Spatial Contortion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides removal or a power boost at instant speed, crucial for real-time strategies.
  2. Demands colorless mana, potentially affecting deck diversity and hand quality.
  3. Essential for decks exploiting colorless synergies, excelling in meta with smaller creatures.

Text of card

( represents colorless mana.) Target creature gets +3/-3 until end of turn.

"For those without the Planeswalker spark, the merest touch of the Blind Eternities can kill." —Ugin


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spatial Contortion might not draw cards, but it effectively serves as a two-for-one by removing an opponent’s creature while preserving your own spells or creatures. This efficient trade-off can tip the scales in your favor during a match.

Resource Acceleration: Although Spatial Contortion doesn’t directly accelerate resources in terms of mana, it allows you to keep a lean mana curve in your deck. This card occupies the crucial two-mana spot that can be crucial in fast-paced games, enabling you to deal with early threats without sacrificing your own board development.

Instant Speed: Spatial Contortion’s instant speed gives you the flexibility to react during your opponent’s turn or end step, making it a versatile answer to threats. This adaptability allows for strategic plays that can thwart an opponent’s strategy at a crucial moment.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Spatial Contortion necessitates the availability of colorless mana, which may not align seamlessly with many deck structures, especially those running without Eldrazi or utility lands that can produce such mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When assessing its cost-effectiveness, Spatial Contortion’s need for two mana—for what is often a temporary solution—can be on the higher side, considering alternative removal options in the game that are more permanent or have additional benefits.

Discard Requirement: While Spatial Contortion doesn’t directly demand you to discard cards, its specific mana cost can indirectly lead to card disadvantage. To ensure the right mana is accessible, players might have to include specific lands or artifacts in their decks, which could displace other valuable cards and diminish overall hand quality.


Reasons to Include Spatial Contortion in Your Collection

Versatility: Spatial Contortion offers a flexible answer to a variety of situations on the battlefield. It can either be a removal tool for smaller threats or a surprise buff to push through additional damage during combat.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize well with decks that benefit from instant-speed interaction. It can be particularly powerful in decks that aim to exploit colorless spells or abilities, taking advantage of formats that allow such synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In game metas where aggressive creature strategies are prevalent, Spatial Contortion can serve as an efficient means to disrupt your opponents’ tempo. It’s also valuable in a format with key creatures that have 3 or less toughness, as it can remove them swiftly from the game.


How to beat

Spatial Contortion offers flexible and unexpected board manipulation in Magic: The Gathering, allowing players to either boost their creature’s power or eliminate a pesky threat on the opponent’s side. This versatility can catch players off guard, making it a tricky card to play against.

The key to outmaneuvering Spatial Contortion lies in anticipating the play. Keeping your creatures’ toughness above three will help safeguard them against its removal capabilities. Moreover, deploying creatures with hexproof or granting them temporary invulnerability through spells can effectively nullify the threat posed by Spatial Contortion. Always be mindful of the two mana setup as well, which can signal the card’s potential use. Stick to strategic plays and play around the possible surprise this card introduces, and you’ll deftly navigate its spatial twist to your advantage.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering your MTG deck means recognizing the strengths and navigating around the weaknesses of each card. Spatial Contortion offers that nimble edge to either swing combat in your favor or disrupt your opponent’s board with quick precision. But always weigh in the colorless mana requirement and balance your deck accordingly. Eager to make the most of Spatial Contortion’s utility? Whether your aim is to tweak your current build or scout new strategies, we’ve got insights for every level of play. Visit us to expand your knowledge and ensure your deck not just survives the meta, but thrives in it.


Cards like Spatial Contortion

Spatial Contortion stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a utility spell offering a mix of versatility and removal within the colorless mana scope. Resembling cards like Warping Wail, Spatial Contortion offers the ability to buff your creatures or remove smaller threats from the battlefield. While both spells require colorless mana, Spatial Contortion’s focus is to provide a swift power boost or become a tool for removal by inflicting 3 damage, thus bridging the gap in decks that lack access to direct damage spells.

Grotesque Mutation is another card with the potential to surprise opponents by temporarily increasing a creature’s power. Although it grants lifelink, unlike the instant impact of Spatial Contortion, it falls short in flexibility as it is limited to boosting your own creatures. Disfigure is also often mentioned in conversations about quick removal spells. It carries a lower mana cost but exclusively serves as a way to weaken or eliminate creatures without the dual function of empowerment.

Comparatively, the utility of Spatial Contortion in Magic: The Gathering shines through when a player needs the duality of threat response or the aggressive push to change the tide during combat phases, making it a valuable addition in decks tailored around colorless mana strategies.

Warping Wail - MTG Card versions
Grotesque Mutation - MTG Card versions
Disfigure - MTG Card versions
Warping Wail - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)
Grotesque Mutation - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
Disfigure - Zendikar (ZEN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spatial Contortion MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Friday Night Magic 2016, 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 Spatial Contortion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Spatial Contortion Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-01-22 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 615552015normalblackJoseph Meehan
22016-01-01Friday Night Magic 2016F16 72015normalblackJoseph Meehan
32016-01-22Oath of the GatewatchOGW 82015normalblackDaarken
42023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 8092015normalblackDaarken

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Spatial Contortion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-02-01 Spatial Contortion is banned in Pauper (not just non-legal), due to a special case on MTGO: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/january-21-2019-banned-and-restricted-announcement

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