no cards in the Fate Reforged set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up. |
| 2014-11-24 | Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped. |
| 2014-11-24 | Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using the morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it’s a creature card. |
| 2014-11-24 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on). |
| 2014-11-24 | You’ll still manifest the top card of your library even if the “Form” isn’t on the battlefield as its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves. |
| 2018-07-13 | Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. |
| 2018-07-13 | At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect instructs you to do so. |
| 2018-07-13 | Because face-down creatures don’t have a name, they can’t have the same name as any other creature or share any creature types with any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2018-07-13 | If an effect tries to return a face-down creature to the battlefield after it leaves (such as Aminatou’s second ability or Adarkar Valkyrie’s delayed triggered ability), that effect returns the card face up. If it tries to put an instant or sorcery card onto the battlefield this way, that card remains in its current zone instead. |
| 2018-07-13 | Some previous Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. Although a double-faced card can enter the battlefield face down, one already on the battlefield can’t be turned face down. |
| 2018-07-13 | The face-down characteristics of a permanent are copiable values. If another object becomes a copy of a face-down creature or if a token is created that’s a copy of a face-down creature, that new object is a 2/2 colorless face-up creature with no abilities. |
| 2018-07-13 | There are no cards in this set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up. |
| 2018-07-13 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using a morph ability, and so on). |