Miscalculation MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Cycling

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card advantage by countering spells or cycling to draw when more beneficial.
  2. Instant speed offers flexibility, allowing players to manage resources and disrupt effectively.
  3. Limited by discard requirements and mana cost, yet an essential tool for control decks.

Text of card

Counter target spell unless its caster pays an additional . Cycling (You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Miscalculation offers a two-fold card advantage. It can counter your opponent’s early game spells, effectively removing a card from their hand while staying in your hand itself as a cycled card if the countering is not needed.

Resource Acceleration: While Miscalculation doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it protects your board state during critical early turns, allowing you to develop your resources unimpeded.

Instant Speed: Its instant speed is a versatile tool in any player’s arsenal, offering the flexibility to disrupt opponents’ plans on their turn and optimally allocate mana each round.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable downside of Miscalculation is its discard requirement for the cycling ability. While cycling itself is a useful feature to replace an unneeded card, the act of discarding could inadvertently deplete valuable hand resources necessary for future turns.

Specific Mana Cost: Miscalculation carries a fixed mana cost which could create issues in multi-color decks. Requiring a blue mana to be played means that in a deck with a tight mana base, finding that necessary blue might sometimes be a challenge, particularly in the early game where color fixing is crucial.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card’s counter effect costs two mana, which is reasonable. However, it can only counter spells with a mana value of three or less. In a format where larger spells are prevalent or where other counterspells can address a wider range of threats more efficiently, Miscalculation’s utility might not stand out as much.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Miscalculation is an asset to control and tempo decks alike, serving as a countermeasure against early game threats or, later on, cycling for a new card when it’s less impactful.

Combo Potential: This card’s cycling ability allows players to draw into combo pieces more efficiently, while the counter spell aspect can protect your combos as they’re set up.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting MTG landscape, Miscalculation remains relevant by providing an answer to quick aggro strategies and ensuring your hand is always primed for the next move.


How to Beat

Miscalculation is a versatile counterspell that players often use in MTG for both its mana efficiency and the Cycling ability that allows for card replacement if it’s not needed. Strategizing against Miscalculation requires a careful consideration of mana. As it costs only two mana to play, one tactic is to bait it out by presenting less critical spells first. This way, Miscalculation is used up on a less impactful card, preserving your more important spells for later in the game when the opponent may be low on resources.

Additionally, understanding the times when Miscalculation can be cast is crucial—since it is a counterspell, it’s reactive. By being proactive with your threats and diversifying the types and timings of your spells, you can stretch the opponent’s counterspell capabilities. Playing around the Cycling ability is also key; putting pressure on the opponent to decide between holding up mana for the counter or cycling for a new card is advantageous. Ultimately, the key is to force your opponent to make difficult choices, overrun their Miscalculation with multiple threats, or compel them to second-guess its use, thereby gaining strategic advantage.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the nuances of Miscalculation can dramatically improve your gameplay within the MTG arena. From timing your counters to optimizing your deck’s cycling capabilities, the knowledge you apply makes every match a learning experience. To further refine your strategy and become adept at predicting opponents’ moves, diving deeper into the world of counterspells and their placements in various MTG metagames is key. Elevate your control game and get ahead of the curve. Embrace every phase of the game, and let Miscalculation be your guide to a more profound level of play. Unlock the full potential of your deck by learning more with us.


Cards like Miscalculation

Within the spell-slinging world of MTG, Miscalculation stands as an efficient countermeasure against opponents’ strategies. It echoes the essence of cards like Mana Leak, offering the player a chance to thwart an opponent’s spell unless they pay an additional cost. However, Miscalculation comes with an added benefit of having a cycling ability, which allows for deck filtering if the counter option is not immediately required.

The resemblance doesn’t end there. Consider Negate, another staple in counterspell lineups. Negate also has a cost-effective nature, but it restricts its scope to noncreature spells exclusively, while Miscalculation doesn’t differentiate. Spell Pierce presents an even lower mana cost alternative, but it asks for more strategic play timing, as its effect diminishes later in the game. Unlike these options, Miscalculation’s versatility in early game defensive play and late game draw potential sets it apart.

Analyzing the landscape of similar MTG cards, it’s clear that Miscalculation holds its own, skillfully combining disruption with card advantage potential, which is a powerful blend in the world of competitive gameplay.

Mana Leak - MTG Card versions
Negate - MTG Card versions
Spell Pierce - MTG Card versions
Mana Leak - Stronghold (STH)
Negate - Morningtide (MOR)
Spell Pierce - Zendikar (ZEN)

Cards similar to Miscalculation by color, type and mana cost

Counterspell - MTG Card versions
Hurkyl's Recall - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - MTG Card versions
Lat-Nam's Legacy - MTG Card versions
Flash - MTG Card versions
Boomerang - MTG Card versions
Updraft - MTG Card versions
Rebound - MTG Card versions
Memory Lapse - MTG Card versions
Hoodwink - MTG Card versions
Tidal Bore - MTG Card versions
Accumulated Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Aether Burst - MTG Card versions
Impulse - MTG Card versions
Cyclonic Rift - MTG Card versions
Thassa's Intervention - MTG Card versions
Metamorphose - MTG Card versions
Flash Counter - MTG Card versions
Echoing Truth - MTG Card versions
Early Frost - MTG Card versions
Counterspell - Commander Masters (CMM)
Hurkyl's Recall - Antiquities (ATQ)
Hypnotic Sprite // Mesmeric Glare - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Lat-Nam's Legacy - Alliances (ALL)
Flash - Mirage (MIR)
Boomerang - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Updraft - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Rebound - Stronghold (STH)
Memory Lapse - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Hoodwink - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Tidal Bore - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Accumulated Knowledge - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Aether Burst - Odyssey (ODY)
Impulse - Game Night: Free-for-All (GN3)
Cyclonic Rift - Commander Masters (CMM)
Thassa's Intervention - Theros Beyond Death (THB)
Metamorphose - Scourge (SCG)
Flash Counter - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Echoing Truth - Modern Masters (MMA)
Early Frost - Fifth Dawn (5DN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Miscalculation MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Legacy and World Championship Decks 2000, 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 Miscalculation and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Miscalculation Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-02-15 and 2000-08-02. Illustrated by Jeff Laubenstein.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-02-15Urza's LegacyULG 361997normalblackJeff Laubenstein
22000-08-02World Championship Decks 2000WC00 jf36sb1997normalgoldJeff Laubenstein

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Miscalculation has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Miscalculation card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2008-10-01 Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.

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