Puppet Master MTG Card

Legends (LEG)
1994-06-01 - Number 69

Chronicles (CHR)
1995-07-01 - Number 23

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Offers card advantage by protecting key creatures, enabling continuous play presence and strategic depth.
At instant speed, it provides unmatched flexibility, responding to threats and disrupting opponent plans.
Despite its potential, requires card discarding and blue mana, limiting its versatility and deck compatibility.

Text of card

If target creature is placed in the graveyard, return creature to owner's hand. All enchantments on target creature are destroyed. You may pay o Uo Uo U to return Puppet Master to its owner's hand if target creature returns to its owner's hand.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Puppet Master is designed to tip the scales in your favor by reclaiming vital creatures from the brink of the graveyard. This strategic retrieval ensures your deck’s key pieces remain in play, maintaining card advantage throughout the match.

Resource Acceleration: By protecting your investment in high-value creatures, Puppet Master effectively accelerates your resources. Keeping a strong presence on the board allows you to utilize your mana and other resources more effectively, rather than reallocating them to recasting creatures.

Instant Speed: Puppet Master’s instant speed execution gifts you the flexibility to respond to threats immediately. Whether it’s saving a crucial component of your combo or thwarting an opponent’s removal attempt, the card’s timing can provide a critical edge during gameplay.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Puppet Master demands that you discard a card to activate its abilities. In a game where every card in hand counts, using Puppet Master could potentially set you back, especially if your hand is already dwindling and you need to maintain options to respond to your opponent’s moves.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost to cast Puppet Master includes blue mana, which means it fits specifically into blue-themed decks or those with a sufficient mana base to accommodate blue spells. This requirement may restrict the card’s inclusion in a variety of decks that could benefit from its effects but cannot support the blue mana requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that is higher than some other control or creature protection options available in the game, Puppet Master may not be the most efficient choice. This is particularly true when considering strategies that aim to maintain tempo or establish board presence early on. Its mana cost could slow down your overall game plan by consuming resources that could be utilized elsewhere.

Reasons to Include Puppet Master in Your Collection

Versatility: Puppet Master offers unique flexibility for control decks, where countering threats and protecting valuable creatures are pivotal. This card allows you to deter opponents from targeting your creatures, or even get them back if they do.

Combo Potential: When paired with sacrifice effects or creatures with effects that trigger upon death, Puppet Master can become a key piece in complex and rewarding combos, moving beyond its simple protective role.

Meta-Relevance: Given the importance of creature-based strategies in many metas, Puppet Master can provide an edge by offering consistent creature recursion. This can be especially important in environments where creature removal is prevalent.

How to beat

Puppet Master is a unique MTG card that can cause quite a stir on the battlefield. To overcome this enchantment’s grasping control, one must adopt a strategic approach. Targeted removal spells such as Naturalize or Disenchant cater specifically to handling enchantments and are excellent choices to strip away your opponent’s Puppet Master.

Another effective strategy lies in utilizing creatures with abilities that counteract Puppet Master’s effects. Creatures with hexproof or shroud can dodge the manipulative reach of Puppet Master, making it difficult for your adversary to establish dominance over these untouchable assets.

Board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation can also swing the tides in your favor, as clearing the board would render Puppet Master useless without a creature to latch onto. Thus, maintaining control over the board and your hand with a judicious selection of cards is the key to dismantling the tricks of Puppet Master in an MTG game.

Cards like Puppet Master

Puppet Master is an intriguing enchantment that offers a distinct approach to creature protection in Magic: The Gathering. It finds kinship with cards like Unholy Indenture, which also give creatures a second chance by returning them to the battlefield or hand upon death. Puppet Master, though, surpasses simply resurrecting the creature; it deters opponents from destroying the creature in the first place due to the cost associated with the card.

Then there’s Kaya’s Ghostform, another enchantment that adheres to the creature or planeswalker until it dies or is exiled, returning that card back to play. Unlike Puppet Master, Kaya’s Ghostform does not incur any additional cost to its controller, but it also doesn’t provide the same level of deterrent. Comparatively, Gift of Immortality exhibits a more recursive protective measure by reattaching itself to the resurrected creature after it dies.

Ultimately, Puppet Master offers a unique blend of deterring attacks and offering creature resilience. While similar cards may provide straightforward reanimation or cheaper costs, Puppet Master’s strength lies in transforming potential aggressive plays by opponents into strategic pauses, considering the potential cost of the attack.

Cards similar to Puppet Master by color, type and mana cost

Threads of Disloyalty - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Puppet Master MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Chronicles, 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 Puppet Master and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Puppet Master Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-06-01 and 1995-07-01. Illustrated by Sandra Everingham.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1994-06-01	Legends	LEG		69	1993	Normal	Black	Sandra Everingham
2	1995-07-01	Chronicles	CHR		23	1993	Normal	White	Sandra Everingham

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Puppet Master has restrictions

Format	Legality
Oldschool	Legal
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-05-01	You only get the opportunity to pay (and thus to return Puppet Master to its owner’s hand) if the creature card actually gets returned to its owner’s hand. If it isn’t (for instance, if it was removed from the graveyard prior to this ability resolving), you don’t get the option to pay.