Haunted Cloak MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact — Equipment
Abilities Equip

Key Takeaways

  1. Haunted Cloak equips creatures with vigilance, trample, and haste, instantly improving combat potential.
  2. Instant-speed equip allows for strategic plays and surprise combat alterations.
  3. Despite higher costs, its versatility justifies inclusion in diverse deck strategies.

Text of card

Equipped creature has vigilance, trample, and haste. Equip

Bear the weight of so many spirits and you'll surrender civility and restraint to savagery and instinct.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Haunted Cloak does not directly allow you to draw cards, its ability to stay on the battlefield provides a lasting benefit. Equipping creatures repeatedly can be seen as an indirect form of card advantage, as you’re enhancing the board with a single card multiple times.

Resource Acceleration: Haunted Cloak doesn’t produce mana or treasure tokens, but its value lies in the resource acceleration it provides by giving equipped creatures three key abilities: vigilance, trample, and haste. This acceleration in creature efficiency means you can often bypass summoning sickness and push for damage or maintain a defensive stance immediately.

Instant Speed: As an artifact, Haunted Cloak can be cast at sorcery speed. However, its ability to equip at instant speed is a strategic advantage, allowing for sudden changes in combat dynamics and the surprise application of abilities, potentially altering the state of play in your favor when least expected by your opponent.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Haunted Cloak is a versatile equipment, its lack of a discard requirement may lead players to underestimate the value of hand management, missing opportunities to streamline their decks and optimize play strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Haunted Cloak demands a specific cost of three generic mana for casting. This could be slightly limiting in mana-tight situations, especially early in the game when resources are crucial for setting up one’s board.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Haunted Cloak provides three beneficial abilities, its casting and equip costs combined may deter players, especially when considering alternatives like Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves, which offer haste and other advantages with a lower equip cost.


Reasons to Include Haunted Cloak in Your Collection

Versatility: Haunted Cloak offers a variety of buffs to any creature it equips. Providing trample, vigilance, and haste, it enables creatures to be immediately impactful on the game, whether they’re aggressive attackers or vital defenders.

Combo Potential: Its ability to impart haste synergizes with creatures that have tap abilities or need to be on the offense quickly. It can prove to be a game-changer when combined with creatures that grow in strength each turn or have powerful enter-the-battlefield effects.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where tempo and quick adaptation can turn the tides, Haunted Cloak ensures that creatures are always primed and ready. Considering its low equip cost, it remains a relevant addition to decks that aim to keep constant pressure on the opponent.


How to beat

Haunted Cloak is a versatile artifact in Magic: The Gathering that grants equipped creatures three key abilities: vigilance, trample, and haste. An effective strategy against Haunted Cloak is to manage the battlefield with removal spells or abilities that target artifacts. By keeping the cloak from getting attached, you prevent your opponent’s creature from gaining these combat enhancements. Furthermore, if the creature is already equipped with the cloak, creature removal that bypasses the vigilance and haste, such as instant-speed spells, can be a powerful counter. Counterspells are also a noteworthy preemptive measure, halting Haunted Cloak before it hits the field.

Cards with artifact destruction like Naturalize or the multi-purpose Abrade can dismantle an opponent’s strategy built around Haunted Cloak by directly removing it from play. Additionally, employing creatures with reach or flying can mitigate the advantages provided by trample, ensuring you have defenders capable of blocking and potentially taking down an opposing creature emboldened by the cloak.

While Haunted Cloak can rapidly turn any creature into a substantial threat, a well-timed removal, strategic counterspell, or a strong board presence can neutralize its impact, preserving your standing in the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of Magic the Gathering involves more than just playing powerful cards; it’s about understanding how each piece can turn the tides of battle. Haunted Cloak is a respectable catalyst for strategic victories. Whether you seek to gain an edge through indirect card advantage, resource acceleration, or versatile combo potential, this card could elevate your gameplay. Contemplate its inclusion in your deck, adapt your strategies to outmaneuver its cons, and counter it effectively when faced against it. For those captivated by the Cloak’s allure, we invite you on a deeper dive to harness its potential and to wield its power like a true MTG connoisseur.


Cards like Haunted Cloak

Haunted Cloak is a versatile equipment in Magic: The Gathering, offering a trio of abilities to the creature it equips—vigilance, trample, and haste. Closely akin to the Swiftfoot Boots, Haunted Cloak exchanges hexproof for the ability to grant trample, which can be a significant power-up in the right deck. While Swiftfoot Boots provides a narrower range of abilities, its hexproof attribute is a potent protection feature.

Another related artifact is the Trailblazer’s Boots, which instead of direct combat enhancements, bestows nonbasic landwalk. This can be incredibly advantageous in a game with numerous nonbasic lands, giving creatures an open route to deal damage. Even within its niche, Haunted Cloak remains unique by augmenting creatures in a multifaceted way, contributing to both their offensive and defensive capabilities.

In evaluating its peers, Haunted Cloak certainly holds its ground as a valuable equipment piece. Its capacity to instantly enhance creatures and increase combat effectiveness without overcommitting resources makes it a desirable option for many strategies in Magic: The Gathering.

Swiftfoot Boots - MTG Card versions
Trailblazer's Boots - MTG Card versions
Swiftfoot Boots - Magic 2012 (M12)
Trailblazer's Boots - Zendikar (ZEN)

Cards similar to Haunted Cloak by color, type and mana cost

Celestial Prism - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Celestial Prism - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Runed Arch - Ice Age (ICE)
Clay Pigeon - Unglued (UGL)
Ashnod's Altar - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Jalum Tome - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Patchwork Gnomes - Odyssey (ODY)
The Stasis Coffin - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Captain's Hook - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)
Spellweaver Helix - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scale of Chiss-Goria - Mirrodin (MRD)
Lightning Coils - Mirrodin (MRD)
Loxodon Warhammer - Tenth Edition (10E)
Sword of Feast and Famine - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Training Drone - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Pristine Talisman - New Phyrexia Promos (PNPH)
Alloy Myr - Jumpstart (JMP)
Guardians of Meletis - Magic Origins (ORI)
Vedalken Shackles - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Herald's Horn - Treasure Chest (PZ2)
Manalith - Hour of Devastation (HOU)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Haunted Cloak MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Commander Legends, 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 Haunted Cloak and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Haunted Cloak Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Volkan Baǵa.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 2572015normalblackVolkan Baǵa
22020-11-20Commander LegendsCMR 3132015normalblackVolkan Baǵa
32020-11-20Commander LegendsCMR 4632015normalblackVolkan Baǵa
42023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 3892015normalblackVolkan Baǵa

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Haunted Cloak has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-11-10 If a creature enters the battlefield under your control and gains haste, but then loses it before attacking, it won't be able to attack that turn. This means that you can't use one Haunted Cloak to allow two new creatures to attack in the same turn.

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