Time Stop MTG Card
2004-10-01 - Number 97
2007-07-13 - Number 117★
2007-07-13 - Number 117
2019-12-02 - Number 1500
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Instant |
Key Takeaways
- Time Stop provides a significant advantage by ending turns, negating stacked threats instantly.
- Strategy requires precise hand management, balancing its use with other potential plays.
- While mana-intensive, Time Stop’s versatility in gameplay makes it a worthwhile inclusion.
Text of card
End the turn. (Remove all spells and abilities on the stack from the game, including this card. The player whose turn it is discards down to his or her maximum hand size. Damage wears off, and "this turn" and "until end of turn" effects end.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Time Stop ends the turn unconditionally, negating all threats on the stack. This can effectively counter multiple spells and abilities, leading to a considerable swing in card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: While Time Stop doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it buys critical time needed for setting up favorable board states, which can indirectly lead to resource acceleration in future turns.
Instant Speed: Its ability to be played at instant speed allows for surprise interactions and strategic depth, ensuring that you can interrupt any overwhelming move of an opponent just as it’s about to resolve.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Time Stop doesn’t directly necessitate that you discard a card, but its strategic use often requires careful hand management. Playing Time Stop might mean you’re not deploying other threats or answers, which in a sense, is like discarding potential opportunities from your hand.
Specific Mana Cost: Time Stop’s casting cost demands a hefty three blue mana, which heavily biases it towards mono-blue or heavily blue-leaning decks, potentially restricting its versatility across varied deck archetypes.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Carrying a total cost of six mana, Time Stop is an investment that can be quite steep, particularly when you consider other options in the format that might disrupt opponents or protect your game state for a lower cost.
Reasons to Include Time Stop in Your Collection
Versatility: Time Stop is a multi-purpose tool that can be slotted into many deck archetypes. Its ability to end the turn can act as both a counterspell and a means to halt unwanted combos or attacks from your opponent.
Combo Potential: With its unique effect, Time Stop has the ability to disrupt your opponents while setting up your own board unchallenged. It’s an excellent way to preserve your win conditions or provide an unexpected reset when used at the right moment.
Meta-Relevance: Given its power to counter a wide array of strategies, Time Stop maintains relevance in various metas. It’s especially strong in surroundings saturated with complex turns or where players look to stack multiple spells and abilities. Having it in your collection means being prepared for those pivotal game-changing moments.
How to Beat Time Stop
The Time Stop card in MTG is a unique and intriguing control tool, capable of ending turns abruptly and disrupting opponents’ strategies. This powerful instant can halt all actions, essentially skipping a player’s entire turn, and can be strategically played to nullify an opponent’s critical move or to save oneself from an imminent threat. However, like all MTG cards, Time Stop is not without its vulnerabilities.
To combat Time Stop, one must anticipate its use and employ counter strategies. Employing instant-speed spells that can be cast outside your main phase reduces the impact of Time Stop as your plays aren’t confined within a narrow window. Additionally, utilizing abilities that do not require casting spells, such as activated or triggered abilities from creatures or artifacts, can circumvent Time Stop’s control since they don’t rely on the turn structure. On the other hand, cards like Grand Abolisher can be game-changers, as they restrict your opponent’s ability to cast spells during your turn, directly challenging Time Stop’s utility.
Ultimately, understanding your opponent’s deck and potential plays will guide you to the right decision when facing a Time Stop. Tactical play, along with a careful selection of cards and abilities that operate outside the norm of turn-based actions, can effectively undermine the power of this formidable card, turning the tides in your favor.
Cards like Time Stop
Time Stop enters the stage of the MTG universe as a distinct control spell, standing alongside other impactful interruptions like Summary Dismissal. Both cards effectively end the current turn, but Time Stop does so with flair, exiling all spells and abilities from the stack. Summary Dismissal, while it counters all spells and abilities, doesn’t have the same sweeping ability to advance the game to the next phase abruptly.
Comparably, Sundial of the Infinite shares the concept of turn-ending but requires timing and activation, differing from Time Stop’s one-time, instant use. Silence is another card that changes how opponents can interact during their turn by preventing spell casting without actually ending the turn.
In summation, Time Stop’s unique ability to halt the game instantly makes it a powerful tool, giving players who wield it a strategic edge in controlling the flow of the match. It’s a prime example of a card that combines board influence with the capacity to disrupt opponents’ strategies at a moment’s notice.
Cards similar to Time Stop by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Time Stop MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa and Tenth Edition, 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 Time Stop and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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 Time Stop Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2004-10-01 and 2019-12-02. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004-10-01 | Champions of Kamigawa | CHK | 97 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Scott M. Fischer | |
| 2 | 2007-07-13 | Tenth Edition | 10E | 117★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Scott M. Fischer | |
| 3 | 2007-07-13 | Tenth Edition | 10E | 117 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Scott M. Fischer | |
| 4 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 1500 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Micha Huigen |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Time Stop has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Time Stop card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-12-01 | Exiling a spell or ability prevents that spell or ability from resolving, but it doesn’t technically “counter” anything. This means that Time Stop can exile spells and abilities that “can’t be countered.” |
| 2004-12-01 | Unless Time Stop is cast during the Ending phase, any “at the beginning of the end step”-triggered abilities don’t get the chance to trigger on the turn Time Stop is cast. These abilities will trigger at the beginning of the next end step. |
| 2007-07-15 | Ending the turn this way means the following things happen in order: 1) All spells and abilities on the stack are exiled. This includes Time Stop, though it will continue to resolve. It also includes spells and abilities that can’t be countered. 2) All attacking and blocking creatures are removed from combat. 3) State-based actions are checked. No player gets priority, and no triggered abilities are put onto the stack. 4) The current phase and/or step ends. The game skips straight to the cleanup step. The cleanup step happens in its entirety. |
| 2007-07-15 | If any triggered abilities do trigger during this process, they’re put onto the stack during the cleanup step. If this happens, players will have a chance to cast spells and activate abilities, then there will be another cleanup step before the turn finally ends. |
