Cloud Cover MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2001-02-05
Set symbol
Set name	Planeshift
Set code	PLS
Number	98
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Marc Fishman

Key Takeaways

Cloud Cover grants instant, passive protection, often saving creatures from unwanted returns or destruction.
It can restrictively require specific mana colors and lead to a depleted hand due to its discard condition.
Despite its cost, Cloud Cover’s potential to fortify creatures makes it a valuable addition to various decks.

Text of card

Whenever another permanent you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, you may return that permanent to its owner's hand.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cloud Cover offers a layer of security to your creatures, effectively netting you card advantage. Each time one of your important creatures would be sent on an early trip back to the hand or library, Cloud Cover steps in, saving you from the loss and keeping your hand stocked with options.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your mana pool, Cloud Cover allows you to accelerate in-game resources by protecting your established board presence. Safeguarding your creatures can be translated into resource acceleration as it maintains your momentum and diminishes the need for redeploying creatures, allowing you to invest your resources elsewhere.

Instant Speed: The beauty of Cloud Cover lies in the constant, passive ability it confers to your creatures at instant speed. Without the need to activate or pay additional costs, your creatures gain a form of insurance against removal or bouncing effects that often disrupt tempo and resource management during the most critical phases of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the nuances players find with Cloud Cover is its discard condition. While the card offers protection, having to discard can deplete your hand, especially if you’re in a pinch for cards.

Specific Mana Cost: Cloud Cover requires a particular combination of mana to cast, including blue and white. This specific need can sometimes be restrictive, hindering players with multicolor decks not heavy in these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Casting Cloud Cover comes at a significant mana investment. For a card that only provides protection to creatures from being targeted by spells or abilities, its mana cost is on the higher side, which may make players hesitate to include it in a fast-paced or mana-efficient deck.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cloud Cover offers protection for your creatures, tying neatly into various deck archetypes. It’s especially potent in formats where creatures play a key role, shielding them from targeted removal.

Combo Potential: This card creates opportunities to build around its ability to return targeted creatures to your hand. It can be a crucial piece in engines that capitalize on enter-the-battlefield effects or sacrifice strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame dense with spot removal or control decks, Cloud Cover’s defensive capabilities can provide a significant edge, ensuring your crucial creatures stay in play or are recycled for further use.

How to Beat Cloud Cover

Unraveling the secrets to besting Cloud Cover in your games of Magic: The Gathering might seem daunting due to its ability to protect permanents. This enchantment can be a significant hindrance, especially since it allows a player to return a targeted permanent to their hand instead of letting it be destroyed. Yet fear not, for every card has its Achilles heel. The key lies not in direct removal, but in strategies that sidestep its protective shield.

Bypassing Cloud Cover involves using board wipes that don’t target individual cards, such as Wrath of God or Damnation. These spells can clear the battlefield without triggering Cloud Cover’s ability, as they don’t target. Another method is to leverage counterspells like Cancel or Negate when your opponent first casts Cloud Cover, preventing it from entering the battlefield altogether. Utilizing card effects that cause your opponent to sacrifice permanents circumvents Cloud Cover’s protection as well since sacrificing is not the same as being targeted.

Equipped with these tactics, you’ll enhance your gameplay and increase your victory chances against decks relying on Cloud Cover’s protective enchantment. It’s about being one step ahead in the strategic dance that defines the complexity and excitement of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Cloud Cover

Cloud Cover presents an intriguing layer of protection in Magic: The Gathering, akin to cards like Teferi’s Protection, which shares its ability to safeguard your permanents. However, Cloud Cover offers continuous protection for creatures and enchantments upon targeting, differing from Teferi’s Protection’s one-time use event that phases out all your permanents. While Teferi’s Protection provides comprehensive invulnerability, Cloud Cover selectively shields each time a threat looms, potentially discouraging opponents from targeting your assets multiple times.

Another card worth comparing is Sterling Grove, which provides protection for other enchantments by warding off any targeted spells or abilities. Although it doesn’t cover creatures as Cloud Cover does, it does have an additional benefit of tutor ability when it goes to the graveyard. This grants players deck manipulation on top of enchantment defense. Ghostly Prison is also noteworthy, it doesn’t protect specific permanents but imposes a cost on attackers, effectively safeguarding your life total, which is a different strategic approach from what Cloud Cover offers.

In essence, Cloud Cover is distinct in its recurring, selective defensive strategy for creatures and enchantments, marking its own niche in the suite of protective options available to Magic: The Gathering players. Its unique mechanism offers a robust defense that, when properly leveraged, can greatly influence the flow and outcome of a game.

Cards similar to Cloud Cover by color, type and mana cost

Ephara, God of the Polis - MTG Card versions

Heliod, the Radiant Dawn // Heliod, the Warped Eclipse - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cloud Cover MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift, 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 Cloud Cover and other MTG cards: