Summoner's Egg MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact Creature — Egg
Abilities	Imprint
Released	2004-06-04
Set symbol
Set name	Fifth Dawn
Set code	5DN
Power	0
Toughness	4
Number	157
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jim Nelson

Key Takeaways

Enables summoning expensive creatures early, potentially altering the game’s momentum in your favor.
Requires creatures in hand for imprinting, demanding strategic hand management.
Acts as a surprise element in decks, valuable against control-heavy metas.

Text of card

Imprint When Summoner's Egg comes into play, you may remove a card in your hand from the game face down. When Summoner's Egg is put into a graveyard from play, turn the imprinted face-down card face up. If that card is a creature card, put it into play under your control.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Summoner’s Egg can bring significant card advantage by placing potentially expensive creatures into play without paying their mana cost. This manipulates the typical flow of a game by getting around countermeasures and putting opponents on the back foot.

Resource Acceleration: Primarily, the Egg offers a unique form of resource acceleration. By bypassing the conventional casting cost of a high-impact creature, players can dramatically change the board state in their favor, accelerating their game plan well ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: Although Summoner’s Egg itself does not operate at instant speed, it synergizes well with cards that can destroy it at instant speed. This allows for surprise interactions and for players to unleash powerful creatures at unexpected moments, sometimes during an opponent’s turn, complicating their strategies and potentially disrupting meticulously planned plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Summoner’s Egg necessitates that you have a creature at hand to imprint when it enters the battlefield. This can potentially leave you at a resource disadvantage if your hand is running low on valuable creature cards.

Specific Mana Cost: With its artifact nature, Summoner’s Egg requires a precise mana investment of four colorless mana. This specific cost must be available at the right time, potentially affecting your deck’s mana curve and resource allocation.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Summoner’s Egg can act as a hidden threat, the four mana investment is significant. Considering this, its activation is also dependent on the Egg being destroyed, which can be a slow and unreliable process compared to other cards that may produce immediate impact on the board state for the same or lesser mana cost.

Reasons to Include Summoner’s Egg in Your Collection

Versatility: Summoner’s Egg is a unique addition to any deck that thrives on surprise and adaptability. It allows players to hide a creature card underneath it, which can be strategically unleashed when the Egg is cracked, fitting into various deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: The real excitement comes from its synergy with other cards. Players can set up powerful combinations by placing high-cost creatures under the Egg, or use it in conjunction with sacrifice effects for an unexpected reveal, enabling dynamic and game-changing plays.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where control decks dominate, the Egg can sneak key creatures onto the battlefield, bypassing counterspells and removal. The ability to deploy threats without paying their mana cost can offer a significant tactical advantage in the right circumstances.

How to beat

Summoner’s Egg presents an intriguing challenge on the battlefield, concealing powerful creatures within its shell until it’s cracked. Neutralizing this card effectively requires precision and a strategic understanding of the game. Artifact removal spells such as Disenchant or Abrade are valuable tools that can dismantle the Egg before it hatches, preventing the hidden creature from entering the fray.

Moreover, exile effects offer a robust solution to the Egg dilemma. Cards like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares can remove the Egg without triggering its ability, keeping the contents forever a mystery to your adversary. Manipulating the Egg’s trigger is also a savvy tactic. By ensuring it’s under your control when destroyed, the creature inside will enter the battlefield on your side. Cards such as Confiscate or Control Magic enable such crafty plays.

Ultimately, overcoming the enigma of Summoner’s Egg requires foresight and the right spells. By being prepared with artifact control and disruption strategies, you can crack the riddle and maintain the upper hand in your matches.

“`html

Cards like Summoner's Egg

Summoner’s Egg presents itself as a unique artifact creature card within Magic: The Gathering, specifically within the realm of creature concealment and suspenseful reveal mechanics. It stands comparison with cards like Matter Reshaper, which shares the characteristic of triggering an effect upon going to the graveyard. Unlike Summoner’s Egg, Matter Reshaper may put a permanent card with converted mana cost 3 or less onto the battlefield, rather than any card you’ve secreted away under the egg.

Another parallel can be drawn with the card Illusionary Mask. Both allow players to hide something from opponents until a condition is met. The Mask allows players to play creature cards face down as 2/2 creatures for variable mana cost, whereas Summoner’s Egg requires a fixed amount but guarantees the concealment of potentially any creature regardless of mana cost or power. Furthermore, when we look at Quicksilver Amulet, the card also bypasses traditional casting requirements, like Summoner’s Egg, but it lacks the element of surprise since the creature is put onto the battlefield immediately.

All things considered, Summoner’s Egg holds a special place within Magic: The Gathering for those looking to spring an unexpected creature onto the battlefield with a sense of drama that similar cards can’t quite replicate.

“`

Cards similar to Summoner's Egg by color, type and mana cost

Krark-Clan Ironworks - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Summoner's Egg MTG card by a specific set like Fifth Dawn, 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 Summoner's Egg and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Summoner's Egg 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 Summoner's Egg card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2004-12-01	Any “When this creature is turned face up” abilities that the exiled card may have don’t trigger because the card isn’t being turned face up while it’s on the battlefield.
2004-12-01	If the card is not a creature card when it’s turned face up, it remains exiled face up.
2004-12-01	The card is imprinted face down. This means that other players don’t know what the card is and you can’t look at the card once it’s imprinted (until it’s turned face up, of course). Note that effects that exile cards, including all previous imprint cards, exile those cards face up unless the effect says otherwise.