Clinging Mists MTG Card


Clinging Mists - Dark Ascension
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Fateful hour
Released2012-02-03
Set symbol
Set nameDark Ascension
Set codeDKA
Number109
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byAnthony Francisco

Key Takeaways

  1. Card advantage becomes tactically viable through Clinging Mists when life totals dip below ten.
  2. Its life-preserving effect allows for calculated resource deployment, vital in MTG’s tempo.
  3. Instant speed offers the opportunity to disrupt opponents’ combat phases efficiently and effectively.

Text of card

Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn. Fateful hour — If you have 5 or less life, tap all attacking creatures. Those creatures don't untap during their controller's next untap step.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Clinging Mists provides a strategic edge by potentially offering a draw mechanism if you have 10 or less life, which can be crucial in maintaining card parity or gaining a lead in tight situations.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly impacting mana resources, the life-preserving ability of Clinging Mists can effectively buy you time to deploy other resources and build up your board presence without succumbing to pressure.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Clinging Mists allows flexibility in gameplay, enabling you to wait until the most opportune moment during combat to disrupt your opponent’s plans or prevent substantial damage, preserving your life total while still holding up mana for other responses.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Clinging Mists asks players to discard a card if its fateful hour condition is not met. During critical moments, letting go of a potentially useful card can impede your gameplay and strategic flexibility.

Specific Mana Cost: Necessitating both green and generic mana, Clinging Mists might not seamlessly fit into multicolored decks that may run tight on the green mana required. This makes it less versatile across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The three mana cost for a fog effect, particularly without guarantee of the fateful hour bonus, makes Clinging Mists compete for slots against more efficient defensive spells. Players must weigh whether the potential upside is worth it in fast-paced games where mana efficiency is key.


Reasons to Include Clinging Mists in Your Collection

Versatility: Clinging Mists can be an asset in various deck types, specifically those that aim to prolong the game or stabilize against aggressive strategies. By fending off damage for a turn, it provides a crucial breather that can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Combo Potential: In combination with cards that capitalize on additional turns or benefit from life total preservation, Clinging Mists enhances both defensive and combo-oriented plays. When adeptly paired, it can enable a decisive swing in board state or life advantage.

Meta-Relevance: When facing a meta swarming with fast-paced aggro builds, Clinging Mists serves as a tactical countermeasure. Its fog-like effect can thwart opposing attacks, providing you with the opportunity to swing back or assemble a winning combination under otherwise fatal pressure.


How to beat

Confronting Clinging Mists in MTG is all about strategic timing and resource allocation. As a potent fog effect card, it delays combat damage, often giving opponents vital extra turns. To outmaneuver this card, ensure you have a diverse arsenal that isn’t solely reliant on combat damage. Consider incorporating direct damage spells, abilities that can remove enchantments, or use creatures that have effects upon entering the battlefield or dying.

One method to circumvent the stall tactic is utilizing planeswalkers, whose abilities can provide an alternative route to victory. Cards like Duress allow you to disrupt your opponent’s hand directly, potentially removing Clinging Mists before it can be played. Additionally, spells with the “cannot be countered” clause can be invaluable when pushing through final damage against an opponent looking to hide behind this fog effect.

Overall, flexibility in your strategy and keeping pressure through various avenues can nullify the temporary safety your opponent seeks with Clinging Mists. Your goal should be to anticipate the play and adapt your tactics accordingly, ensuring that a single card does not upend your path to victory.


Cards like Clinging Mists

Clinging Mists has carved its niche within the fog effects of Magic: The Gathering. This card prevents damage to players this turn and, if its fateful hour condition is met, allows players to skip their next combat phase. Cards like Fog itself are the most quintessential comparison, serving as the name-bearer for all such effects, preventing combat damage for a minimal mana cost without any additional benefits.

Another card worth mentioning is Moment’s Peace. This card not only matches Clinging Mists in temporarily halting combat damage but also offers the opportunity to be played from the graveyard, giving it an edge in longevity and strategic planning. On the costlier side, we find cards such as Riot Control, which not only prevent damage like Clinging Mists but also grant you life points, offering a direct advantage in life-total races.

Each of these cards provide players with an emergency button against incoming damage, but the nuanced differences, like conditional effects and alternative costs, are critical in determining their place in a player’s deck. While Clinging Mists requires the triggering of its fateful hour for full effect, its potential to disrupt two combat phases could be a strategic asset in the right deck.

Fog - MTG Card versions
Moment's Peace - MTG Card versions
Riot Control - MTG Card versions
Fog - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Moment's Peace - Odyssey (ODY)
Riot Control - Dragon's Maze (DGM)

Cards similar to Clinging Mists by color, type and mana cost

Foxfire - MTG Card versions
Verdigris - MTG Card versions
Team Spirit - MTG Card versions
Refresh - MTG Card versions
Vivify - MTG Card versions
Primal Boost - MTG Card versions
Sprouting Vines - MTG Card versions
Natural Affinity - MTG Card versions
Ferocious Charge - MTG Card versions
Graphic Violence - MTG Card versions
Remodel - MTG Card versions
Roar of Jukai - MTG Card versions
Rending Vines - MTG Card versions
Early Harvest - MTG Card versions
Hail Storm - MTG Card versions
Wildsize - MTG Card versions
Invigorate - MTG Card versions
Harrow - MTG Card versions
Pistus Strike - MTG Card versions
Hunter's Insight - MTG Card versions
Foxfire - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Verdigris - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Team Spirit - Unglued (UGL)
Refresh - Odyssey (ODY)
Vivify - Odyssey (ODY)
Primal Boost - Onslaught (ONS)
Sprouting Vines - Scourge (SCG)
Natural Affinity - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Ferocious Charge - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Graphic Violence - Unhinged (UNH)
Remodel - Unhinged (UNH)
Roar of Jukai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Rending Vines - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Early Harvest - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Hail Storm - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Wildsize - Commander Legends (CMR)
Invigorate - Game Night: Free-for-All (GN3)
Harrow - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Pistus Strike - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Hunter's Insight - Commander Masters (CMM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Clinging Mists MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension, 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 Clinging Mists and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Clinging Mists has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-01-22 Clinging Mists doesn’t track the controller of the attacking creatures. If one of them changes controller before its previous controller’s next untap step, it won’t untap during its new controller’s next untap step.
2011-01-22 In most cases, attacking creatures will already be tapped. They still won’t untap during their controller’s next untap step.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks