Mastery of the Unseen MTG Card
2015-01-23 - Number 19s
2015-01-23 - Number 19
2024-02-09 - Number 74
2002-06-24 - Number 55705
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Abilities | Manifest |
Key Takeaways
- Mastery of the Unseen allows for a constant flow of creatures, providing both offense and defense flexibility.
- Instant speed manifesting can psych out opponents, adding a surprise factor to your tactical plays.
- The card requires careful resource management, as it demands a continual investment for activations.
Text of card
Whenever a permanent you control is turned face up, you gain 1 life for each creature you control. : Manifest the top card of your library. (Put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Mastery of the Unseen presents a strong utility in generating card advantage by allowing you to manifest the top card of your library. This process places a creature onto the battlefield which can be turned face up at any time to reveal its true form, potentially overwhelming your opponents with unexpected threats.
Resource Acceleration: By providing a repeatable source of creature generation, Mastery of the Unseen aids in resource acceleration. The ability to pay mana to manifest the top card of your deck offers a steady stream of creatures that can be used either as attackers or blockers, keeping your board presence robust and flexible.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of manifesting at instant speed with this card is a significant advantage. It allows you to leave mana open during your opponent’s turn, giving the impression you might have other responses in hand. This can create a psychological edge, as opponents must consider the potential threats of unknown manifested creatures, adding an element of surprise and tactical depth to your gameplay.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Mastery of the Unseen demands a continual resource commitment to utilize its abilities effectively. Every activation requires a card to be exiled, potentially straining your hand over time if you cannot maintain a beneficial card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: While one white mana in its cost is manageable, the card’s requirement for colorless mana may not align well with mana bases that heavily prioritize color-specific spells and abilities, limiting the universality of this enchantment in multi-colored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The initial mana investment to get Mastery of the Unseen on the battlefield is considerable. When you measure its potential return against other options in standard play, you might find it challenging to justify the upfront cost, particularly in fast-paced games where early board presence is crucial.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Mastery of the Unseen offers a wide range of utility in decks that focus on creature play, as well as those that benefit from life gain. Its ability to manifest cards can be a game-changer, giving players surprise blockers or unexpected threats.
Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that allow you to turn face-down creatures face up, potentially unleashing powerful creatures for less mana than they would normally cost. It also dovetails well with flicker or exile-return effects to garner additional value from face-up turned creatures.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where long games are common, Mastery of the Unseen can provide a consistent advantage. Against decks filled with removal spells, it provides an alternative way to put creatures on the board and maintain board presence.
How to beat
Mastery of the Unseen is an intriguing enchantment in Magic: The Gathering, best known for its ability to manifest cards from the top of a player’s library. This process places cards face down as 2/2 creatures, which can later turn face up for their mana cost if they’re creatures. The real challenge is dealing with the unpredictable board state it presents.
To counter this card effectively, one must focus on enchantment removal options. Cards like Disenchant or Naturalize are straightforward solutions that can remove Mastery of the Unseen from the battlefield. Another strategy is applying pressure early on, as Mastery of the Unseen requires significant mana investment to truly become dangerous. Thus, fast-paced aggressive decks can outrace the value it generates.
Lastly, a well-timed board wipe can reset the advantage gained through the manifested creatures. Supreme Verdict or Damnation doesn’t discriminate between face-up or face-down creatures, leveling the playing field. Mastering the pace of the game and maintaining answers to this enchantment are key to ensuring its secrets remain in the shadows.
Cards like Mastery of the Unseen
Mastery of the Unseen stands out in Magic the Gathering as a unique enchantment that brings both concealment and revelation to your battlefield. When considering equivalents, one might ponder Whisperwood Elemental, which also allows you to place creatures onto the battlefield face down. Yet, what makes Mastery of the Unseen a notch above is its built-in life gain mechanism for each creature turned face up. This synergizes well in decks focused on small incremental advantages to outlast opponents.
Analogous in function, we have manifest spells like Write into Being, which permits peering into the future of your library and manifesting the top card. However, while Write into Being provides a one-time effect, Mastery of the Unseen has the potential for continuous use, becoming a repetitive force if not addressed by your opponent. Moreover, the card Ghostly Flicker, although not a direct manifest enabler, can be creatively paired with Mastery of the Unseen to repeatedly flicker and flip creatures, thereby accumulating life while revealing potent creature abilities.
Ultimately, the passive power gain and versatility provided by Mastery of the Unseen can create a dominant position on the board, making it a valuable asset in creature-focused MTG decks aiming for sustained success throughout the game.
Cards similar to Mastery of the Unseen by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Mastery of the Unseen MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Fate Reforged Promos, 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 Mastery of the Unseen and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Mastery of the Unseen Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 55705 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren | ||
| 2 | 2015-01-23 | Fate Reforged Promos | PFRF | 19s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren | |
| 3 | 2015-01-23 | Fate Reforged | FRF | 19 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren | |
| 4 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 74 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Mastery of the Unseen has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Mastery of the Unseen card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-11-24 | A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren’t affected. |
| 2014-11-24 | Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. |
| 2014-11-24 | At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect allows you to or instructs you to. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because face-down creatures don’t have names, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a manifested creature would have morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its morph cost. |
| 2014-11-24 | Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still can’t be turned face down. |
| 2014-11-24 | The face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It’s colorless and has a converted mana cost of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant or change any of these characteristics. |
| 2014-11-24 | There are no cards in the Fate Reforged set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up. |
| 2014-11-24 | Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped. |
| 2014-11-24 | Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using the morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it’s a creature card. |
| 2014-11-24 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on). |
