The Grand Calcutron MTG Card
Text of card
When The Grand Calcutron enters the battlefield, each player's hand becomes a program (an ordered row of revealed cards). Players can only play the first card of their program. If a card would be put into a player's hand from anywhere, that player reveals it and places it anywhere within his or her program instead. At the beginning of each player's end step, if that player's program has fewer than five cards, he or she draws cards equal to the difference.
Cards like The Grand Calcutron
The Grand Calcutron stands out as a unique inclusion in the Commander format of Magic: The Gathering. It echoes the controlled chaos of cards like Possibility Storm, which also disrupts the normal flow of play by randomizing spell casting. However, The Grand Calcutron’s approach is more orderly, requiring players to sequence their plays in advance.
Conversely, Knowledge Pool offers a related twist, with players exiling spells and then playing spells that others have put into the Pool. While Knowledge Pool affects the game profoundly, The Grand Calcutron provides a predictable pattern which some players may find more manageable. Then there’s Mindmoil, which resembles The Grand Calcutron in the reshuffling of a player’s hand but differs as it triggers whenever the player casts a spell, therefore it alters hand content dynamically unlike The Grand Calcutron’s static lineup during each turn.
As these comparisons show, The Grand Calcutron brings a singular mix of order and strategy to the gameplay, allowing a player’s tactical skills to shine in the Commander landscape. It stands distinct for its ability to add a layer of premeditated playstyle that contrasts the randomness introduced by its counterparts.
Cards similar to The Grand Calcutron by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Grand Calcutron offers a distinctive approach to managing your hand, essentially allowing you to access multiple cards in a single turn. This feature not only ensures a consistent flow of options but also gives you the upper hand in the tug-of-war for resources, making it a staple for decks that thrive on card interactions.
Resource Acceleration: By organizing your future plays, The Grand Calcutron can indirectly contribute to resource acceleration. This is because it helps streamline your game plan, allowing for a more efficient use of your mana each turn. It doesn’t directly produce mana or cheat costs, but it can reduce time wasted on decision-making, leading to faster and more impactful plays.
Instant Speed: The unique nature of this card transforms the way you’ll play your instants and other at-speed spells. By rearranging your hand, The Grand Calcutron can ensure that your instant-speed interactions are always at the ready, enabling a dynamic shift in the control you have over the game’s pace at any given moment.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing The Grand Calcutron requires you to organize your hand into a program, which means any undisclosed cards must be discarded. This could lead to a loss of valuable cards and potential game strategies.
Specific Mana Cost: The Grand Calcutron has a mana cost that is exclusive to blue mana. This can potentially restrict the card to decks that heavily feature blue mana, reducing its versatility in multi-color or colorless decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, The Grand Calcutron is relatively expensive for its effect. Other cards in MTG might provide you with more straightforward or cost-effective ways to control card flow or gain card advantage. In competitive play, where efficiency is key, the high mana cost could be a significant drawback.
Reasons to Include The Grand Calcutron in Your Collection
Versatility: This unique Legendary Artifact can be integrated into a variety of deck archetypes, particularly those looking for an unusual approach to hand management. With the ability to control the order of your plays, The Grand Calcutron adds a layer of strategy that can adapt to numerous game situations.
Combo Potential: This card unleashes new possibilities for combo enthusiasts. It has a natural synergy with cards that allow you to play nontraditional spells or change the casting order, thereby creating opportunities for interesting and often game-ending combinations.
Meta-Relevance: In a landscape often dominated by predictability, The Grand Calcutron introduces an element of surprise and can be particularly disruptive against opponents who rely heavily on specific sequences of play. Its presence can be incredibly impactful, shaking up the conventional meta-game.
How to beat
The Grand Calcutron is a unique card in MTG that can shape the way both players approach the game. Its ability to restrict both players to play cards in a pre-determined order introduces an unusual challenge. To gain an advantage against The Grand Calcutron, flexibility and strategic planning become crucial. One effective tactic is to utilize instant speed removal or disruption when The Grand Calcutron is activated, bypassing the constraint to play in a set order. Cards that offer the option to play spells from places other than the hand can also diminish the impact of The Grand Calcutron’s orderly demands.
Another strategy involves cards that force the opponent to draw more cards than they can play, such as Howling Mine or Dictate of Kruphix. This puts pressure on The Grand Calcutron user by quickly overloading their ordered play sequence. By increasing the number of cards they must handle in order, your opponent may struggle to effectively utilize the cards they’ve queued. Additionally, instant speed spells that interact directly with opponents’ hands disrupt the sequencing imposed by The Grand Calcutron, potentially dismantling the player’s planned course of action and turning the tide of the game in your favor.
Understanding and adapting to the constraints of The Grand Calcutron is the key to overcoming this powerful card. Assessing the board, keeping the right countermeasures in hand, and maintaining flexibility in your own sequence of play will lead to victory over anyone relying on The Grand Calcutron’s structured yet rigid strategy.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase The Grand Calcutron MTG card by a specific set like Unstable and The List (Unfinity Foil 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 The Grand Calcutron and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
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- MTG Mint Card
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- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The The Grand Calcutron Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-12-08 and 2022-10-07. Illustrated by Sean Murray.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-12-08 | Unstable | UST | 131 | 2015 | Normal | Silver | Sean Murray | |
| 2 | 2022-10-07 | The List (Unfinity Foil Edition) | ULST | 47 | 2015 | Normal | Silver | Sean Murray |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering The Grand Calcutron card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-01-19 | After The Grand Calcutron leaves the battlefield, players pick their cards up and put them back in their hand. They are no longer public and no longer follow the rules of The Grand Calcutron. |
| 2018-01-19 | In Commander games allowing silver-bordered cards, The Grand Calcutron can be your commander. |
| 2018-01-19 | When The Grand Calcutron enters the battlefield, all players take their hands and place them face up on the table. They then order them as they choose into a row, called a “program.” The only card they may cast is the first card in their program. |
| 2018-01-19 | Whenever a card would go to a player’s hand (they drew it, it got bounced, etc.) that player can put the card anywhere in their program they wish. At the beginning of each end step, if you have fewer than five cards in your program, you draw cards until you have five. |
| 2018-01-19 | Your program is still your hand. If you discard a card, it goes from your program to your graveayard. |