Duplicity MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	1997-10-14
Set symbol
Set name	Tempest
Set code	TMP
Number	60
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Dan Frazier

Key Takeaways

Duplicity offers card advantage and tactical depth by copying spells or abilities during the game.
It can accelerate your resources, bringing bigger threats on board swiftly and efficiently.
Instant speed activation allows flexibility and control over the game’s pacing.

Text of card

When Duplicity comes into play, put the top five cards of your library face down on Duplicity. During your upkeep, you may exchange all the cards in your hand for the cards on Duplicity. At the end of your turn, choose and discard a card. If you lose control of Duplicity, put all cards on it into owner's graveyard.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Duplicity, you are granted the potential to double the effects of your spells and abilities, setting up for a considerable card advantage over your opponents. The ability to copy can mean more creatures, spells, or even triggers on the battlefield, keeping your hand full and your options open.

Resource Acceleration: Should Duplicity copy a spell or effect that generates mana or puts additional lands into play, it effectively acts as a resource accelerator. This amplifies your mana resources allowing you to cast more spells or deploy larger threats earlier than usual. It’s a strategic advantage that can escalate the pace of the game in your favor.

Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of Duplicity means you have the upper hand when it comes to timing. You can choose the most opportune moment during your match to unleash its power, be it during your turn or in response to your opponent’s actions. This flexibility ensures that you can always be one step ahead, dictating the pace of the game and reacting swiftly to the evolving board state.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Duplicity requires ditching another card from your hand. This condition can be quite taxing when you’re clinging to each card in a drawn-out match or strategically trying to maintain hand advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Duplicity demands blue mana exclusively. Such a stringent requirement can clash with multi-colored deck strategies, potentially hampering its inclusion in a diverse mana base environment.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Clocking in at five mana, Duplicity’s activation cost may slow down your tempo, especially when measured against other cards that offer similar benefits at a lower resource commitment.

Reasons to Include Duplicity in Your Collection

Versatility: Duplicity offers a unique blend of control and potential card advantage. It’s a great fit for blue-centric decks looking to capitalize on drawing and hand manipulation to outmaneuver opponents.

Combo Potential: This card shines in setups aiming to maximize draw mechanics. With the right synergies, Duplicity enables intricate combos that can leave your opponents both surprised and outpaced.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to disrupt hand states, Duplicity proves its worth in environments where information and card advantage are key. It aligns perfectly with strategies designed to counteract heavy creature-based tactics and spell-centric decks alike.

How to beat

Duplicity is a unique enchantment in the world of MTG that tempts players with the promise of card advantage. At the beginning of your upkeep, it allows you to draw a card and then put a card from your hand on top of your library if you have more than seven cards in hand. This sounds beneficial, yet it poses a subtle risk of predictable plays and diminished hand secrecy.

The key to overpowering Duplicity lies in maintaining card advantage without overextending your hand. Cards that force discard, like Thoughtseize or Duress, can disrupt your opponent’s carefully laid plans by removing their key options. Moreover, efficient deck shuffling mechanisms or any library manipulation spells can neutralize Duplicity’s advantage. By continuously refreshing your deck, you decrease the predictability that could otherwise work in an opponent’s favor. Aggressive strategies that pressure life totals rapidly can also prevent your opponent from comfortably setting up the Duplicity advantage. Emptying their hand to deal with threats leaves them unable to meet the card threshold, rendering the enchantment ineffective.

Ultimately, while Duplicity may seem like a labyrinthine puzzle, understanding and targeting its inherent weaknesses can guide you to victory in the strategic environment of MTG.

Cards like Duplicity

Duplicity is a unique enchantment in the MTG universe, offering a strategic advantage that mirrors certain aspects of other cards. It rings reminiscent of Intellectual Offering, which also allows a player to draw cards and then return a number of cards from their hand to the bottom of their library. However, Duplicity stands out by enabling this action during each of your upkeeps, potentially offering a more consistent effect.

Conversely, we see Teferi’s Puzzle Box, a card that shuffles your hand into your library, then draws the same number of cards. This offers a similar, but less controlled, effect compared to Duplicity’s targeted placement. Then there’s the card Game Plan, which returns all nonland permanents to their owners’ hands before drawing seven cards. Although this provides a significant reset and card advantage, it doesn’t allow for the ongoing strategic control granted by Duplicity’s mechanic.

Altogether, Duplicity has its unique position in MTG. It allows players to shape their strategic approach each turn, a trait not commonly seen in other cards that offer either a one-time effect or a less predictable outcome.

Intellectual Offering - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Duplicity by color, type and mana cost

Heightened Awareness - MTG Card versions

Reflections of Littjara - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Duplicity MTG card by a specific set like Tempest, 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 Duplicity and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Duplicity has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	The cards are face down all the time. You can’t look at them. This applies even to cards from your hand that got swapped out. You have to remember what they were if you care.
2008-04-01	For a time the last ability triggered when Duplicity left the battlefield. It has been restored to triggering when you lose control of Duplicity.
2008-04-01	Taking control of another player’s Duplicity will trigger the ability that causes the cards they exiled to be put into their owner’s graveyard.