Urza, Prince of Kroog MTG Card
2022-11-18 - Number 296
2022-11-18 - Number 226
2002-06-24 - Number 105776
2022-11-18 - Number 43
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — Human Artificer |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Generates consistent card advantage, putting powerful artifacts into play every turn.
- Accelerates resources by turning artifacts into blue mana, enabling early potent plays.
- Instant speed activation allows for adaptable strategies, keeping opponents on edge.
Text of card
Artifact creatures you control get +2/+2. : Create a token that's a copy of target artifact you control, except it's a 1/1 Soldier creature in addition to its other types.
"At heart, Urza was an inventor, not a warlord. Over time, the burdens of leadership left him as cold and calculating as his mechanical creations." —*The Antiquities War*
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Urza, Prince of Kroog shines when it comes to card advantage. With its ability to peer into your deck and potentially put high-impact artifacts into play every turn, it ensures a steady flow of new tools to outmaneuver opponents.
Resource Acceleration: As a proficient resource accelerator, this card’s capability extends beyond conventional mana production. By turning artifacts into blue mana sources, it offers a strategic advantage, setting the stage for powerful plays earlier than usual.
Instant Speed: Urza’s versatility is further elevated by its ability to deploy those artifacts at instant speed. This not only keeps adversaries guessing but also allows seamless integration into your strategy, maximizing your options during each phase of the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The card stipulates a discard from your hand to activate certain abilities. This can be a tactical setback, especially when your hand is already drained of resources and you’re vying for any advantage you can muster on the battlefield.
Specific Mana Cost: Urza, Prince of Kroog necessitates a specific mana combination to cast. This can potentially constrain your deck-building options, limiting the card’s versatility and requiring a commitment to a dedicated mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment required to bring Urza, Prince of Kroog into play is fairly steep. In a game where early momentum can be key, a higher casting cost might delay your game plan, paving the way for quicker, more mana-efficient strategies to gain the upper hand.
Reasons to Include Urza, Prince of Kroog in Your Collection
Versatility: Urza, Prince of Kroog is a dynamic card that provides utility in various deck archetypes. Its ability to manipulate mana and card advantage is invaluable in decks aiming for flexible responses to in-game scenarios.
Combo Potential: With the right synergies in place, Urza can become a linchpin for combo decks. It serves as both an enabler and accelerator for powerful plays, supporting artifact-centric strategies or any setup that thrives on consistent mana generation.
Meta-Relevance: Its relevance in the current competitive landscape is notable. As metagames evolve, having Urza, Prince of Kroog gives players an edge by offering a robust solution to shifting deck trends and allowing for adaptive playstyles.
How to beat
Urza, Prince of Kroog can be a significant powerhouse in Magic: The Gathering, with abilities that can turn the tide of the game. First and foremost, understanding the mechanics of Urza’s abilities is key to developing an effective strategy against it. Urza is known for being able to tap and untap artifacts to create blue mana, so employing removal spells to disrupt this synergy is essential. Cards like Abrade or Nature’s Claim can target the artifacts upon which Urza relies.
Damping Sphere is an excellent sideboard card that can hinder Urza’s mana-generating capacity by making additional spells more costly for each spell cast in a turn. Additionally, keeping Urza from hitting the battlefield in the first place can be even better. Counterspells are always effective here—Disallow or Counterspell will do the trick nicely to keep their strategy at bay.
Sidestepping traditional combat and focusing on alternative win conditions can also be a viable method. Deploying strategies around mill or direct life loss can circumvent Urza’s field presence altogether. Defeating Urza, Prince of Kroog involves a mix of timely removal, countermeasures, and strategic planning to ensure this formidable planeswalker doesn’t dominate the match.
Cards like Urza, Prince of Kroog
Urza, Prince of Kroog emerges as a compelling figure in the realm of artifact synergy cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its likeness could be seen in cards like Sai, Master Thopterist, which also excels in utilizing artifacts for value. While Sai generates Thopter tokens for each artifact played, Urza, Prince of Kroog takes a different approach by allowing players to tap an artifact for a blue mana without needing to make a token.
Another card warranting comparison is Emry, Lurker of the Loch. Like Urza, she interacts favorably with artifacts, providing the ability to cast them from the graveyard. However, Emry leans heavily into recursion, whereas Urza’s strength lies in resource acceleration. Karn, Scion of Urza, also shares a similar space, offering the ability to create powerful Construct tokens that grow with your artifacts. Karn offers raw token power while Urza offers utilitarian flexibility through his mana-generating and card-advantage abilities.
Assessing these counterparts, Urza, Prince of Kroog stands out for its capacity to instantly convert artifacts into mana and potentially draw cards, presenting a robust option for players looking to optimize their artifact-based strategies in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Urza, Prince of Kroog by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Urza, Prince of Kroog MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and The Brothers' War, 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, Prince of Kroog 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 Urza, Prince of Kroog Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2022-11-18 and 2022-11-18. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 105776 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cosmin Podar | ||
| 2 | 2022-11-18 | The Brothers' War | BRO | 296 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Cosmin Podar | |
| 3 | 2022-11-18 | The Brothers' War | BRO | 226 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Joshua Raphael | |
| 4 | The Brothers' War Art Series | ABRO | 43 | 2015 | Art series | Borderless |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Urza, Prince of Kroog has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Urza, Prince of Kroog card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-10-14 | For Urza, Prince of Kroog's activated ability, the token copies exactly what was printed on the original permanent, with the listed exceptions, and nothing else (unless that permanent is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that permanent is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on. |
| 2022-10-14 | If the copied permanent has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0. |
| 2022-10-14 | If the copied permanent is a token, the token created with Urza copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that created that token, with the listed exceptions. |
| 2022-10-14 | If the copied permanent is copying something else, then the token enters the battlefield as whatever that permanent copied, with the listed exceptions. |
| 2022-10-14 | The token is a Soldier creature in addition to its other types. Its base power and toughness is 1/1. These are the copiable values of the token's characteristics that other effects may copy. |