Crystal Shard MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact

Key Takeaways

  1. Crystal Shard maximizes creature abilities and disrupts opponents with its instant speed and bounce mechanics.
  2. Although demanding specific mana and possibly hindering battlefield presence, its strengths often outweigh the cons.
  3. Its continuous relevance in various metagames justifies its inclusion in your MTG collection for potent combos.

Text of card

, or , : Return target creature to its owner's hand unless its controller pays .

The vedalken know it is not of this world, so they know that this world is not the only one.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crystal Shard can return creatures to your hand, potentially reusing their enter-the-battlefield effects for additional value. This strategy can disrupt your opponent’s play or save your own creatures from removal.

Resource Acceleration: While Crystal Shard doesn’t generate mana or treasure, it does offer a form of acceleration by recycling your own creatures for repeated effects, making each creature more impactful over the course of the game.

Instant Speed: Being able to activate Crystal Shard at instant speed gives you significant flexibility. You can choose to bounce a creature during your opponent’s turn to avoid sorcery speed removal or during your own turn to re-trigger enter-the-battlefield effects.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Crystal Shard card requires returning a creature to its owner’s hand. This action can sometimes feel like a forced discard, especially when you’re trying to maintain a presence on the battlefield and don’t have expendable creatures to return.

Specific Mana Cost: While the Shard offers flexibility by allowing any color of mana for activation, it necessitates one blue mana specifically. Decks not focused on blue might find this requirement restrictive and harder to meet consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Three mana to cast and additional mana to activate can be steep, considering that players might have alternatives that affect the board state more immediately or provide more economical ways to reuse creature abilities.


Reasons to Include Crystal Shard in Your Collection

Versatility: Crystal Shard offers a unique utility in virtually any deck. It enables you to return creatures to your hand at instant speed, allowing for the reuse of enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effects or protecting key creatures from removal.

Combo Potential: This artifact is a linchpin in many combo-centric decks, enabling players to repeatedly capitalize on ETB triggers or to disrupt an opponent’s board by bouncing their creatures during the untap phase.

Meta-Relevance: With its ability to interact with the board and control the pace of the game, Crystal Shard remains relevant and can adapt well to shifting metagames. Its presence can pivot games in your favor, especially in formats where tempo plays are crucial.


How to beat

The Crystal Shard card in MTG is well known for its versatility, especially in formats that allow for repeated use of enter-the-battlefield effects. Its ability to return creatures to the owner’s hand can be strategically disruptive for opponents and advantageous for the user. To effectively counteract Crystal Shard, one approach is to prioritize the removal or disabling of artifacts through spells like Nature’s Claim or Stony Silence. It’s also beneficial to overwhelm the Crystal Shard user with multiple threats, exceeding their ability to bounce them each turn. Since the Shard’s ability is contingent on available mana, disrupting the opponent’s mana base can be an effective way to reduce the influence of their Crystal Shard. Another technique is to utilize creatures with haste or those that can reactivate their abilities upon entering the battlefield, lessening the setback of being returned to your hand. Thwarting the Crystal Shard involves a combination of artifact control, strategic pressure, and seamless adaptation to its disruptive nature.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re deep into fine-tuning your MTG strategy, understanding and leveraging cards like Crystal Shard can be a game-changer. Its capability to maximize creature enters-the-battlefield effects and protect your assets from removal is invaluable in creating a dynamic and responsive gameplay. By reusing your creatures wisely, Crystal Shard can effectively enhance your board state and bring an element of surprise to your matches. Consider the power of this artifact in your collection and the ways you can disrupt your opponent’s plans while advancing your own. For more insights into strategic deck building and expert gameplay tips, join the BurnMana community where we dive deeper into making each card count for victory.


Cards like Crystal Shard

Crystal Shard from Magic: The Gathering serves as a versatile tool in the realm of artifact-based utility. Its likeliness to cards such as Erratic Portal is undeniable, with both offering the ability to return creatures to their owners’ hands. While Crystal Shard requires either three mana of any color or one blue mana plus tapping, Erratic Portal allows for a consistent cost of two mana plus tapping, although it lacks the alternative no-mana-cost option that Crystal Shard provides for blue spell slingers.

Considering the broader spectrum of bounce artifacts, we also encounter the likes of Voyager Staff. This inexpensive relic also returns a creature to its owner’s hand but does so in a one-off fashion as opposed to Crystal Shard’s repeatable use. In a head-to-head matchup, versatility gives Crystal Shard an edge over these single-use counterparts.

Finally, evaluating the practicality and value in gameplay, Crystal Shard’s ability to potentially disrupt opponents during their turn or reclaim your own creatures for another cast sets it in a favorable position against similar MTG artifacts. Its ability to blend into both mono-blue and multicolored decks enhances its standing as a crafty tool in a player’s arsenal.

Erratic Portal - MTG Card versions
Voyager Staff - MTG Card versions
Erratic Portal - Exodus (EXO)
Voyager Staff - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Cards similar to Crystal Shard by color, type and mana cost

Proteus Staff - MTG Card versions
Wizard Replica - MTG Card versions
Chronatog Totem - MTG Card versions
Sarcomite Myr - MTG Card versions
Master of Etherium - MTG Card versions
Skill Borrower - MTG Card versions
Esperzoa - MTG Card versions
Neurok Replica - MTG Card versions
Parasitic Strix - MTG Card versions
Trespassing Souleater - MTG Card versions
Spined Thopter - MTG Card versions
Implement of Examination - MTG Card versions
Portal of Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Midnight Clock - MTG Card versions
Rod of Absorption - MTG Card versions
Etherium Spinner - MTG Card versions
Tome of the Infinite - MTG Card versions
Poppet Stitcher // Poppet Factory - MTG Card versions
Mysterious Tome // Chilling Chronicle - MTG Card versions
Covert Technician - MTG Card versions
Proteus Staff - Mirrodin (MRD)
Wizard Replica - Planechase (HOP)
Chronatog Totem - Time Spiral (TSP)
Sarcomite Myr - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
Master of Etherium - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Skill Borrower - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Esperzoa - Double Masters (2XM)
Neurok Replica - Duel Decks: Elves vs. Inventors (DDU)
Parasitic Strix - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Trespassing Souleater - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Spined Thopter - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Implement of Examination - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Portal of Sanctuary - Core Set 2020 (M20)
Midnight Clock - Wilds of Eldraine Commander (WOC)
Rod of Absorption - Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC)
Etherium Spinner - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Tome of the Infinite - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Poppet Stitcher // Poppet Factory - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Mysterious Tome // Chilling Chronicle - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Covert Technician - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crystal Shard MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin and Mystery Booster, 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 Crystal Shard and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Crystal Shard Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2003-10-02 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Doug Chaffee.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12003-10-02MirrodinMRD 1592003normalblackDoug Chaffee
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 15702003normalblackDoug Chaffee
32020-09-26The ListPLST MRD-1592003normalblackDoug Chaffee
42021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 3931997normalblackDoug Chaffee

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crystal Shard has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 You can pay either of the two costs (but not both at the same time) to activate the ability.

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