Crystalline Resonance MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2020-04-17
Set symbol
Set name	Commander 2020
Set code	C20
Number	31
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Joe Slucher

Key Takeaways

The card provides advantage by mimicking other permanents, potentially increasing your value each turn.
Instant speed activation allows for adaptable gameplay reacting to opponents’ moves.
Resource acceleration through copying mana-producing permanents can be instantaneously beneficial.

Text of card

Whenever you cycle a card, you may have Crystalline Resonance become a copy of another target permanent until your next turn, except it has this ability.

"As a boulder diverts a stream, the crystals bend life around them." —Rielle, the Everwise

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crystalline Resonance gives you a tactical edge by copying other permanents which often leads to additional value. The ability to take on the form of other powerful cards on the battlefield can generate a tremendous card advantage over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: Crafting your strategy around Crystalline Resonance can be a subtle but effective means of resource acceleration. Given the right setup, it can mimic mana-producing permanents, which could very well lead to an increase in your resource pool almost instantly.

Instant Speed: The ability of Crystalline Resonance to be activated at instant speed creates dynamic interactions. You’ll be able to adjust your tactics on the fly, reacting to your opponent’s moves by transforming into the most opportune permanent at just the right moment, keeping them on their toes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Crystalline Resonance demands that you discard another card to activate its ability. This can put you at a disadvantage, particularly in the late game when each card in hand is crucial for maintaining control and options.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a precise combination of mana to cast, including a blue mana, which might not be readily available in all deck types, thereby restricting its inclusion to only blue or multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that’s on the higher side, Crystalline Resonance competes with other impactful cards that could potentially offer a stronger board presence or more immediate effects for the same amount of resources.

Reasons to Include Crystalline Resonance in Your Collection

Versatility: Crystalline Resonance offers a broad range of gameplay adaptability, allowing players to copy any permanent as long as they control their commander, which makes it a valuable addition to Commander decks that focus on maximizing the synergies of their commander’s abilities.

Combo Potential: Given its ability to become a copy of the most advantageous permanent on the battlefield, it can be played in combination with numerous other cards to produce powerful and often game-ending interactions. It’s a perfect fit for decks looking to exploit certain triggers or abilities multiple times.

Meta-Relevance: As the commander format is known for its ever-shifting meta, a card like Crystalline Resonance remains highly relevant by empowering players to adapt to the prevailing strategies, ensuring that their decks remain competitive regardless of the dynamic nature of the game.

How to beat

Crystalline Resonance is an arsenal in player decks aiming for synergy between artifacts and abilities. Expert level Magic: The Gathering players would often have strats revolving around this card enabling them to copy other permanents on the battlefield whenever they cycle or discard another card. This potent ability is not just creative but also challenging to counter.

To effectively navigate against Crystalline Resonance, focus on disruption. Include cards that restrict your opponent’s ability to cycle or discard, thereby hampering their chances to capitalize on Resonance’s ability. Cards with countering abilities can serve as an effective foil, nullifying the card before its benefits can be reaped. Additionally, incorporating removal spells that can handle artifacts or enchantments directly like Disenchant or Naturalize could prove invaluable in your deck composition. Watch for the right opportunity, as timing is key – reacting before your opponent triggers the copy effect can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Overall, understanding and anticipating the mechanics surrounding Crystalline Resonance can position a player to dismantle its influence in the game, ultimately gaining an upper hand in the duel.

Cards like Crystalline Resonance

Crystalline Resonance offers a unique twist within the selection of copy effects in Magic: The Gathering. It resembles Mirror Mockery in the way it clones, but Crystalline Resonance boasts the flexibility of targeting not just creatures but any permanent type during your upkeep. This broad targeting option is a step up from Mirror Mockery’s creature-only limitation and allows for a wider range of strategic plays.

Another comparable card is Copy Enchantment. While this card also allows for duplicating a wide array of enchantments, it lacks the dynamic nature of Crystalline Resonance which can be triggered every upkeep. Moreover, Clever Impersonator stands as a competitor, capable of cloning any nonland permanent. However, it falls short in repeatable use, as it’s a one-time effect unlike the ongoing potential of Crystalline Resonance.

Analyzing the adaptability and long-term advantage of Crystalline Resonance against its counterparts, it’s evident that the card holds significant value in decks that seek to exploit recurring clone effects. This feature, coupled with its versatility in targeting, ensures Crystalline Resonance earns a prominent position among its peers in MTG.

Cards similar to Crystalline Resonance by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crystalline Resonance MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2020, 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 Crystalline Resonance and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crystalline Resonance has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-04-17	Crystalline Resonance copies the printed values of the target permanent, plus any copy effects that have been applied to it. It won’t copy counters on that permanent or effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on. Notably, it won’t copy effects that made the target permanent become a creature.
2020-04-17	Crystalline Resonance’s copy effect wears off immediately before your next turn begins.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance becomes a copy of a legendary permanent you control, you’ll put one of them into its owner’s graveyard.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance becomes a copy of a planeswalker, it won’t receive loyalty counters for that planeswalker’s starting loyalty. Unless it already has loyalty counters on it somehow, it will be put into its owner’s graveyard.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance becomes a copy of an Aura, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard unless it’s somehow attached to an appropriate object or player already. If it becomes a copy of an Equipment and is attached to a creature, it’ll become unattached when it becomes an enchantment again.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance becomes a copy of an object with a set of linked abilities (for example, one ability that exiles a card and another that refers to the card “exiled with” the object), that link only lasts as long as Crystalline Resonance is copying that object. If it stops being a copy of that object and then becomes a copy again later, the link is lost.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance becomes a creature the same turn it enters the battlefield, you can’t attack with it or use any of its abilities (if it gains any) unless it has haste.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance copies a permanent that’s copying something else, it will become whatever the target is copying.
2020-04-17	If Crystalline Resonance’s ability triggers multiple times in a turn, then each time one of those abilities resolves, it will overwrite whatever Crystalline Resonance is copying. Crystalline Resonance will wind up as a copy of the permanent targeted by the last ability to resolve. As your next turn begins, all instances of the ability will wear off at the same time.
2020-04-17	If an effect begins to apply to Crystalline Resonance before it becomes a copy of another permanent, that effect will continue to apply.
2020-04-17	If another permanent becomes a copy of Crystalline Resonance, it will become whatever Crystalline Resonance is copying and it will also have its ability.
2020-04-17	Some cards with cycling have an ability that triggers when you cycle them, and some cards have an ability that triggers whenever you cycle any card. These triggered abilities resolve before you draw from the cycling ability.
2020-04-17	Triggered abilities from cycling a card and the cycling ability itself aren’t spells. Effects that interact with spells (such as that of Cancel) won’t affect them.
2020-04-17	You can cycle a card even if it has a triggered ability from cycling that won’t have a legal target. This is because the cycling ability and the triggered ability are separate. This also means that if either ability is countered (with Disallow, for example), the other ability will still resolve.