Selective Adaptation MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Released | 2020-04-17 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Commander 2020 |
| Set code | C20 |
| Number | 65 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Tomasz Jedruszek |
Key Takeaways
- Enhances card selection by revealing cards until a creature is found, giving strategic insight into future turns.
- Facilitates resource acceleration by placing high-cost creatures in hand, improving board presence when combined with ramp strategies.
- Offers flexibility by being castable at instant speed, allowing for timely reactions and opponent-surprising plays.
Guide to Vigilance card ability
In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.
Text of card
Reveal the top seven cards of your library. Choose from among them a card with flying, a card with first strike, and so on for double strike, deathtouch, haste, hexproof, indestructible, lifelink, menace, reach, trample, and vigilance. Put one of the chosen cards onto the battlefield, the other chosen cards into your hand, and the rest into your graveyard.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Selective Adaptation offers a unique approach to card selection, allowing players to reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a creature card. This mechanism not only ensures that you get a creature, but it also provides insight into the upcoming draws, helping to plan future moves and maintain a hand with options.
Resource Acceleration: While Selective Adaptation doesn’t directly create mana, it accelerates your resources by potentially putting a high-cost creature into your hand, which can be played earlier than normal if you have the right ramp in place. This can give you a significant edge, enhancing your board presence more quickly than your opponents can react.
Instant Speed: As a spell that can be cast at instant speed, Selective Adaptation allows you to adapt to the game’s changing circumstances on the fly. Whether it’s during your turn or in response to an opponent’s actions, this card gives you the flexibility to choose the perfect moment to affect the game and catch opponents off guard.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Selective Adaptation necessitates the disposal of a card from your hand to activate its effects. This prerequisite might be detrimental during gameplay if your hand is already depleted or if you’re holding onto key strategy pieces.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting of Selective Adaptation requires a precise blend of mana, including at least one green. This specificity can be awkward for multicolored or non-green centric decks, potentially restricting its integration and fluid play within various deck types.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its relatively steep mana cost, this card can be a considerable investment of resources. Players might find that other cards in the same mana range could potentially provide more immediate impact or versatility on the battlefield, giving them pause when considering its inclusion in their deck.
Reasons to Include Selective Adaptation in Your Collection
Versatility: Selective Adaptation shines in decks that can adapt to various playstyles and scenarios. Its ability to search your library for cards based on a chosen characteristic gives it a unique flexibility that can bolster any collection.
Combo Potential: This card is a combo enabler, allowing players to dig for key pieces that synergize well with existing board states or strategic plans. It’s excellent for finding that crucial creature card with the keyword that complements your deck’s goal.
Meta-Relevance: In a constantly shifting MTG meta, having access to Selective Adaptation means you can always stay a step ahead. Its tailor-made search capability can adapt to the prevalent tactics and strategies you’re likely to encounter, making it a strategic asset in your arsenal.
How to beat
Selective Adaptation is one of those intriguing cards in MTG that can sway the game’s momentum by filtering the top cards of your library for creatures and lands. It can be a potent force, especially in decks that heavily rely on synergies between creatures and lands. To counteract Selective Adaptation, one effective strategy is to utilize instant-speed removals, graveyard manipulation, or hand disruption before your opponent can capitalize on the card’s benefits.
Instant-speed removal like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can disrupt an opponent’s plan right after they reveal a hefty creature with Selective Adaptation. Additionally, control decks that pack counters like Counterspell or Negate could nip the problem in the bud by countering Selective Adaptation before it ever resolves. Lastly, graveyard strategies using cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can be effective in exhausting the benefits Selective Adaptation could reap from the graveyard.
Implementing these techniques helps maintain control over the board and prevent opponents from gaining a substantial advantage with Selective Adaptation. Whether through direct removal, countering, or graveyard management, ensuring you have answers to this card is crucial for maintaining the upper hand.
Cards like Selective Adaptation
Selective Adaptation is a spell that carves its niche in the world of Magic: The Gathering with a unique mix of creature deck manipulation and a hint of randomness. This spell echoes the sentiments of cards like Congregation at Dawn, which allows players to search for creatures and organize them atop their library. Unlike Selective Adaptation, Congregation at Dawn provides more control over the outcome but does not put any cards directly into your hand.
Comparatively, we see Evolutionary Leap, offering a repeatable way to sacrifice creatures and potentially draw into more useful ones. While Evolutionary Leap gives consistency, Selective Adaptation swings with surprise, possibly netting high-value creatures. Then there’s Unexpected Results, which also brings a thrilling chance into play by shuffling your library and playing with the top card for free, potentially delivering massive value. However, it’s less focused than Selective Adaptation and does not guarantee a creature find.
In essence, Selective Adaptation finds its strength in the potential to dramatically alter the state of the game with a single spell. Although it’s a gamble, the ability to possibly draw multiple creatures, should the reveal be in your favor, offers an exciting prospect for player decks built around a variety of creatures.
Cards similar to Selective Adaptation by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Selective Adaptation MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2020, 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 Selective Adaptation and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Selective Adaptation has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Selective Adaptation card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-04-17 | If a card has more than one of the listed keywords, you pick which keyword you’re choosing it for. For example, if you choose a card with flying and first strike, you may choose it as the card with flying and choose another card with first strike, or you may choose it as the card with first strike and choose another card with flying. |
