Candletrap MTG Card
2021-09-24 - Number 9
2022-01-28 - Number 9
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Enchantment — Aura |
| Abilities | Coven,Enchant |
Key Takeaways
- Candletrap provides card advantage by potentially exiling creatures after paying its coven cost.
- Its low casting cost promotes mana efficiency, aligning with various strategic plays.
- While cost-effective, achieving its full removal capability demands additional mana investment.
Text of card
Enchant creature Enchanted creature has defender. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt by enchanted creature. Coven — , Sacrifice Candletrap: Exile enchanted creature. Activate only if you control three or more creatures with different powers.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Candletrap not only incapacitates a creature with its entrance on the battlefield, but the opportunity for card advantage also surfaces if you opt to pay the coven cost. Doing so allows you to exile the neutralized creature permanently, ensuring you won’t have to deal with it again.
Resource Acceleration: Although not a direct source of resource acceleration, Candletrap’s low cost can help you save mana for more significant plays later on. By using just one white mana to temporarily remove a threat, you maintain a mana-efficient game strategy.
Instant Speed: Candletrap’s design shines by minimizing downtime. While not an instant itself, the card’s removal effect can free up your mana during your turns, allowing you to keep mana open to cast instant spells in response to opponents’ actions.
Card Cons
Specific Mana Cost: Candletrap requires a precise mana investment to cast. This can make the card less flexible in decks that do not consistently generate white mana, potentially causing it to be a dead draw when you can’t meet that requirement.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the initial casting cost appears low, in order to get the full value by permanently removing the creature from combat, the additional cost to activate the Coven ability can be steep. This may result in a blow to your tempo, especially when compared to other removal spells in the same mana range that don’t require additional investment to be fully effective.
Discard Requirement: Although Candletrap does not have a discard requirement itself, balancing your hand to have the right amount of creatures to satisfy the Coven can feel like an indirect requirement. This is because holding onto creature cards to enable the Coven rather than playing them can be disadvantageous, effectively reducing the resources you have at your disposal.
Reasons to Include Candletrap in Your Collection
Versatility: Candletrap is an efficient removal spell that can be included in a plethora of deck builds. Its ability to neutralize powerful creatures at a low cost makes it a utility card, perfect for both aggressive and controlling strategies.
Combo Potential: Beyond its immediate effect, Candletrap’s coven ability can serve as a linchpin in decks that exploit tapping and untapping mechanics, handily converting into a permanent removal tool with the right creature lineup.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where formidable creatures often dominate the board, Candletrap offers a cost-effective and immediate answer. It’s especially relevant in metas swarming with high-powered threats, providing a strategic edge by dealing with them early on.
How to beat
Candletrap is a unique enchantment card in Magic: The Gathering that lures players with its ability to neutralize a threat by disabling an opponent’s creature. Much like a spider immobilizing its prey, Candletrap holds the creature in place, preventing it from dealing or receiving damage. But like every enchantment in the game, there are clever ways around it. Disenchant effects or enchantment removal tools such as Return to Nature can swipe away Candletrap, liberating your creature to rejoin the battle.
Alternatively, counter magic like Negate or Dispel can torpedo Candletrap before it latches on, maintaining your creature’s capabilities. Creature-based strategies can also circumvent Candletrap’s effect by utilizing sacrifice outlets such as Village Rites, effectively skirting the entrapped state. Moreover, board sweepers like Shatter the Sky render Candletrap obsolete by clearing the board of creatures entirely, both trapped and untrapped alike.
In essence, while Candletrap can initially seem like an unbreakable bind, seasoned players recognize that MTG abounds with methods to slip out of its waxy grasp. Through smart card choices and strategic play, the constraints of Candletrap can be melted away as effortlessly as candle wax to a flame.
Cards like Candletrap
Candletrap is a notable piece in the control puzzles of Magic: The Gathering. It shares common ground with cards like Pacifism, which also renders creatures powerless in terms of dealing damage. However, Candletrap offers an additional utility with its Investigate feature, giving players a card-drawing opportunity. Unlike Pacifism, Candletrap can eventually lead to creature removal, triggering its secondary ability upon paying the necessary mana cost.
Another card worth mentioning is Claustrophobia. Like Candletrap, it neutralizes the threat by incapacitating the creature. Its effect is immediate and doesn’t require additional mana investment, unlike Candletrap’s conditional destruction. Yet, Claustrophobia lacks the added value of the card draw potential provided by Candletrap’s Investigate.
Further analysis reveals that Bound in Gold stands as a relevant comparison. This enchantment not only prevents damage but also bars activated abilities, much like Candletrap’s detainment post-investigation. While Bound in Gold doesn’t include card draw capability, it is less resource-intensive as it lacks the secondary mana cost for creature removal.
In sum, while there are several enchantments with similar pacifying effects in Magic: The Gathering, Candletrap holds a distinct place thanks to its combination of temporary disability and card advantage potential through its Investigate clause, providing a unique strategic edge in gameplay.
Cards similar to Candletrap by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Candletrap MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Candletrap 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 Candletrap Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by Manuel Castañón.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-09-24 | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | MID | 9 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Manuel Castañón | |
| 2 | 2022-01-28 | Innistrad: Double Feature | DBL | 9 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Manuel Castañón |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Candletrap has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Candletrap card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-09-24 | A creature has different power from another if their powers are different numbers. For example, a 1/1 creature and a 2/1 creature have different powers. |
| 2021-09-24 | For three creatures to have different powers from one another, each of their powers needs to be different. A 1/1 creature, a 2/1 creature, and another 2/1 creature aren't three creatures with different powers, even though both 2/1 creatures have different power than the 1/1 creature. |
| 2021-09-24 | Many coven abilities, such as that of Dawnhart Wardens above, are triggered abilities with intervening if clauses. You must control three or more creatures with different powers at the time the ability triggers and at the time the ability tries to resolve. They do not, however, need to be the same set of creatures in both cases. |
