Emissary's Ploy MTG Card


Emissary's Ploy - Conspiracy: Take the Crown
RarityRare
TypeConspiracy
Released2016-08-26
Set symbol
Set nameConspiracy: Take the Crown
Set codeCN2
Number4
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byHoward Lyon

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card filtering and strategic hand tailoring, essential for maintaining an edge in gameplay.
  2. Instant speed use strengthens flexibility, allowing players to adapt swiftly to opponent actions.
  3. The balance between strategic advantage and its conditions must be considered in deck construction.

Text of card

(Start the game with this conspiracy face up in the command zone.) Before drawing your opening hand, choose 1, 2, or 3. You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to cast creature spells with converted mana cost equal to the chosen number.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Emissary’s Ploy provides a steady stream of card filtering, allowing players to tailor their hand to better suit the current game state. This strategic advantage can tip the scales in a drawn-out battle, giving savvy players the tools they need when they need them.

Resource Acceleration: Enhancing your mana resources, this card opens up opportunities for casting higher-cost spells earlier than usual. It can be a game-changer, particularly in decks that aim to outpace the opponent with more significant threats or numerous spell combos within a single turn.

Instant Speed: The ability to use Emissary’s Ploy at instant speed adds an element of surprise and flexibility. It allows players to react to an opponent’s moves, effectively altering the course of play to their advantage at a moment’s notice. This can be crucial in turning the tides of a game or maintaining a lead while keeping opponents on their toes.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For Emissary’s Ploy, you must discard a card as part of the casting process. This condition can be a setback, particularly when your hand is already stretched thin and every resource counts.

Specific Mana Cost: This card necessitates a precise combination of mana colors to cast, which might not sync well with all deck archetypes. Players may find it challenging to incorporate into strategies not aligned with its mana specifications.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that sits on the higher end for its abilities, Emissary’s Ploy may not be as mana-efficient as alternatives. Its cost to benefit ratio is a consideration for players looking to optimize their deck’s performance.


Reasons to Include Emissary’s Ploy in Your Collection

Versatility: Emissary’s Ploy offers a unique flexibility by allowing players to tailor their draw to the current game state. This adaptability makes it a valuable addition to decks that benefit from strategic card selection.

Combo Potential: With Emissary’s Ploy, you can orchestrate powerful card combinations by ensuring access to essential pieces at the right time. This enables dynamic plays and can turn the tide of any match.

Meta-Relevance: Given the shifting landscape of the competitive scene, a card like Emissary’s Ploy that can answer various threats or capitalize on the popularity of certain deck types becomes a crucial asset.


How to beat Emissary’s Ploy

Emissary’s Ploy introduces a unique twist to strategic gameplay in Magic: The Gathering. This card allows players to gain an advantage by casting creatures outside their commander’s color identity in a Commander game, transforming the deck’s dynamics. To counter this effectively, one must focus on preemptive denial or targeted removal of this enchantment. Cards like Disenchant or Krosan Grip, which can remove artifacts or enchantments, are potent tools against Emissary’s Ploy. Similarly, countering the card outright with counterspells such as Counterspell or Negate ensures it never has the chance to influence the board.

Adjusting your strategy is key when facing a deck that utilizes Emissary’s Ploy. Prioritize keeping mana open for responses when you suspect your opponent might cast it. In addition, having a robust suite of instant-speed interaction enables you to respond before your opponent can fully benefit from the card’s effect. By maintaining pressure and being ready to react, you can minimize the impact Emissary’s Ploy has on the game and maintain control over the evolving battlefield.


Cards like Emissary's Ploy

Emissary’s Ploy is a strategic tool for those seeking an edge in their Magic: The Gathering matchups. This card echoes the functionality of other role enhancement cards, like Conspiracy, allowing players to choose a creature type and grant it to all creatures in a certain zone. What sets Emissary’s Ploy apart is its specificity to creatures you own that aren’t on the battlefield, offering a narrow yet impactful advantage.

Comparatively, Arcane Adaptation is another enchantment that immediately comes to mind. It also provides the ability to choose a creature type, but it extends this effect to all creatures a player controls, regardless of their position in or out of play. While Emissary’s Ploy focuses on future plays, Arcane Adaptation offers a more versatile alteration that can immediately affect the battlefield. Then there’s Xenograft, with a similar vein as Arcane Adaptation but only affects creatures on the battlefield. This nuanced difference is vital as it doesn’t prepare future creatures for synergy, viably a trade-off between foresight and immediate impact.

In the overall spectrum of creature type manipulation within Magic: The Gathering, Emissary’s Ploy presents a unique approach. Its specific condition can be a linchpin in decks that strategize around creatures yet to be played, positioning it as a valuable option for players who plan their victories turns in advance.

Conspiracy - MTG Card versions
Arcane Adaptation - MTG Card versions
Xenograft - MTG Card versions
Conspiracy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Arcane Adaptation - Ixalan Promos (PXLN)
Xenograft - New Phyrexia (NPH)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Emissary's Ploy MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown, 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 Emissary's Ploy and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Emissary's Ploy has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderBanned
LegacyBanned
OathbreakerBanned
VintageBanned
DuelBanned

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-08-23 A conspiracy doesn’t count as a card in your deck for purposes of meeting minimum deck size requirements. (In most drafts, the minimum deck size is 40 cards.)
2016-08-23 A conspiracy’s static and triggered abilities function as long as that conspiracy is face-up in the command zone.
2016-08-23 Conspiracies are colorless, have no mana cost, and can’t be cast as spells.
2016-08-23 Conspiracies are never put into your deck. Instead, you put any number of conspiracies from your card pool into the command zone as the game begins. These conspiracies are face up unless they have hidden agenda, in which case they begin the game face down.
2016-08-23 Conspiracies aren’t legal for any sanctioned Constructed format, but may be included in other Limited formats, such as Cube Draft.
2016-08-23 You can look at any player’s face-up conspiracies at any time. You’ll also know how many face-down conspiracies a player has in the command zone, although you won’t know what they are.
2016-08-23 You don’t have to play with any conspiracy you draft. However, you have only one opportunity to put conspiracies into the command zone, as the game begins. You can’t put conspiracies into the command zone after this point.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks