Skull Saucer MTG Card
Text of card
Flying When Skull Saucer enters the battlefield, destroy target creature and put your head on the table. Sacrifice Skull Saucer when your head stops touching the table.
No body is ready for this kind of power.
Cards like Skull Saucer
Skull Saucer stands out in the Magic: The Gathering universe as a quirky but captivating option for creature cards with self-sacrifice mechanics. Comparable to other cards that require a self-inflicted setback, such as Doomed Dissenter, which leaves behind a token upon death, Skull Saucer takes a unique approach by freezing a player’s untap step as long as it’s on the field. This adds an interesting strategic layer to gameplay, as timing and board state become crucial factors.
Another card worth mentioning in relation to Skull Saucer is Festering Mummy, which allows players to put a -1/-1 counter on a target creature when it dies. Although Festering Mummy offers immediate board interaction upon death, Skull Saucer’s flying ability provides better offensive capabilities and the potential to become a recurring nuisance, especially in decks geared towards reanimation strategies or when combined with cards that can bypass its untap step drawback.
To summarize, Skull Saucer requires a balance of calculated risk and reward, offering a different set of advantages when compared to its peers in creature sacrifice themes. Its ability to potentially control the skies and its synergy with certain deck archetypes make it a unique member within the MTG card pool.
Cards similar to Skull Saucer by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: With Skull Saucer, you secure an edge by forcing a card draw whenever a creature dies. This can be pivotal in outpacing your opponent in resources and maintaining momentum during prolonged matches.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly associated with resource acceleration, Skull Saucer’s ability to manipulate the board and its synergy with sacrificial strategies indirectly leads to greater resource flexibility, especially in decks designed around creature death triggers.
Instant Speed: Skull Saucer may not be an instant itself, but it interacts favorably with instant speed effects that involve creature deaths, allowing you to exploit its card-drawing potential fully. Its presence encourages strategic play, as you can align its trigger with instant-speed removal or sacrifice effects to optimize your turn structure.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Engaging in Skull Saucer’s ability means you must discard a card which can hinder your hand’s potential, especially during tight game states where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: Skull Saucer demands both colorless and black mana for casting, which could restrict it to certain archetype strategies, often making it less versatile in multi-colored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring four mana, with two of those being black, Skull Saucer’s summoning cost is somewhat steep considering other creatures and spells within the same range might deliver more substantial board presence or immediate effects.
Reasons to Include Skull Saucer in Your Collection
Versatility: Skull Saucer brings utility to any deck that can manage self-tapping creatures. It’s a clever way to gain advantage while setting up for untap synergies or strategies that benefit from creatures being in a tapped state.
Combo Potential: This card has inherent combo potential with its ability to destroy itself, enabling graveyard strategies, or triggering effects that activate upon a creature’s death.
Meta-Relevance: Given its unique tap-to-destroy mechanic, Skull Saucer can be quite relevant in metas where sacrificial strategies are prevalent, or control decks require specific responses to opponent’s threats.
How to beat
Skull Saucer presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering as a creature that immobilizes your creatures until its removal. Its flying ability offers it some defense and the mechanic that forces it to stay tapped until another non-token creature dies under your control requires a strategic approach to be dealt with efficiently. It can become quite a roadblock if not addressed promptly.
To combat Skull Saucer, instant-speed removal spells are your top priority. Cards like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can dispatch Skull Saucer without waiting for your next turn. This means you won’t have to sacrifice your momentum or combat capabilities. Additionally, incorporating board wipes, such as Wrath of God, in your deck can ensure that even when your creatures are incapacitated by Skull Saucer, you can clear the board while also freeing your creatures from its grasp.
Managing your resources effectively and holding back removal spells for key threats such as Skull Saucer can drastically mitigate its potential to disrupt your game plan. By keeping these strategies in mind, you can ensure that Skull Saucer’s presence on the battlefield is short-lived and less impactful.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Skull Saucer MTG card by a specific set like Unstable and Unsanctioned, 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 Skull Saucer 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
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Printings
The Skull Saucer Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-12-08 and 2020-02-29. Illustrated by Mike Burns.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-12-08 | Unstable | UST | 66 | 2015 | Normal | Silver | Mike Burns | |
| 2 | 2020-02-29 | Unsanctioned | UND | 44 | 2015 | Normal | Silver | Mike Burns |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Skull Saucer card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-02-29 | If you are playing with your head on the table, other players can’t attempt to physically dislodge you. They can try and talk you into moving. |
| 2020-02-29 | If you’re not playing on a table, putting your head on the playing surface will count. (Wait, what are you playing on? Doesn’t matter.) |
| 2020-02-29 | You can use any part of your head, such as your chin. |
| 2020-02-29 | You don’t have to put your head on the table if you don’t want to. The enters-the-battlefield ability will still destroy the target creature, and Skull Saucer will then be sacrificed. |