Escape Protocol MTG Card

Flickers permanents for card advantage and resource acceleration, increasing tactical gameplay options. Requires discarding to cycle, potentially risking hand depletion and flexibility. Enables potent combos and can adjust to various meta plays, enhancing deck strategies.

Escape Protocol - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	2020-04-24
Set symbol
Set name	Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Set code	IKO
Number	48
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Deruchenko Alexander

Text of card

Whenever you cycle a card, you may pay . When you do, exile target artifact or creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.

Sanctuaries harnessed the glowstones' natural reaction to monsters to create a warning system.

Cards like Escape Protocol

Escape Protocol is a notable enchantment in Magic: The Gathering, sharing its thematic space with a slew of cards that capitalize on cycling or discard triggers. Just like Escape Protocol, Astral Slide is another enchantment that manipulates the battlefield through cycling, allowing creatures to dodge removal or reuse enter-the-battlefield effects. However, Escape Protocol is more versatile as it can also target artifacts, not just creatures.

In addition, Tectonic Reformation is another card that harnesses the cycling mechanic, turning all lands into potential cycling fodder for card draws and Escape Protocol triggers. This can be incredibly resourceful, especially in land-heavy draws. Conversely, it doesn’t offer the direct board interaction that Escape Protocol can provide. Drannith Stinger stands out as well, rewarding players for each cycle with direct damage to opponents, but it lacks the same interactive playstyle that makes Escape Protocol a unique tool for controlling the game’s pace.

When we dissect the nuances of each card and gauge their potential impact in a variety of situations, Escape Protocol exhibits a distinctive edge with its ability to reconfigure the board state frequently, which can be pivotal in matches that hinge on precise timing and resource management.

Tectonic Reformation - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Escape Protocol provides a unique tactical advantage by letting you recycle creatures and artifacts for additional uses, which can translate into a substantial card advantage over time.

Resource Acceleration: This card’s ability to flicker permanents can lead to repeated triggers from “enter the battlefield” effects, essentially providing a form of resource acceleration as you gather additional value from cards you’ve already played.

Instant Speed: Activate Escape Protocol’s ability at instant speed. This allows you to react to your opponents’ moves, protect key permanents from removal, or simply gain surprise value by reusing an enter the battlefield effect unexpectedly.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Escape Protocol demands discarding as part of its cycling mechanism. This action can drain a player’s hand, potentially leaving them vulnerable without sufficient card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both blue mana and generic mana, necessitating a commitment to blue mana sources and potentially limiting deck-building flexibility when considering a multitude of color combinations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The two mana required for its activation is on the higher side when weighed against other flicker effects in the game. Players might find more cost-effective ways to achieve similar outcomes, which can make Escape Protocol’s cost a deterring factor for its inclusion in some decks.

Reasons to Include Escape Protocol in Your Collection

Versatility: Escape Protocol’s unique mechanic allows it to be a flexible addition to numerous deck archetypes. With its cycling-triggered ability, it can flicker your creatures or artifacts to reuse their enter-the-battlefield effects, or to save them from removal.

Combo Potential: This enchantment pairs well with cards that have potent ETB abilities or cards that benefit from cycling. By enabling repeatable flicker effects for just two mana, you can create powerful synergies and repetitive interactions within your deck.

Meta-Relevance: Considering its ability to disrupt your opponents’ strategies by dodging targeted spells or recurring pivotal ETB effects, Escape Protocol aligns well with decks aiming to survive and control the game tempo in the current competitive environment.

How to beat

Escape Protocol is an intriguing enchantment card that gives players the power to flicker their permanents each time they cycle a card, at the cost of one mana. This can present a challenge, as it enables your opponent to dodge removal spells or trigger enter-the-battlefield effects repeatedly, enhancing their board state with each cycle.

To effectively neutralize the advantage Escape Protocol offers, consider using cards that prevent the activation of abilities, such as Pithing Needle, naming Escape Protocol to shut down its flicker capability. Alternatively, employ instant-speed removal to destroy the enchantment before your opponent can take advantage of its cycling synergy. Cards like Disenchant or Naturalize can be particularly effective here. Aiming at denying your opponent the resources to cycle can also be key, which can be done by applying hand disruption strategies or using cards that increase the cost of cycling, thereby limiting how often they can utilize Escape Protocol’s effect.

Coping with Escape Protocol requires strategic evasion of its synergy potential and a focus on controlling your opponent’s resources and abilities. By restricting their ability to use the enchantment to its fullest, you bolster your chances of maintaining an upper hand in the game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Escape Protocol MTG card by a specific set like Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, 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 Escape Protocol and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Escape Protocol has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-04-17	Escape Protocol’s triggered ability goes on the stack without a target. While that ability is resolving, you may pay . If you do, a second ability triggers and you pick a target artifact or creature you control. This is different from abilities that say “If you do . . .” in that players may cast spells and activate abilities after mana is paid but before the target changes zones.
2020-04-17	If a token is exiled this way, it will cease to exist and won’t return to the battlefield.
2020-04-17	Some cards with cycling have an ability that triggers when you cycle them, and some cards have an ability that triggers whenever you cycle any card. These triggered abilities resolve before you draw from the cycling ability.
2020-04-17	Triggered abilities from cycling a card and the cycling ability itself aren’t spells. Effects that interact with spells (such as that of Cancel) won’t affect them.
2020-04-17	When the card returns to the battlefield, it will be a new object with no connection to the card that was exiled. Auras attached to the exiled permanent will be put into their owners’ graveyards. Any Equipment will become unattached and remain on the battlefield. Any counters on the exiled permanent will cease to exist.
2020-04-17	While resolving Escape Protocol’s triggered ability, you can’t pay multiple times to exile multiple permanents you control.
2020-04-17	You can cycle a card even if it has a triggered ability from cycling that won’t have a legal target. This is because the cycling ability and the triggered ability are separate. This also means that if either ability is countered (with Disallow, for example), the other ability will still resolve.