Cyclical Evolution MTG Card

Grants substantial card advantage through effective card cycling, pivoting game momentum. Instant speed allows for adaptable, responsive play, and strategic depth in matches. Enables resource acceleration, swiftly bringing back critical cards from the graveyard.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Suspend
Released	2007-05-04
Set symbol
Set name	Future Sight
Set code	FUT
Number	125
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Cavotta

Text of card

Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Remove Cyclical Evolution from the game with three time counters on it. Suspend 3— (Rather than play this card from your hand, you may pay and remove it from the game with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, play it without paying its mana cost.)

Cards like Cyclical Evolution

Cyclical Evolution is an intriguing card that finds its kin among other proliferate mechanics within Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relative is perhaps Inexorable Tide, which proliferates with every spell cast. However, Cyclical Evolution allows for more controlled proliferation, targeting a single permanent or player when you cycle or discard another card, making it more situationally versatile.

Another similar card is Flux Channeler, which shines in decks centered around casting noncreature spells, enabling proliferation each time such a spell is cast. While Flux Channeler fits better in spell-heavy decks, Cyclical Evolution offers value in cycling decks, adding a layer of adaptability and the potential for surprise combat tricks or sudden growth of loyalty counters.

Comparatively, Contentious Plan is a straightforward spell that proliferates and draws a card for a mere two mana. It’s a less flexible but more immediate option, especially useful when you’re looking for a quick increase in counters across multiple permanents. Cyclical Evolution, with its cyclical nature, thereby stands out in its niche, offering both a strategic depth and recurring benefit whenever cycling or discarding comes into play.

By examining these correlating cards, it’s evident that Cyclical Evolution adds a distinct twist to the MTG realm of proliferate options, with its unique trigger granting it a place in decks that value cycling synergy and gradual, yet calculated, advancement of in-game assets.

Cards similar to Cyclical Evolution by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cyclical Evolution grants you a burgeoning hand, cycling three cards from your library into your palm. By wielding this, you craft a formidable advantage, ensuring the ebb and flow of the match tilts in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: When the conditions are ripe—namely, a graveyard brimming with potential—Cyclical Evolution transforms from a mere cycling mechanism into a veritable bastion of growth, permitting you to invite a key card back from your graveyard to your hand, hence hastening your pace towards victory.

Instant Speed: Quick as a whisper on the wind, Cyclical Evolution operates at instant speed, juxtaposing strategic depth with real-time responsiveness. With such alacrity, it deftly adapts to the shifting tides of gameplay, offering a silver bullet to thwart your foes at the most opportune moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Cyclical Evolution’s ability necessitates discarding a card, which could set you back, particularly when your hand is already depleted or the card selection in hand is crucial for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s cost is locked into blue mana, requiring a firm commitment to blue in your deck. This may not blend well with decks that have a wider color scheme or that rely on color flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its cost sitting at a significant sum, Cyclical Evolution has a high threshold for casting. When assessing its place in your deck, consider that there are alternatives available that could bring about a similar effect or provide more versatile solutions for a lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Cyclical Evolution in Your Collection

Versatility: Cyclical Evolution offers a unique ability to adapt to various board states, making it a solid pick for decks that utilize +1/+1 counters or aim to proliferate. Its utility goes beyond just creature enhancement – it can be a game-changer in the right setup.

Combo Potential: With its scalable effect, Cyclical Evolution naturally harmonizes with strategies focusing on synergy with counters. It not only enhances individual creatures but also has the potential to work wonders with cards that benefit from or rely on counter distribution.

Meta-Relevance: Considering that creature-based strategies are often present in the meta, Cyclical Evolution can provide an advantage by evolving your creatures to match and exceed the power of your opponents’ threats, aligning well with adaptable deck designs and the ever-changing competitive landscape.

How to beat

Cyclical Evolution is a card that can be a game-changer in player strategies when it comes to proliferating and the undeniable value of adaptability it provides to any counter-heavy deck in MTG. It offers players the ability to consistently amplify the number of counters on their permanents, potentially tipping the scales in their favor. To effectively counteract Cyclical Evolution’s influence, targeting it with disruption spells early on is key as it hinges on a long-term advantage.

Consider using instant speed removal spells or abilities to eliminate key creatures before the spell’s effects can be fully realized. Counterspells also prove to be a powerful tool, ensuring Cyclical Evolution never hits the battlefield in the first place. It’s also wise to keep on hand enchantment removals, as they are perfect for dealing with tricky permanents like this one. Another method focuses on minimizing the effectiveness of counters, perhaps by using cards that neutralize or remove counters from the opponent’s permanents. This preemptive strategy lessens the impact of the card’s ability to proliferate them.

By applying these tactical plays, you can diminish the card’s potential and maintain control of the game pace. Awareness and preparedness are key to overcoming the challenge posed by Cyclical Evolution in any MTG matchup.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cyclical Evolution MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight, 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 Cyclical Evolution and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cyclical Evolution has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-06-18	As the second triggered ability resolves, you must cast the card if able. You must do so even if it requires targets and the only legal targets are ones that you really don’t want to target. Timing permissions based on the card’s type are ignored.
2021-06-18	Cards exiled with suspend are exiled face up.
2021-06-18	Exiling a card with suspend isn’t casting that card. This action doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
2021-06-18	If an effect refers to a “suspended card,” that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
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 the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card’s owner’s next upkeep.
2021-06-18	If the second triggered ability is countered, the card can’t be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2021-06-18	If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it’s exiled.
2021-06-18	If you can’t cast the card, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2021-06-18	If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” such as with suspend, 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 if you want to cast the card.
2021-06-18	Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that causes you to cast the card when the last time counter is removed. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of that creature (or, in rare cases, you lose control of the creature spell while it’s on the stack).
2021-06-18	The mana value of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn’t paid.
2021-06-18	When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) triggers. It doesn’t matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
2021-06-18	You are never forced to activate mana abilities to pay costs, so if there is a mandatory additional mana cost (such as from Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), you can decline to activate mana abilities to pay for it and hence fail to cast the suspended card, leaving it in exile.
2021-06-18	You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage’s ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.