Errant Ephemeron MTG Card
2006-10-06 - Number 60
2008-11-07 - Number 20
2013-06-07 - Number 41
2014-03-14 - Number 20
2014-12-05 - Number 20
2019-11-07 - Number 366
2021-03-19 - Number 66
2020-09-26 - Number DD2-20
| Card sets | Released in 8 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Illusion |
| Abilities | Flying,Suspend |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
Text of card
Flying Suspend 4— (Rather than play this card from your hand, you may pay and remove it from the game with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When you remove the last, play it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)
Cards like Errant Ephemeron
Errant Ephemeron presents itself as an intriguing flying creature in Magic: The Gathering, drawing close parallels with other high-impact flyers. Notably similar is the card ‘Inkwell Leviathan’, which also boasts a large body, but hails from an entirely different environment. Inkwell Leviathan may have shroud and trample, granting it robust protection and damage potential, yet it doesn’t have the suspend keyword that gives Errant Ephemeron its unique pre-boarding presence.
Moreover, we encounter ‘Air Elemental’, a classic creature that shares the same mana cost as a non-suspended Errant Ephemeron. While Air Elemental offers immediate board presence, it lacks the suspense and the tactical early-game option provided by Errant Ephemeron’s suspend feature. Additionally, ‘Pardic Dragon’ also exhibits suspension. Although potentially more powerful with its firebreathing ability, this dragon requires particular circumstances to unsuspend, unlike the auto-unsuspend of Errant Ephemeron after a set number of turns.
In comparing Errant Ephemeron with its similar creature counterparts, we see how its suspension element and evasive flying ability shape it into a versatile tool for players seeking strategic depth and the advantage of surprise within their aerial arsenal.
Cards similar to Errant Ephemeron by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Errant Ephemeron itself doesn’t directly enable you to draw more cards, it provides a flying threat that demands an answer. Having such a creature can often force the opponent to use up their resources to handle it, indirectly leading to card advantage as you deplete their options.
Resource Acceleration: Thanks to the suspend mechanic, you can pay a fraction of Errant Ephemeron’s mana cost upfront and have a powerful creature enter the battlefield a few turns later. This allows you to allocate your resources towards other spells in the intervening turns, effectively smoothing out your mana usage over time.
Instant Speed: While Errant Ephemeron itself isn’t an instant, its suspend nature gives you strategic flexibility akin to instant speed plays. You can initiate its suspend during your opponent’s end step or when you deem it safe, keeping mana open for other actions or counterspells without committing to a board development until your next upkeep.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Errant Ephemeron offers the option of suspending the card for a reduced and staggered mana cost, this approach requires planning and waiting for it to be playable, potentially slowing down your immediate game impact.
Specific Mana Cost: With Errant Ephemeron requiring two blue mana in its casting cost, it can be restrictive for multi-colored decks since it necessitates a sufficient blue mana base, making it less flexible for deck inclusion.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Errant Ephemeron’s upfront casting cost of seven mana can be a steep investment, especially when there are other creatures with lower mana costs and comparable stats or abilities that are available earlier in the game.
Reasons to Include Errant Ephemeron in Your Collection
Versatility: Errant Ephemeron provides a dual utility in gameplay. Not only can it be a formidable flying threat on the battlefield, but its suspend mechanism also allows players to strategize their moves for future turns, meshing well with various tempo and control decks.
Combo Potential: This card’s suspend feature opens up avenues for synergy with mechanics that benefit from time counters, such as cards with proliferate or time counter manipulation. It fits seamlessly into decks that exploit these synergies for powerful gameplay combos.
Meta-Relevance: In a game environment that leans towards non-creature spells or slower deck builds, Errant Ephemeron can shine by providing a cost-effective creature that circumvents traditional summoning restrictions, offering a considerable aerial threat in the later stages of the game.
How to beat
Dealing with the suspended aerial threat of Errant Ephemeron can be a true test of strategy for Magic the Gathering players. This powerful creature, boasting flying and a solid 4/4 body causes a major presence in the skies once it finally arrives on the battlefield. The key to besting this card lies in preemptive measures and control tactics.
Since Errant Ephemeron enters battle through suspend, it gives opponents time to prepare their moves. Having efficient removal spells at the ready is crucial; you want options than can target creatures regardless of their size. Spells like Murder, which can destroy any creature for a straightforward three mana cost, or Doom Blade, which eliminates nonblack creatures for only two mana, can handle the Ephemeron once it lands.
Another angle is to attack a player’s mana base, making it difficult for them to pay the upkeep costs associated with suspended cards. Land destruction or countering the spell initially as it attempts to suspend can prevent this threat from ever manifesting. Playing control decks or using time-counter manipulation cards can also disrupt the flow of the game, rendering Errant Ephemeron barely more than a lofty idea that never takes flight.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Errant Ephemeron MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and Duel Decks: Jace vs. Chandra, 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 Errant Ephemeron and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
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- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Errant Ephemeron Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Luca Zontini.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2006-10-06 | Time Spiral | TSP | 60 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | |
| 2 | 2008-11-07 | Duel Decks: Jace vs. Chandra | DD2 | 20 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | |
| 3 | 2013-06-07 | Modern Masters | MMA | 41 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | |
| 4 | 2014-03-14 | Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska | DDM | 20 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | |
| 5 | 2014-12-05 | Duel Decks Anthology: Jace vs. Chandra | JVC | 20 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | |
| 6 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 366 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | |
| 7 | The List | PLST | DD2-20 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini | ||
| 8 | 2021-03-19 | Time Spiral Remastered | TSR | 66 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Luca Zontini |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Errant Ephemeron has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Errant Ephemeron 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 | A creature cast using suspend will enter the battlefield with haste. It will have haste until another player gains control of it. (In some rare cases, another player may gain control of the creature spell itself. If this happens, the creature won’t enter the battlefield with haste.) |
| 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. |