Malfunction MTG Card
2016-09-30 - Number 55
2020-11-12 - Number 55
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Enchantment — Aura |
| Abilities | Enchant |
Key Takeaways
- Malfunction offers card advantage by combining threat neutralization with draw potential for strategic plays.
- Instant speed casting of Malfunction allows strategic timing and game-changing surprise disruptions.
- The need to discard for its effect and its specific blue mana cost can limit usage in diverse decks.
Text of card
Enchant artifact or creature When Malfunction enters the battlefield, tap enchanted permanent. Enchanted permanent doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
"They don't make them like they used to."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Malfunction offers a dual effect of neutralizing a threat while potentially drawing you into more answers or threats of your own. This twist in gameplay can swing the tides in your favor, as controlling the board often leads to controlling the game.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your mana pool, Malfunction can indirectly accelerate your resources by keeping your opponents’ potential mana sources or mana accelerators locked down. This can give you a vital edge, especially when pacing is critical during matches.
Instant Speed: Malfunction’s ability to be cast at instant speed gives you the flexibility to adapt to your opponent’s moves. You can effectively time the disruption of their strategy, which can be game-changing. Responding to an opponent’s play with a Malfunction can be a powerful surprise element, throwing off their calculations and potentially wasting their turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Malfunction demands that you discard a card to unleash its effect. This prerequisite can backfire during moments when you’re clinging onto critical pieces of your strategy or when your hand is empty, leaving you unable to activate its potential at all.
Specific Mana Cost: Anchored in the blue mana pool, Malfunction’s casting cost necessitates a dedicated mana source. This might not smoothly align with multicolored decks, particularly those that aren’t centered around blue mana, limiting its integration into diverse strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating the card’s performance, its relatively high mana cost becomes apparent. With other spells and abilities available for less mana investment and potentially offering more versatile or immediate impact, Malfunction finds itself in a challenging spot balancing cost against benefit.
Reasons to Include Malfunction in Your Collection
Versatility: Malfunction offers players a way to neutralize potential threats by tapping a creature or artifact, which can be universally applied in control and tempo decks looking to manage the board state.
Combo Potential: This card can work wonders in intricate game plans by locking down combo pieces of opponents or paving the way for your own combo to go off uninterrupted.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment filled with heavy creature-based or artifact-utilizing decks, Malfunction stands as a pivotal card, tailored to suppress key opponent strategies and bolster your defensive line.
How to beat
Malfunction, a familiar spell for many players, establishes its presence by locking down a creature or artifact on the battlefield. Its efficacy springs from the card’s ability to neutralize key assets of the opponent, similar to the renowned Claustrophobia. The latter, though, focuses solely on creatures and traps them in place without offering the versatility that Malfunction brings to the table when dealing with noncreature artifacts.
Despite its advantages, overcoming Malfunction is within reach. Naturalize stands out as a straightforward and effective solution, dismantling Malfunction and freeing your imprisoned asset. Another route is bouncing the targeted card back to your hand, using spells like Blink of an Eye, which circumvents the enchantment entirely. Artifacts with inbuilt self-sacrifice mechanisms can also sidestep the effects of Malfunction, rendering it useless.
Overall, the aptitude to gauge the situation and choose the right countermeasure is key. Spells that either destroy enchantments like Malfunction or provide alternate ways to utilize the detained cards must be judiciously integrated into your strategy. It ensures that such obstructions don’t throw a wrench in your game plan, keeping your deck running smoothly and efficiently.
Cards like Malfunction
Malfunction has a unique position in Magic: The Gathering as a blue enchantment that taps and keeps an opponent’s artifact or creature locked down. It bears similarities to Claustrophobia, a card that also taps and incapacitates creatures without the versatility of targeting artifacts. The key difference lies in Malfunction’s additional functionality, making it a more flexible choice depending on what threats you face on the battlefield.
Ice Over is another card in the same realm, providing the ability to disable any artifact or creature. Unlike Malfunction, which requires an upfront cost of four mana, Ice Over is slightly more cost-effective with two mana. Nonetheless, Ice Over lacks the tap effect on entry, leaving that critical tempo advantage to Malfunction. Encrust also enters the comparison, sharing the ability to neutralize artifacts and creatures. Yet, again losing to Malfunction’s immediate tap impact, its slightly lower cost does not make up for the loss in responsiveness.
After weighing the pros and cons, Malfunction emerges as a more versatile stalling tool for blue decks, giving players a strategic edge by immediately dealing with threats while maintaining board control.
Cards similar to Malfunction by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Malfunction MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh and Kaladesh Remastered, 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 Malfunction 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 Magic products
Printings
The Malfunction Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-09-30 and 2020-11-12. Illustrated by Izzy.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-09-30 | Kaladesh | KLD | 55 | 2015 | normal | black | Izzy | |
| 2 | 2020-11-12 | Kaladesh Remastered | KLR | 55 | 2015 | normal | black | Izzy |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Malfunction has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
