Once Upon a Time MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the perks of playing Once Upon a Time is the potential for significant card advantage. This card lets you look at the top five cards of your deck, choosing a creature or land card from among them to add to your hand. This selection process not only increases your hand options but also strategically shapes future plays.

Resource Acceleration: Resource acceleration is another benefit tied to Once Upon a Time. By potentially retrieving a land card, you can ensure your mana development stays on track without skipping a beat. For creature-heavy strategies, snagging the right creature from the top of your deck can also accelerate your board presence, putting you in a commanding position early on.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Once Upon a Time at instant speed grants you tremendous flexibility during gameplay. You can respond to your opponent’s actions or end their turn, optimizing the timing of your plays. Should no immediate threats or opportunities arise, Once Upon a Time can be cast during the end step, keeping your options open while progressing your game state.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Once Upon a Time allows for a free cast if it’s the first spell of the game, any subsequent casts require you to discard. This might compel players to part with valuable cards sooner than they’d prefer, potentially impacting their long-term strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Featuring a specific green mana cost, Once Upon a Time is inherently limited to decks that can produce green mana. This can be restrictive for players not running green or decks that struggle with color fixing, potentially excluding a broad range of archetypes from leveraging its power.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When not cast for free, its two mana cost might be considered steep for the effect it provides. In competitive play, where efficiency is key, there are other cards within the same mana range that can offer players immediate board presence or direct answers to opponents’ threats.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Once Upon a Time comes with the flexibility of being able to be cast for free if it’s the first spell of the game, making it a powerful inclusion in a variety of decks; from ramp to creature-based strategies.

Combo Potential: This card can dig through the top five cards of your library to find a key piece for your combo, significantly increasing the consistency of any deck built around synergistic interactions or searching for specific creatures or lands.

Meta-Relevance: As gameplay evolves, Once Upon a Time remains relevant in formats where speed and efficiency are crucial. It ensures a smoother mana curve and can adapt to various metas by helping to find the perfect card to match the situation on the battlefield.

How to beat

Overcoming the Once Upon a Time card in MTG calls for strategic plays and timely disruption. This pivotal spell allows players to look at the top five cards of their library, pick a creature or land card among them, and put it into their hand without paying its mana cost if it’s the first spell of the game. Otherwise, its flexibility comes at the cost of two mana—one green and one of any color.

Adept MTG players tackle this with cards that counter spells or discard effects. Thoughtseize, for example, is a reliable method to preemptively remove Once Upon a Time from an opponent’s hand before they can cast it. For those in blue, cards like Spell Pierce or Mana Leak can counter it effectively, provided you have mana available to do so. Dispel, a counter solely for instants, is an economical and surgical answer to this fairy tale card. Always be ready to act and keep countermagic or hand disruption on hand—after all, every story has its foil.

Ultimately, while Once Upon a Time can offer a strong start, knowledgeable MTG players can weave their own narratives by anticipating this storybook start and preparing the right counterspell or disruption to write a happy ending for themselves.

BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the MTG landscape involves knowing your cards and how they intertwine with your playstyle. Once Upon a Time is a versatile card that can bolster various strategies, particularly green-focused decks. Its ability to shape early gameplay and smooth out mana curves makes it a staple for competitive players. Whether your deck thrives on combos or you’re seeking to enhance your opening plays, understanding the nuances of this card is key. To further refine your deck-building skills and gameplay strategies, we welcome you to dive deeper into our resources. Learn more about optimizing your MTG deck with Once Upon a Time and other formidable cards to reign supreme in your next duel.