Mystifying Maze MTG Card


Effectively removes attackers without loss of card advantage, offering strategic defensive benefits. Contributes to mana acceleration, despite its sizeable activation cost. Instant speed activation allows for responsive play and combat phase manipulation.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeLand

Text of card

: Add to your mana pool. , : Exile target attacking creature an opponent controls. At the beginning of the next end step, return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control.


Cards like Mystifying Maze

Mystifying Maze is a notable utility land card in Magic: The Gathering that echoes functions found in other transformative lands. Its ability to essentially “blink” a creature, removing it from combat and negating its effects for a turn, can be paralleled to Maze of Ith. Maze of Ith also removes the threat of a creature without requiring mana but doesn’t have the ability to tap for mana itself, unlike Mystifying Maze.

Cards like Rogue’s Passage present different strategic advantages by making a creature unblockable, which is a more offensive approach compared to the defensive utility of Mystifying Maze. While the Passage requires less mana to activate, it doesn’t offer the temporary removal that Mystifying Maze does. Another land, Kor Haven, bears similarity with its preventive nature but targets only attacking creatures and, like Mystifying Maze, it offers mana utility, adding versatility to your mana pool.

Assessing the playability and utilities of these similar options, Mystifying Maze stands out with its dual function of mana resource and temporary creature neutralization, making it a versatile choice in decks that value board control and mana flexibility.

Maze of Ith - MTG Card versions
Rogue's Passage - MTG Card versions
Kor Haven - MTG Card versions
Maze of Ith - MTG Card versions
Rogue's Passage - MTG Card versions
Kor Haven - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Mystifying Maze by color, type and mana cost

Urza's Tower - MTG Card versions
Ice Floe - MTG Card versions
City of Brass - MTG Card versions
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Maze of Ith - MTG Card versions
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Temple of the False God - MTG Card versions
Sanctum of Eternity - MTG Card versions
Reliquary Tower - MTG Card versions
Labyrinth of Skophos - MTG Card versions
Urza's Tower - MTG Card versions
Ice Floe - MTG Card versions
City of Brass - MTG Card versions
Bloodstained Mire - MTG Card versions
Zoetic Cavern - MTG Card versions
Grixis Panorama - MTG Card versions
Rupture Spire - MTG Card versions
Terramorphic Expanse - MTG Card versions
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - MTG Card versions
Wasteland - MTG Card versions
Eldrazi Temple - MTG Card versions
Tectonic Edge - MTG Card versions
Maze of Ith - MTG Card versions
Homeward Path - MTG Card versions
Field of Ruin - MTG Card versions
Forge of Heroes - MTG Card versions
Temple of the False God - MTG Card versions
Sanctum of Eternity - MTG Card versions
Reliquary Tower - MTG Card versions
Labyrinth of Skophos - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Mystifying Maze. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Mono-Black CoffersMono-Black Coffers ModernMono-Black CoffersModern League 2023-11-24

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mystifying Maze offers strategic depth by effectively removing an attacking creature from combat, preventing potential threats without losing card advantage. This can lead to an effective one-for-none exchange, tipping the scales in your favor during tight matches.

Resource Acceleration: As a versatile land card, Mystifying Maze not only provides mana fixing but can also be tapped for mana itself, supporting your deck’s resource acceleration. While its primary ability requires a notable mana investment, the ability to generate mana ensures that it contributes to your overall resource pool.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of activating Mystifying Maze at instant speed cannot be overstated. This allows you to keep mana open for other spells or abilities, ensuring that you can adapt to an opponent’s moves. In the absence of an immediate threat, this land waits quietly, poised to disrupt combat during the crucial moments of an opponent’s attack phase.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Mystifying Maze does not directly ask you to discard cards, it requires a hefty four mana to activate. This can impede your ability to hold onto crucial spells or reactionary cards during the late game when it’s most effective, restricting strategic hand management.

Specific Mana Cost: Although colorless, the activation cost of Mystifying Maze includes one specific colored mana which is a plain colorless mana. This may not seem restrictive at first, but in multicolored or color-fixed decks, having the right type of mana at the right time can be challenging, diminishing its potency within these builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Clocking in at an investment of four mana for a single turn exile-effect, Mystifying Maze’s activation cost is high compared to other utility lands or instant-speed removal options that either provide additional benefits or require less mana investment, impacting its efficiency and overall utility in many deck types.


Reasons to Include Mystifying Maze in Your Collection

Versatility: Mystifying Maze offers a unique and flexible option for land slots in your deck. It not only produces mana but can also serve as a key defensive tool to disrupt your opponent’s attacks, adapting to various in-game situations.

Combo Potential: With the ability to temporarily remove attacking creatures from combat, this card synergizes well with strategies that manipulate or exploit the combat phase, potentially turning the tide in your favor during a match.

Meta-Relevance: In a game climate that favors aggressive creature-based decks, having Mystifying Maze at your disposal can act as a silver bullet. It helps maintain the balance by keeping opposing threats at bay, making it a strategic addition to your arsenal against prevalent deck archetypes.


Understanding the Labyrinth

Mystifying Maze is a unique land card that can be a real game-changer in Magic: The Gathering. This card offers players a tactical advantage through its ability to temporarily exile attacking creatures. What sets Mystifying Maze apart from other delay tactics is that it doesn’t just prevent damage; it removes the creature from the battlefield until the end of turn, effectively negating abilities that would trigger upon attacking or dealing damage.

How to beat

Confronting the challenge posed by Mystifying Maze begins with recognizing its limitations. Its activation cost requires a significant mana investment, which can be exploited. Pressure your opponent by deploying a multitude of attackers, stretching their mana thin and making it less feasible for them to use the Maze’s ability on every turn. Another strategy involves the utilization of lands or abilities that can destroy or neutralize nonbasic lands, ensuring Mystifying Maze is off the board and no longer a threat to your offensive plans.

In essence, meticulous strategy in deploying creatures and selective land removal are key in outmaneuvering the defense that Mystifying Maze offers. By doing so, one can maintain the pressure and ensure their path to victory remains clear.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mystifying Maze MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011 and Commander 2017, 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 Mystifying Maze and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Mystifying Maze Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-07-16 and 2017-08-25. Illustrated by Robh Ruppel.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-07-16Magic 2011M11 2262003NormalBlackRobh Ruppel
22017-08-25Commander 2017C17 2642015NormalBlackRobh Ruppel

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mystifying Maze has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2010-08-15 An “attacking creature” is one that has been declared as an attacker this combat, or one that was put onto the battlefield attacking this combat. Unless that creature leaves combat, it continues to be an attacking creature through the end of combat step, even if the player it was attacking has left the game, or the planeswalker it was attacking has left combat.
2010-08-15 At the beginning of the next end step, the affected creature is returned to the battlefield even if Mystifying Maze is no longer on the battlefield by then.
2010-08-15 The targeted creature doesn’t have to be attacking you. It can be attacking a planeswalker, or (in a multiplayer game) it can be attacking another player.