Urza, Academy Headmaster MTG Card
Text of card
+1: Head to Ask Urza.com and click +1. -1: Head to Ask Urza.com and click -1. -6: Head to Ask Urza.com and click -6.
Cards like Urza, Academy Headmaster
Urza, Academy Headmaster is a unique planeswalker card in the world of Magic the Gathering. One card with notable similarities is Karn Liberated. Both wield substantial power potential and can alter the course of a game. However, what sets Urza, Academy Headmaster apart is its unpredictability due to the ability to activate a random loyalty ability sourced from any planeswalker ever printed.
Another peer in this category is Jace, the Mind Sculptor, renowned for its versatility and control potentials. While Jace provides consistent and predictable benefits, Urza thrives in the unknown, potentially creating explosive and unexpected outcomes that are not seen with any other card.
Drawing a parallel to Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh, both have multiple abilities that can turn the tides of a match. Urza’s unpredictable nature can sometimes surpass the structured power of Nicol Bolas, making Urza a wild card in a player’s arsenal. Players who enjoy an element of surprise and variety in each game find Urza, Academy Headmaster to be an endlessly novel and enthralling choice.
Cards similar to Urza, Academy Headmaster by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Urza, Academy Headmaster’s variety of abilities offer unique ways to gain card advantage. From drawing extra cards to cheating spells into play, mastery over Urza can tilt the game’s balance in your favor by outpacing your opponent in resources.
Resource Acceleration: Urza can bolster your mana production, enabling you to access more formidable spells earlier in the match. This capacity for resource acceleration can swiftly shift the momentum to your side of the battlefield.
Instant Speed: Some of Urza’s abilities can be activated at instant speed, providing flexibility and tactical depth. This not only allows you to react to your opponent’s moves but also offers the surprise factor, potentially disrupting their strategies.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Urza, Academy Headmaster demands players to have a diverse and potentially costly mana base to deploy this Planeswalker to the field effectively. This can be challenging, especially for decks that struggle with generating multiple colors of mana.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Urza is quite rigid, needing one of each color mana which could lead to turns where you’re unable to play him due to a restrictive mana pool, particularly in the early stages of a game.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a five mana total cost, Urza may arrive too late in matches where speed is crucial. Other lower-cost Planeswalkers or impact cards might offer more immediate value or easier board presence.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Urza, Academy Headmaster is designed to thrive in any deck that enjoys a touch of chaos and unpredictability. With an ability suite generated at random, this planeswalker can adapt to numerous board states and surprise opponents with its range of effects.
Combo Potential: This card’s dynamic nature allows it to compliment a variety of combos within your deck. The spontaneous abilities it offers can unexpectedly turn the tides of the game, providing support for complex play sequences or even starting a combo chain by itself.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s constantly evolving, Urza, Academy Headmaster remains a relevant choice. It can disrupt opponent’s strategies or give you the upper hand by providing a random, but sometimes game-changing, ability each time it’s activated, making it a versatile tool against a wide array of decks.
How to beat
Urza, Academy Headmaster spins a unique web in the rich tapestry of Magic: The Gathering with his ever-changing abilities wrapped up in one mesmerizing planeswalker card. Every turn, he imbues the game with suspense as players activate one of his numerous loyalty abilities at random. Overcoming this wildcard requires a strategy focused on consistency and control.
To gain the upper hand against Urza, you should look towards cards that stop his ability activations outright, such as Pithing Needle or Sorcerous Spyglass. These artifacts shut down Urza before his unpredictability becomes a threat. Control decks have an advantage here, especially when they incorporate counterspells like Negate or board wipes that clear planeswalkers, including Ruinous Path or Vraska’s Contempt. Hand disruption, through Thoughtseize or Duress, can also be crucial in preemptively dealing with Urza before he makes an impact on the board.
Tackling Urza, Academy Headmaster hinges on preparation and maintaining control over the game state. Limit his options, keep his loyalty checked, and Urza’s extraordinary power can be mitigated, bringing you one step closer to victory in the fantastical battles of Magic: The Gathering.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Urza, Academy Headmaster MTG card by a specific set like Unstable, 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 Urza, Academy Headmaster 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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Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Urza, Academy Headmaster 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 | If an ability comes up that requires a target and there are legal targets available, you must use that ability even if you may not want to. However, the effects are all good for you or bad for your opponent. In some cases, you may not be able to take advantage. For example, if it ends up that creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn but you don’t control any creatures, you’re out of luck. But nothing bad will happen. |
| 2018-01-19 | Players can respond to the activation of any of Urza’s abilities, but not after players know what effect is going to happen. |
| 2018-01-19 | Urza, Academy Headmaster is just like any other planeswalker, except you’re never quite sure what his abilities are going to do. Urza is very unpredictable. To find out what happens, head to AskUrza.com. There you will find three buttons: +1, -1, and -6. Click the button for the loyalty ability that’s resolving, and follow whatever instructions appear. |
| 2018-01-19 | Urza’s abilities work a little differently with respect to targeting. Unlike other abilities, you may have to choose the targets for an ability as part of that ability resolving. If the ability that comes up requires a target and there are no legal targets available, click again until that’s not true. |