Opening Ceremony MTG Card
Text of card
Add . You may open a sealed Magic booster pack. Until end of turn, you may cast spells from among the cards in that booster pack.
"Oooooh!" —The crowd "Aaaaaaaaah!" —Also the crowd
Cards like Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony card unveils new possibilities for deck building in Magic: The Gathering. It harkens to traditional mana-enhancing cards, akin to Rampant Growth, which also permits the search of a land card to put onto the battlefield. Yet, Opening Ceremony advances the concept by granting an additional boon – allowing you to scry. This gives players foresight into their upcoming draws, a feature Rampant Growth lacks.
Mana ramp spells, like Cultivate, share the card-fetching strategy but diverge in execution. While Cultivate offers a double land retrieval, Opening Ceremony edges out with the scry advantage. Moreover, Circuitous Route provides a similar land tutoring effect but is restricted to Gates or basic lands, unlike the Opening Ceremony that gives a wider selection of lands.
Whether it’s accelerating land play or gaining deck insight, Opening Ceremony positions itself as a competitive option in Magic: The Gathering’s vast array of mana ramp cards. Its unique blend of acceleration and foresight places it in a potent spot for players looking to gather resources while planning ahead.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: One of the key benefits of Opening Ceremony is its ability to grant you access to additional cards. This provides a significant edge in the game, as having more cards translates to more options and strategies at your disposal, helping you outmaneuver your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: Another highlight of this card is its potential to ramp up your resources quickly. It facilitates early deployment of high-cost cards or enables the casting of multiple spells in a single turn by boosting your mana pool, fostering a quicker game progression.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of Opening Ceremony is further augmented by its instant speed. This attribute means you can strategically play it at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to an action, allowing you to make optimal reactive decisions while keeping your options open.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: When playing the Opening Ceremony, you may often be faced with a steep price — discarding a card from your hand. This trade-off can sometimes set you back, especially if your hand is already scanty and each card is crucial to your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: The card demands an exact mana arrangement to cast, which can be challenging if your deck isn’t tailored to produce the necessary colors consistently. This could lead to the card staying stuck in your hand instead of being played at a critical moment.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that might be deemed high relative to its impact on the game, Opening Ceremony competes with a plethora of other options. Players must consider whether its benefits justify its place over other low-cost spells that could be more immediately impactful in a match.
Reasons to Include Opening Ceremony in Your Collection
Versatility: Opening Ceremony offers a wide range of uses across different deck types. Whether you’re setting up for a big spell or need an extra push to call forth a game-changing creature, this card holds the flexibility to support various strategies.
Combo Potential: As a card that can potentially provide you with additional mana of any color, Opening Ceremony can be a key component in executing combos. The mana acceleration can be instrumental in unleashing devastating sequences earlier than usual.
Meta-Relevance: In a dynamic competitive scene, adaptability is key. Opening Ceremony keeps your deck relevant by providing you a means to respond to diverse threats or to speed up your own gameplay, directly impacting how you fare against the current favorite decks.
How to beat
Overcoming the Opening Ceremony card in your MTG matches requires strategic insight into its mechanics. Opening Ceremony, much like certain celebratory spells in the game, allows its caster to search their library for a basic land card, provide an extra land drop, and potentially lavish them with additional advantage if they possess the city’s blessing. This can be particularly beneficial in decks that capitalize on landfall triggers or accelerate their mana development.
To effectively counteract Opening Ceremony’s potential for resource acceleration, consider incorporating land destruction or counterspells into your deck. Targeted removal like Ghost Quarter can disrupt your opponent’s land base, while a well-timed Counterspell or Mana Leak can negate the spell entirely, keeping the balance of power in your favor. In essence, ensuring you have a manner to interfere with your opponent’s ability to generate additional value from their lands is key. Patience and the correct timing in executing these disruptive strategies will serve you well in neutralizing the advantages conferred by Opening Ceremony.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Opening Ceremony MTG card by a specific set like Unfinity and Unfinity, 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 Opening Ceremony and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
Printings
The Opening Ceremony Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-10-07 and 2022-10-07. Illustrated by Greg Bobrowski.
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Opening Ceremony card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-10-07 | Opening Ceremony has four lines of flavor text. |
| 2022-10-07 | The spells you cast this way are cast from outside the game. Casting a card brings it into the game. After the spell leaves the stack, it will go to the battlefield, the graveyard, exile, or wherever it’s supposed to go depending on what type of spell it is. Remove the card from your deck after the game ends. |
| 2022-10-07 | You can use any unopened, official Magic booster pack, including promotional booster packs. |
| 2022-10-07 | You must still pay all costs and follow all normal timing rules when casting spells from among the cards in the booster pack. |