Clone Legion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost9
RarityMythic
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Clone Legion multiplies your board, transforming stable positions into dominant ones.
  2. High mana cost poses deck building and strategic considerations for players.
  3. In the right deck, this card’s overwhelming impact justifies its inclusion.

Text of card

For each creature target player controls, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of that creature.

Their lust for battle was so great that they didn't care their enemies wore their own faces.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Clone Legion is a powerhouse when it comes to duplicating your board presence. By creating a copy of every creature you control, you dramatically multiply your assets, potentially turning a stable board into an overwhelming force.

Resource Acceleration: While Clone Legion doesn’t directly increase your mana resources, it effectively shortcuts the need for them. By copying your creatures, it accelerates your game plan as if you had cast multiple creatures for the price of one spell.

Instant Speed: Despite Clone Legion being a sorcery, its impact can feel like it strikes with the swiftness of an instant. The sudden surge in your army’s size can quickly tip the scales in your favor before your opponent has a chance to react on their next turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Clone Legion doesn’t force you to discard directly, its high mana cost can deplete your resources quickly. In scenarios where your hand is your last line of defense, casting this card might leave you vulnerable for subsequent turns.

Specific Mana Cost: Clone Legion demands no less than nine mana to cast, including two islands. This specific cost can challenge multi-colored decks, particularly those that aren’t focused on producing high amounts of blue mana efficiently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With such a hefty price of nine mana, including two that must be blue, Clone Legion is a spell with one of the highest mana requirements around. This can be disadvantageous as it may only see play late in the game, or in formats where ramping up mana is viable. In the midst of a fast-paced match, a spell that costs less could potentially yield similar strategic advantages with greater speed and flexibility.


Reasons to Include Clone Legion in Your Collection

Versatility: Clone Legion is a powerful spell that can adapt to numerous situations on the battlefield. It excels in any deck that aims to manipulate and benefit from numerous creature effects, as it creates a copy of each creature the target player controls.

Combo Potential: This card opens up a world of synergy possibilities, seamlessly integrating with strategies that revolve around enter-the-battlefield triggers or token generation. Information on its potential combos with other cards can often be found with a little digging through Wizard’s official content.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Clone Legion can turn the tide of a game. It mirrors an opponent’s board state, thus it scales in power based on the most common deck types being played, ensuring its usefulness in various competitive environments.


How to beat

Clone Legion stands out as a potent spell in the arsenal of blue magic wielders. Its ability to create a copy of every creature your opponent controls presents a formidable challenge. Unlike spells that clone a single creature, Clone Legion can overwhelm an opponent in a single, game-turning play. Addressing Clone Legion hinges on timing and strategy; countermagic, such as Negate or Disallow, serve as a proactive measure to prevent it from resolving. In a reactive approach, board wipe spells like Wrath of God can clear away the copies post-resolution. By prioritizing the control of your opponent’s board state before they cast Clone Legion and maintaining readiness to counteract or clean up after its effects, players can efficiently navigate around this high-impact spell. It’s a delicate balance, ensuring you have the necessary mana and cards to parry this move while advancing your own game plan.

Another strategy involves using graveyard manipulation spells like Bojuka Bog or Relic of Progenitus, disabling your opponent’s ability to bring back Clone Legion using various recursion methods. By keeping a watchful eye on both the stack and the graveyard, you can dissuade or disassemble your opponent’s strategies involving this mighty blue spell.


BurnMana Recommendations

Refining your MTG strategy calls for an understanding of game-changing cards like Clone Legion. This spell’s capacity to transform the battlefield is undeniable, as it offers the ability to expand your army with a tapestry of clones, capturing the essence of your most potent creatures. Though the cost is steep, the reward is an unparalleled surge in your board state that can secure victory. For those looking to harness the power of blue magic and amplify their deck’s creature-based dynamics, Clone Legion is an exciting choice to consider. Dive deeper into strategic guides and tips with us to discover new winning combinations and ensure your deck is as formidable as it can be. Let’s navigate the meta and build decks with Clone Legion’s potential at heart.


Cards like Clone Legion

Clone Legion stands out among Magic: The Gathering’s array of duplication spells. One direct comparison is with Rite of Replication, another spell that creates copies of creatures. Both cards are set at higher mana costs, but Clone Legion doesn’t require kicker costs for a mass copying effect, unlike Rite of Replication, where the kicker ramps up the number of potential copies. Yet, Rite of Replication offers more flexibility with a lower initial cost for fewer copies.

Then, there’s Quasiduplicate, which brings the concept of replicating down to a creature-focused, more cost-efficient level. While Quasiduplicate provides less overall impact, its lower casting cost and jump-start ability grants players an extra use from the graveyard, enhancing board presence turn by turn. In contrast, Clone Legion’s one-time, grand-scale duplication can be a game-ending move.

Ultimately, Clone Legion stands high on the scale of power among duplication spells in Magic: The Gathering. It may come with a high mana cost, but its potential to instantly overwhelm opponents with a horde of creature copies can often justify the investment, making it a unique, powerful card in the right deck.

Rite of Replication - MTG Card versions
Quasiduplicate - MTG Card versions
Rite of Replication - Zendikar (ZEN)
Quasiduplicate - Guilds of Ravnica Promos (PGRN)

Cards similar to Clone Legion by color, type and mana cost

Denying Wind - MTG Card versions
Mnemonic Deluge - MTG Card versions
Dichotomancy - MTG Card versions
Expropriate - MTG Card versions
Sorcerous Squall - MTG Card versions
Denying Wind - The List (PLST)
Mnemonic Deluge - Commander Legends (CMR)
Dichotomancy - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Expropriate - The List (PLST)
Sorcerous Squall - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Clone Legion MTG card by a specific set like Dragons of Tarkir and Commander 2017, 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 Clone Legion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Clone Legion Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2015-03-27 and 2022-04-29. Illustrated by Svetlin Velinov.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-03-27Dragons of TarkirDTK 482015normalblackSvetlin Velinov
22017-08-25Commander 2017C17 842015normalblackSvetlin Velinov
32022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 2152015normalblackSvetlin Velinov

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Clone Legion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2015-02-25 A token that enters the battlefield as a copy of a face-down creature is a face-up colorless 2/2 creature with no name, abilities, or creature types.
2015-02-25 Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied creature will trigger when the token enters the battlefield. Any “as
-his permanent] enters the battlefield” or “
-his permanent] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the copied creature will also work.
2015-02-25 Each token copies exactly what was printed on the original creature and nothing else (unless that permanent is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that creature is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, and so on.
2015-02-25 If the copied creature has in its mana cost, X is considered to be zero.
2015-02-25 If the copied creature is a token, the token created by Clone Legion copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that put the token onto the battlefield.
2015-02-25 If the copied creature is copying something else, then the token enters the battlefield as whatever that creature copied.
2015-02-25 Remember that if you control more than one legendary permanent with the same name, you'll choose one to remain on the battlefield and put the rest into their owners' graveyards.
2015-02-25 The token creatures all enter the battlefield at the same time.

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