Key to the City MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeArtifact

Key Takeaways

  1. Key to the City grants unblockable combat and potential card draws during untap, streamlining hand resources.
  2. Its instant-speed activation weaves versatility into game plans, directly affecting battlefield interactions.
  3. While it demands hand and mana investments, it can strategically align with graveyard-centric strategies.

Text of card

, Discard a card: Up to one target creature can't be blocked this turn. Whenever Key to the City becomes untapped, you may pay . If you do, draw a card.

It would be unfortunate if the key fell into the wrong hands.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Key to the City not only opens the door for unblockable attacks, but it also paves the way to drawing additional cards. By discarding a card, you create a situation to potentially refill your hand during the next untap step, ensuring a constant flow of options.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact enables faster gameplay by allowing you to discard unwanted or situational cards to smooth out your draws, while also synergizing with strategies that benefit from cards in the graveyard. This can effectively accelerate your resources by aligning your game plan and maximizing your card pool.

Instant Speed: The true strength of Key to the City lies in its activation at instant speed. This flexibility allows for tactical decisions mid-combat or at the end of an opponent’s turn, making it a versatile tool in any player’s arsenal, keeping opponents guessing and strategies adaptable.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Being a card that necessitates discarding another card to activate its ability, Key to the City can put you at a disadvantage in terms of card advantage. This can be particularly problematic in scenarios where your hand is already depleted or when every card in hand is vital for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: The card itself does not demand a specific type of mana, which offers flexibility. However, the ability to draw a card at the beginning of your upkeep after it has been untapped is contingent on paying two generic mana. This can impact your mana allocation, affecting your capacity to cast other spells or activate abilities during your turn.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing two mana to draw a card in your upcoming turn means that Key to the City has a delayed and indirect card draw mechanism. Within the same mana range, players might find potential alternatives that provide immediate card draw or different utilities, potentially leading to more efficient uses of their mana resources.


Reasons to Include Key to the City in Your Collection

Versatility: Key to the City is a unique tool that offers utility in a broad array of deck builds. It allows creatures to slip past defenses by making them unblockable, while also offering the chance to draw additional cards.

Combo Potential: This artifact is excellent for setting up combo plays, providing both a way to ensure your key creatures connect with an opponent undeterred as well as a reliable means to discard cards for beneficial effects or reanimation strategies.

Meta-Relevance: With ever-shifting metagames, Key to the City maintains relevance by thwarting blocker-heavy decks and feeding graveyard-centric strategies, which frequently emerge in various formats.


How to beat Key to the City

Key to the City is a unique card in MTG that offers players a tactical advantage by allowing them to make a creature unblockable for a turn. This can synergize well with cards that have effects when they deal combat damage to a player. However, despite its benefits, there are strategies to counter this artifact and diminish its impact on the game.

Artifact removal spells are your direct line of defense. Cards such as Naturalize or Disenchant can make short work of Key to the City by destroying it outright. Hold up mana for these spells when you suspect your opponent might attempt to sneak through critical damage. Another method is to leverage instant-speed removal or bounce spells on the creature targeted by the Key during the declare attackers phase. This disrupts the combination and preserves your life total.

Additionally, employing cards that restrict your opponent’s ability to untap their mana, which Key to the City relies on, can inhibit its usefulness. Counterspells also serve as an effective means to prevent the Key from ever entering the battlefield. By understanding the card’s mechanics and keeping appropriate answers in hand, you can navigate around Key to the City’s potential game swinging effects.


BurnMana Recommendations

Elevate your gameplay with the strategic nuances of MTG’s Key to the City. This versatile card offers a new layer to your combat tactics, enabling creatures to connect with your opponent unopposed while replenishing your hand for continuous action. As you seek to optimize your deck, consider the potential this unique artifact holds, from unlocking unblockable paths to setting up graveyard synergies. Arm your collection with cards that adapt to changing metas and refine your strategy against the multitude of deck archetypes you’ll encounter. Explore further with us to harness the full power of Key to the City and sharpen your competitive edge.


Cards like Key to the City

Key to the City stands out in Magic: The Gathering for its unique ability to make creatures unblockable. It mirrors effects found in cards such as Rogue’s Passage, which also grants unblockability to your choice of creature. Key to the City, however, adds depth with its card draw mechanic, providing a significant advantage as the game progresses. Unlike Rogue’s Passage, the Key allows you to discard a card as part of its cost, paving the way for potential graveyard strategies and synergies.

Comparatively, Whispering Madness takes a different approach to card advantage by refilling your hand relative to the greatest number of cards a player has drawn this turn. But unlike Key to the City, it doesn’t offer selective unblockability and is an entirely different type of card—a sorcery. While Whispering Madness can be cycled for a fresh hand, Key to the City’s utility is more controlled and pinpointed, often used in decks that capitalize on hitting the opponent unobstructed.

When examining similar options in the game, Key to the City’s combination of tactical creature enablement and card advantage offers versatility that can be a key component in many strategic MTG deck builds.

Rogue's Passage - MTG Card versions
Whispering Madness - MTG Card versions
Rogue's Passage - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Whispering Madness - Gatecrash (GTC)

Cards similar to Key to the City by color, type and mana cost

Chaos Orb - MTG Card versions
Winter Orb - MTG Card versions
Ankh of Mishra - MTG Card versions
Amulet of Kroog - MTG Card versions
Nacre Talisman - MTG Card versions
Howling Mine - MTG Card versions
Essence Bottle - MTG Card versions
Emerald Medallion - MTG Card versions
Scrying Glass - MTG Card versions
Cursed Totem - MTG Card versions
Tsabo's Web - MTG Card versions
Millikin - MTG Card versions
Swiftfoot Boots - MTG Card versions
Ark of Blight - MTG Card versions
Surestrike Trident - MTG Card versions
Demon's Horn - MTG Card versions
Energy Chamber - MTG Card versions
Water Gun Balloon Game - MTG Card versions
Angel's Feather - MTG Card versions
Elsewhere Flask - MTG Card versions
Chaos Orb - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Winter Orb - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Ankh of Mishra - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Amulet of Kroog - Rinascimento (RIN)
Nacre Talisman - Ice Age (ICE)
Howling Mine - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Essence Bottle - Tempest (TMP)
Emerald Medallion - Commander Anthology (CMA)
Scrying Glass - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Cursed Totem - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Tsabo's Web - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Millikin - Odyssey (ODY)
Swiftfoot Boots - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Ark of Blight - Scourge (SCG)
Surestrike Trident - Darksteel (DST)
Demon's Horn - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Energy Chamber - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Water Gun Balloon Game - Unhinged (UNH)
Angel's Feather - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Elsewhere Flask - Shadowmoor (SHM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Key to the City MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh and Kaladesh 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 Key to the City and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Key to the City Magic the Gathering card was released in 7 different sets between 2016-09-30 and 2022-11-18. Illustrated by Sean Murray.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-09-30KaladeshKLD 2202015normalblackSean Murray
22016-09-30Kaladesh PromosPKLD 220s2015normalblackSean Murray
32019-08-23Commander 2019C19 2162015normalblackSean Murray
42020-11-12Kaladesh RemasteredKLR 2482015normalblackSean Murray
52021-04-23Commander 2021C21 2482015normalblackSean Murray
62022-11-18The Brothers' War Art SeriesABRO 652015art_seriesborderlessSean Murray
72022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 271997normalblackSean Murray
82022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 901997normalblackSean Murray
92022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 90z1997normalblackSean Murray

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Key to the City has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-09-20 Activating Key to the City's ability targeting a creature that has already been blocked won't cause it to become unblocked.
2016-09-20 Key to the City's last ability triggers during your untap step, but it's put onto the stack at the same time as abilities that trigger at the beginning of your upkeep step. Even though Key to the City's ability triggered first, you may order it before or after other abilities you control that are put onto the stack at this time.
2016-09-20 You can activate Key to the City's first ability without targeting any creature.
2016-09-20 You can pay only once each time Key to the City's triggered ability resolves. You can't pay more to draw additional cards.

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