Sakashima's Protege MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Shapeshifter
Abilities Cascade, Flash
Power 3
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Flash ability enables surprise plays, offering vital adaptation to your opponent’s strategies in MTG.
  2. Despite its cloning strength, the high mana cost demands strategic deck planning and resource management.
  3. Sakashima’s Protege’s clone mechanic synergizes with ETB effects, elevating its combo potential in various decks.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.) You may have Sakashima's Protege enter the battlefield as a copy of any permanent that entered the battlefield this turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sakashima’s Protege offers a unique form of card advantage by cloning the most advantageous permanent on the battlefield when it enters the play. This can immediately replicate a high-value target, potentially swinging the game in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources in the traditional sense, Sakashima’s Protege’s cloning ability can copy a permanent that generates resources. This multiplicative effect not only broadens your in-game assets but can also amplify your potential for resource acceleration over time.

Instant Speed: As a card with flash, Sakashima’s Protege can be cast at instant speed, allowing you to keep mana available for other strategic moves and respond to your opponent’s actions with flexibility. By waiting until the optimal moment, you can maximize the card’s impact and navigate complex board states more effectively.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike some other clone effects in the game, Sakashima’s Protege asks you to bounce another creature you control to your hand. This could set back your board presence, especially if the bounced creature has summoning sickness when replayed.

Specific Mana Cost: The cost of Sakashima’s Protege is quite specific, demanding both blue and generic mana. As a result, it may not fit smoothly into multicolored decks that might struggle with producing the right mana at the right time.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At six mana to cast, the card carries a significant mana investment. Given this cost, some players may find it too slow, particularly in formats where the pace of play is quicker, and lower-cost alternatives for creating copies of creatures are available.


Reasons to Include Sakashima’s Protege in Your Collection

Versatility: Sakashima’s Protege is a dynamic card that aligns well with various deck strategies. Its ability to clone any permanent as it enters the battlefield allows it to adapt to numerous situations, tailoring to your current board state or particular needs in a game.

Combo Potential: The clone effect of this card opens up numerous combo avenues, synergizing exceptionally well with enter-the-battlefield effects or providing the opportunity to duplicate your most powerful permanents, amplifying your threat level on the board.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment that’s diverse and ever-changing, Sakashima’s Protege stands out as it can assume the role of the most impactful cards in the meta. Whether you’re facing an aggressive creature strategy or a value-driven control deck, the Protege can morph into an asset that’s perfectly suited to navigate and thrive against prevailing deck archetypes.


How to beat Sakashima’s Protege

Sakashima’s Protege is a versatile clone card in MTG that can really shake up the board state by copying any permanent as it enters the battlefield. While this can lead to some game-changing moves, outmaneuvering this card relies on smart timing and strategic removal. Applying instant-speed removal in response to its cloning ability can minimize its impact, as it won’t have a target to copy.

Spot removal spells like Swords to Plowshares are effective since the Protege is still subject to summoning sickness and can’t utilize abilities of the copied creature until the next turn. Additionally, countering this card is another direct approach. Since it’s a creature, using counterspells when it’s cast ensures that it never hits the field. If Sakashima’s Protege has already copied a powerful permanent, consider cards with exile effects to deal with it permanently. Cards like Path to Exile or Dire Tactics offer clean solutions to remove the threat for good. Stay vigilant and keep the right answers in hand to maintain control against Sakashima’s Protege.

Ultimately, being prepared with removal options in your deck is key, as well as recognizing the timing to use them effectively. With these strategies, you can prevent Sakashima’s Protege from turning the tide of the game against you.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding Sakashima’s Protege can be a game changer for your MTG strategy, leveraging its cloning capabilities to create impactful plays. From mimicking powerhouse permanents to the thrill of casting at instant speed, this card offers an array of possibilities. Ready to expand your deck’s versatility and explore new combo potentials in this ever-evolving meta? Dive deeper into the world of MTG with us. We’ve got insights, strategies, and an enthusiastic community to help you capitalize on cards like Sakashima’s Protege, turning your strategic moves into victories. Advance your gameplay – let’s uncover the full potential of your MTG collection together.


Cards like Sakashima's Protege

Sakashima’s Protege is a unique offering in the world of clone effects within MTG. Much like the well-known Clone card, Sakashima’s Protege allows players to copy any creature on the battlefield. What sets Sakashima’s Protege apart is the ability to cast it at flash speed, giving strategic players a significant surprise factor during the game. Clone, while being cheaper to play, lacks this tactical flexibility.

Phyrexian Metamorph brings a similar cloning capability to the table with an added versatility, as it can also copy artifacts at the cost of 3 mana plus 2 life. However, it doesn’t offer the instant speed of Sakashima’s Protege. Another comparable card is Stunt Double, which matches the flash ability, but its lack of the cascade mechanic means it doesn’t have the potential to chain into additional spells.

Overall, while there are other clone options in MTG, Sakashima’s Protege’s combination of flash, the cascade feature, and the choice it gives players during the heat of battle may very well set a new bar for creatures with clone effects, offering more layers of strategy for the savvy deck builder.

Clone - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Metamorph - MTG Card versions
Stunt Double - MTG Card versions
Clone - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Phyrexian Metamorph - New Phyrexia Promos (PNPH)
Stunt Double - Conspiracy: Take the Crown (CN2)

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Harbor Serpent - Magic 2013 (M13)
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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sakashima's Protege MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Commander Legends, 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 Sakashima's Protege and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sakashima's Protege Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-11-20 and 2020-11-20. Illustrated by Tyler Walpole.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 860382015normalblackTyler Walpole
22020-11-20Commander LegendsCMR 902015normalblackTyler Walpole
32020-11-20Commander LegendsCMR 6412015normalblackTyler Walpole

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sakashima's Protege has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-11-10 Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied permanent will trigger when Sakashima's Protege enters the battlefield. Any "as
-his permanent] enters the battlefield" or "
-his permanent] enters the battlefield with" abilities of the chosen permanent will also work.
2020-11-10 If Sakashima's Protege enters the battlefield as a copy of a planeswalker, it will enter with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to the loyalty printed in the lower right corner of the planeswalker. It won't copy the number of counters currently on that planeswalker.
2020-11-10 If Sakashima's Protege somehow enters the battlefield at the same time as another creature, it can't become a copy of that creature. You may choose only a creature that's already on the battlefield and entered the battlefield this turn.
2020-11-10 If the chosen permanent is a token, Sakashima's Protege copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that put that token onto the battlefield. Sakashima's Protege doesn't become a token in this case.
2020-11-10 If the chosen permanent is copying something else (for example, if the chosen permanent is another Sakashima's Protege), then Sakashima's Protege enters the battlefield as whatever the chosen permanent copied.
2020-11-10 If you cast a permanent spell using the cascade ability of Sakashima's Protege, that permanent will be on the battlefield in time to be copied by Sakashima's Protege.
2020-11-10 Sakashima's Protege copies exactly what was printed on the original permanent (unless that permanent is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that permanent is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or any Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on.
2021-06-18 A spell's mana value is determined only by its mana cost. Ignore any alternative costs, additional costs, cost increases, or cost reductions.
2021-06-18 Cascade triggers when you cast the spell, meaning that it resolves before that spell. If you end up casting the exiled card, it will go on the stack above the spell with cascade.
2021-06-18 Due to a 2021 rules change to cascade, not only do you stop exiling cards if you exile a nonland card with lesser mana value than the spell with cascade, but the resulting spell you cast must also have lesser mana value. Previously, in cases where a card's mana value differed from the resulting spell, such as with some modal double-faced cards or cards with an Adventure, you could cast a spell with a higher mana value than the exiled card.
2021-06-18 If a spell with cascade is countered, the cascade ability will still resolve normally.
2021-06-18 If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2021-06-18 If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those to cast the card.
2021-06-18 The mana value of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. If cascade allows you to cast a split card, you may cast either half but not both halves.
2021-06-18 When the cascade ability resolves, you must exile cards. The only optional part of the ability is whether or not you cast the last card exiled.
2021-06-18 You exile the cards face up. All players will be able to see them.

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