Criminal Past MTG Card
2022-06-10 - Number 122
2022-06-10 - Number 494
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Legendary Enchantment — Background |
Text of card
Commander creatures you own have menace and "This creature gets +X/+0, where X is the number of creature cards in your graveyard." (A creature with menace can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
You've never cared much for laws or authority, especially when they get in your way.
Cards like Criminal Past
Among Magic: The Gathering’s robust library of spells, Criminal Past presents players with a unique blend of effects. Closely resembling cards like Night’s Whisper, both allow the player to draw cards at the cost of life points, though Criminal Past often requires a more considerable life payment depending on the crime count. Night’s Whisper does not have any additional conditions to its draw effect, highlighting the risk-reward nature inherent to Criminal Past.
Seeking further comparison, Sign in Blood emerges as another similar spell. Both are adept at filling the player’s hand, but Sign in Blood brings the flexibility of targeting any player, which can be tactically advantageous or potentially hazardous. Contrary to Criminal Past, Sign in Blood demands a fixed life payment, offering a predictable, albeit less thematic experience.
Delving into these comparisons illuminates that Criminal Past carves a distinctive niche with its contingent effects that can either penalize or empower the player dynamically, depending on their strategy. It’s this adaptability that endows Criminal Past with a peculiar charm, enriching the pool of card draw spells in Magic: The Gathering while also spicing up the gameplay with its thematic flair.
Cards similar to Criminal Past by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Crime of the Century, also known as Criminal Past in some MTG circles, shines by potentially discarding two cards from your opponent’s hand. This disruption can tilt the scales in your favor by depleting your opponent’s strategic options.
Resource Acceleration: Criminal Past invites veteran MTG players to think strategically about their mana pool. While not directly boosting your resources, the card can slow down your opponent, aligning the tempo to your pace and indirectly influencing resource management.
Instant Speed: The true power of Criminal Past is its instant speed capability, allowing a player to disrupt an opponent’s plan at the most opportune moment. Whether it’s during their draw phase or in response to a game-changing spell, this card packs a timely punch.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Criminal Past necessitates the discard of another card, which can be a significant setback when your hand is already depleted from intense gameplay.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a strict mana composition to cast, including both black and blue, which might clash with the strategic mana base of multicolored decks attempting to streamline their plays.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering its mana cost and the current meta, Criminal Past’s effectiveness is outshined by lower-cost alternatives that provide similar or better utility, leaving players questioning its place in competitive formats.
Reasons to Include Criminal Past in Your Collection
Versatility: Criminal Past is a card that can seamlessly integrate into various deck types. Its multifaceted nature means it can adapt to different strategies, ensuring that it remains a staple in your roster for multiple gameplay scenarios.
Combo Potential: This card holds the ability to synergize with numerous other cards to create powerful combinations. With its unique mechanics, Criminal Past can serve as a pivotal piece within intricate combos that could turn the tide of the game in your favor.
Meta-Relevance: Keeping pace with the ever-changing gaming landscape is crucial. Criminal Past remains relevant within diverse metagames, aligning well with current deck trends and proving itself as a card that can hold its own against the shifting tides of competitive play.
How to Beat
Criminal Past is a challenging MTG card to face on the battlefield, especially considering its potential to disrupt your plays by exploring elements of your strategy. To effectively combat this card, players need to anticipate the timing of its activation and mitigate the impact it can have on their game. This includes having a robust defense, balancing the graveyard and hand, and employing strategic card draw to lessen the setbacks it may cause.
Controlling the graveyard is an essential component against Criminal Past. Utilizing graveyard shuffling effects or cards that exile cards from the graveyard can minimize the damage, ensuring that your best spells aren’t utilizable by the opponent. Additionally, proactively using instant-speed spells to manage the stack and maintain pressure on the opponent can prevent them from capitalizing on the information revealed by Criminal Past’s ability.
Beyond disrupting your opponent’s strategies, fostering resilience in your own deck construction is crucial. Incorporating a diverse range of threats and answers can reduce the efficacy of Criminal Past’s insight, allowing you to continue executing your strategy even when key components fall prey to this cunning spell. Ultimately, a well-rounded deck with a mix of instant speed interactions and graveyard management will enhance your chances of overcoming the challenge posed by Criminal Past.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Criminal Past MTG card by a specific set like Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate and Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, 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 Criminal Past and other MTG cards:
BUY NOW BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer
- eBay
- 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
Printings
The Criminal Past Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-06-10 and 2022-06-10. Illustrated by Will Gist.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022-06-10 | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | CLB | 122 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Will Gist | |
| 2 | 2022-06-10 | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | CLB | 494 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Will Gist |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Criminal Past has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Criminal Past card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-06-10 | An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders. |
| 2022-06-10 | Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library. |
| 2022-06-10 | Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability. |
| 2022-06-10 | If a card refers to a commander creature you own, a Background won't usually be counted or included for that effect. If another spell or ability causes your Background to become a creature, however, it will be included. Any effect that refers to your commander or a commander you own or control without specifying creature will apply to a Background that is your commander, as appropriate. |
| 2022-06-10 | If an opponent controls a commander creature you own while you control Criminal Past, X will be the number of creatures cards in that player's graveyard, not yours. |
| 2022-06-10 | If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens. |
| 2022-06-10 | If you control a Background that grants an ability to commander creatures you own, and you own more than one commander creature, each of them will have that ability. |
| 2022-06-10 | If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders’ combined color identities. |
| 2022-06-10 | If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander. |
| 2022-06-10 | Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won’t have to pay an additional the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won’t usually be a creature anyway). |
| 2022-06-10 | You can choose two commanders that are the same color or colors. |