Master of Predicaments MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Sphinx |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2014-07-18 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Magic 2015 |
| Set code | M15 |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 67 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Matt Stewart |
Key Takeaways
- Offering card advantage, Master of Predicaments makes turns more efficient and opponents uncertain.
- Indirectly accelerates resources, allowing for strategic, mana-efficient plays.
- Instant-speed-like benefits can be reaped post-combat, surprising adversaries.
Text of card
Flying Whenever Master of Predicaments deals combat damage to a player, choose a card in your hand. That player guesses whether the card's converted mana cost is greater than 4. If the player guessed wrong, you may cast the card without paying its mana cost.
Designed by David Sirlin
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Master of Predicaments provides a unique guessing game mechanic that may allow you to cast spells without paying their mana cost. Successfully guessing the right card type can significantly tilt the field of card advantage in your favor, effectively making your turns more efficient and unpredictable for your opponents.
Resource Acceleration: By enabling you to potentially cast spells for free, this Sphinx gives you a form of indirect resource acceleration. This can lead to deploying more threats or answers without tapping out, keeping your mana open for other strategic plays throughout your turn.
Instant Speed: While Master of Predicaments itself isn’t an instant, the ability to cast other spells from your hand potentially for free after it deals combat damage offers similar benefits. This creates opportunities to surprise your opponent with instant-speed-like plays, maintaining the element of surprise and keeping them on their heels.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Master of Predicaments does not directly impose a discard requirement on the player, it does rely on having a variety of cards in hand to maximize its guessing game potential. A hand low on cards could reduce the effectiveness of the card’s ability to sneak high-cost spells into play.
Specific Mana Cost: This sphinx comes with a color-intense casting cost of three generic and two blue mana, making it a less flexible option for decks running multiple colors. Decks not heavily invested in blue may struggle to cast Master of Predicaments reliably.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Master of Predicaments competes with other high-impact creatures and spells in the same mana range. Players might find it challenging to allocate the necessary resources, especially in the mid-game, when tempo plays a critical role.
Reasons to Include Master of Predicaments in Your Collection
Versatility: Master of Predicaments boasts a dual role in your arsenal. This sphinx can serve as a formidable flyer in blue-based control or midrange decks, while its ability can tip the scales in your favor during the late game by potentially dropping high-cost spells for free.
Combo Potential: With its unique guessing game mechanic, it opens up intriguing combo possibilities. Pair it with cards that manipulate the top of your library to ensure successful guesses, assimilating seamlessly into strategies focused on library and hand manipulation.
Meta-Relevance: In environments teeming with slower, more deliberate play, Master of Predicaments shines by applying pressure on opponents to make difficult decisions, while you gain an edge with extra spells cast without tapping into your mana reserves.
How to beat
The Master of Predicaments card offers a unique challenge in MTG, engaging opponents in a cerebral mini-game. Its ability to cast cards for free predicates on correctly guessing the card held. This can tilt the board in your opponent’s favor if not managed properly. To counter this, one must employ strategy and insight. Understanding your opponent’s deck and their likely choices can turn the tables. Cards like Duress can reveal your opponent’s hand, giving you the knowledge needed to make informed guesses.
Additionally, employing instant-speed removal when the Master of Predicaments attacks ensures that its ability never triggers. For those aiming to keep their battlefield clear, robust counterspells can prevent this creature from ever hitting the board. Furthermore, since the Master of Predicaments is dependent on dealing combat damage, enchantments or creatures that prevent damage or block effectively can nullify its threat entirely.
Ultimately, the key to overcoming the Master of Predicaments lies in preemptive actions and strategic foresight. Keeping a cool head and making calculated decisions will dismantle the predicaments this card presents, ensuring your victory remains undisturbed.
Cards like Master of Predicaments
Master of Predicaments is an intriguing creature card that poses a unique challenge to opponents in Magic: The Gathering. When compared to Sphinx of Uthuun, another card with a guessing game mechanic, Master of Predicaments stands out by offering the ability to cast a spell for free, a potentially game-changing effect. While Sphinx of Uthuun allows for card advantage through its Fact or Fiction-like ability upon entering the battlefield, Master of Predicaments requires successful combat damage to trigger its effect.
Another comparable card is Oracle’s Insight which, while not a creature, attaches to a creature and allows you to play the top card of your deck, assuming you guess the correct type. Master of Predicaments asks for the converted mana cost guess, which can lead to a surprise swing in momentum. Djinn of Wishes is also a noteworthy comparison as it permits casting the top card of your library with the added cost of only mana to activate its ability, differing from the conditional free cast from Master of Predicaments during the post-combat phase.
All things considered, Master of Predicaments offers a unique blend of strategy and surprise in the blue spellcaster’s arsenal, giving it a distinct place in the Magic: The Gathering multiverse.
Cards similar to Master of Predicaments by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Master of Predicaments MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2015, 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 Master of Predicaments 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Master of Predicaments has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Master of Predicaments card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-07-18 | Although you may choose a land card in your hand, you won’t be able to play it even if the player guessed wrong. |
| 2014-07-18 | If the card has in its mana cost, X is 0. |
| 2014-07-18 | If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t pay any alternative costs. Notably, you can’t cast a card with bestow as an Aura this way. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those. |
| 2014-07-18 | If you don’t cast the card, either because the player guessed right or because you choose not to cast it, you don’t have to reveal it. Your opponent won’t know the reason you didn’t cast the card. |
| 2014-07-18 | To choose a card in your hand, clearly separate it from the rest of your hand without revealing it. |
| 2014-07-18 | You cast the card in your hand as part of the resolution of the triggered ability. Timing restrictions based on the card’s type (such as creature or sorcery) are ignored. Other restrictions, such as “Cast -his card] only during combat,” are not. |
| 2017-04-18 | If the card is a split card, its converted mana cost is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. If the player guesses wrong and you cast a split card this way, you may cast either half (or both halves if the card has fuse), no matter what its converted mana cost is. |
