Clocknapper MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Clocknapper is a powerhouse when it comes to disrupting your opponent’s plans and gaining an upper hand in the match. With its unique ability to control a player’s turn by choosing the phases that may get extra play or completely skip, you consistently land in advantageous board states, effectively giving you more leverage and potential actions compared to your adversary.

Resource Acceleration: While Clocknapper itself does not directly generate mana or tokens, the ability to repeat certain phases like your untap or draw step can indirectly accelerate your resources. By carefully choosing which part of the turn to repeat, you can untap additional lands for more mana or draw extra cards, effectively ramping up your available resources to deploy threats or answers sooner than your opponent.

Instant Speed: Despite Clocknapper not being an instant, its ability can have a similar impact to casting a spell at instant speed. You may deploy Clocknapper during your turn, but by carefully selecting the turn phase to affect, you can create immediate and unexpected advantages as though you had taken an action at instant speed – for instance, denying an opponent’s combat or second main phase, which can be a game changer.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Because this card requires you to exile it along with three other cards with different names from your hand, this can create a significant disadvantage. The discard mechanic obliges you to deplete valuable hand resources, potentially leaving you vulnerable to your opponent’s moves.

Specific Mana Cost: Clocknapper demands a very specific mana combination to cast, requiring both blue and colorless mana. This can sometimes restrict the card’s inclusion, making it predominantly a choice for blue-centric or multicolor decks with a reliable mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, including two blue, Clocknapper’s impact on the game might not always justify its expense, especially when there are other creatures or spells that affect the board at a lower cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Clocknapper is a dynamic addition to blue-based control and combo decks. Its unique ability to manipulate turns allows you to disrupt your opponent’s plans or set up pivotal plays for your win condition.

Combo Potential: With the capability to essentially steal phases from your opponent’s turn, Clocknapper pairs well with cards that untap creatures or copy abilities, multiplying its disruptive effects and setting the stage for game-winning combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a game that’s constantly evolving, flexibly responding to the meta is crucial. Clocknapper’s strategic advantage shines in environments where timing and turn order play pivotal roles, such as in matches against tempo or combo decks.

Understanding Clocknapper

In Magic: The Gathering, Clocknapper is a unique creature known for its ability to disrupt the flow of turns by stealing phases. When it enters the battlefield, you can choose your opponent’s next turn and remove a particular phase, such as the untap, upkeep, draw, main, beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, post-combat main, or end step. This clever manipulation can throw opponents off balance, effectively depriving them of valuable steps in their strategy.

How to beat

Confronting a Clocknapper requires a tactical approach. The key is to neutralize it before it can execute its ability or to mitigate its impact. Strategies include instant-speed removal spells that can be cast before the Clocknapper’s effect resolves, such as Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization. Counterspells like Negate or Essence Scatter are also effective at preventing Clocknapper from hitting the field. Utilizing flash creatures to maintain board presence during the opponent’s turn can also alleviate the disruption caused by Clocknapper. Lastly, permanents that grant phases back or allow additional actions during turns, like Teferi, Time Raveler, can significantly diminish Clocknapper’s influence over the game.