Crypsis MTG Card

Crypsis protects creatures and controls game tempo with its choose-when flexibility. Instant speed of Crypsis offers adaptability and potential combat trickery. Despite utility, Crypsis requires careful hand and mana resource management.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2014-02-07
Set symbol
Set name	Born of the Gods
Set code	BNG
Number	34
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Daarken

Text of card

Target creature you control gains protection from creatures your opponents control until end of turn. Untap it.

Tritons borrow the camouflage of their oceanic prey to become predators on land.

Cards like Crypsis

Crypsis is a unique card that offers creatures the ability to dodge enemy defenses and survive battles they might otherwise lose. It echoes the mechanics of cards like Simic Charm, which also allows a creature to gain hexproof and become temporarily unblockable. However, Crypsis is specifically designed to only target your own creatures, while Simic Charm provides more flexibility by affecting any target.

Mizzium Skin is another card in the vein of protecting your creatures. This card is more focused on countering spells that would target your creatures, granting hexproof for a lower cost, but without Crypsis’s added untapping ability. Ranger’s Guile, on the other hand, stands out by being even cheaper mana-wise and still confers hexproof to a single creature, yet it lacks the added benefit of untapping that Crypsis provides.

In summary, Crypsis offers a unique blend of protection and utility by granting both untap and hexproof, an asset that is distinguishably valuable in situations where you seek to shield your creatures and maintain a strong battlefield presence.

Cards similar to Crypsis by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crypsis offers the opportunity to protect key creatures on the battlefield. By preventing creatures from being targeted by your opponents’ spells or abilities, you ensure your important creature cards remain active and able to contribute to your strategic plays.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana or resources, the ability to use Crypsis’s effect voluntarily allows you to manage your resources efficiently. By deciding exactly when to use its ability, you maintain control over the tempo of the game, ensuring you’re not caught off guard by unexpected removals or combat tricks.

Instant Speed: The utility of Crypsis is significantly enhanced by its nature as an instant. This allows you to react immediately to threats or during combat, potentially saving a creature from removal or making it unblockable to guarantee damage. Instant speed spells increase the flexibility of your play, letting you adapt to the evolving state of the game with more precision.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Crypsis needs you to pitch a card from your hand to grant your creature untappable status until the end of turn. This action drains your hand, potentially leaving you at a disadvantage if you’re already behind in card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands one green mana and one mana of any color to activate its ability. This requirement can be restrictive, as it forces players to include green in their mana base, which may not align with the strategy or color scheme of all decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For the ability to prevent a creature from being the target of spells or abilities, Crypsis may not seem mana-efficient. Other cards offer similar protection effects or greater versatility at a lower cost, making Crypsis a less than optimal choice in many scenarios where mana conservation is critical.

Reasons to Include Crypsis in Your Collection

Versatility: Crypsis offers a unique blend of protection and surprise offense. This card can be slotted into various decks, providing both defensive capabilities to dodge removal spells and a way to swing in for unexpected damage.

Combo Potential: By enabling your creature to untap, it synergizes with tap/untap mechanics or abilities that require the creature to be untapped, offering interesting combo opportunities.

Meta-Relevance: Against decks full of targeted spells or heavy combat interaction, Crypsis serves as a valuable tool to safeguard key creatures or catch opponents off guard during intricate combat situations.

How to beat

Crypsis is a unique card in the vast pantheon of Magic: The Gathering, offering creatures the ability to go unchecked and guard against all colors until end of turn. Its instant speed aspect and the secondary ability to untap the creature make it a versatile tool in any player’s arsenal. But no card is unbeatable.

To effectively counter Crypsis, understanding when to time your removal or counterspells is key. Wait for your opponent to commit to using their mana for Crypsis, then respond with a removal spell that doesn’t target, such as a board wipe or “sacrifice a creature” effect. Alternatively, countering Crypsis with a straightforward counterspell like Negate can neutralize the threat while maintaining board state control.

Keep in mind that Crypsis can only protect against effects until the end of the turn. Therefore, exercising patience and striking during your turn can bypass its protective measures. Additionally, employing creatures with abilities that don’t target, such as those causing all opponents’ creatures to lose indestructible or hexproof, can provide an avenue to overcome Crypsis’ defense.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crypsis MTG card by a specific set like Born of the Gods, 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 Crypsis and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crypsis has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2014-02-01	Abilities of creature cards not on the battlefield owned by an opponent can’t target that creature, and damage those cards would deal to the creature is prevented.
2014-02-01	If another player gains control of the creature after Crypsis resolves, the creature will have protection from creatures controlled by opponents of its new controller.