Muzzio's Preparations MTG Card

Rarity	Common
Type	Conspiracy
Abilities	Hidden agenda
Released	2014-06-06
Set symbol
Set name	Conspiracy
Set code	CNS
Number	7
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Karl Kopinski

Key Takeaways

Muzzio’s Preparations enhances board presence, synergizing with cards utilizing +1/+1 counters.
Instant speed play allows strategic responses, improving creature-based interactions during gameplay.
Its specific mana requirements can limit deck building options, potentially affecting deck strategy.

Text of card

Hidden agenda (Start the game with this conspiracy face down in the command zone and secretly name a card. You may turn this conspiracy face up any time and reveal the chosen name.) Each creature you control with the chosen name enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the primary strengths of Muzzio’s Preparations lies in its ability to consistently provide value to a deck. Not only does it fortify your creatures, but it also synergizes with other cards that benefit from +1/+1 counters to establish a formidable board presence.

Resource Acceleration: Muzzio’s Preparations can act as an engine for resource acceleration by enhancing creatures that can tap for mana or those with innate abilities triggered by counters. This acceleration can lead to quicker deployment of larger threats or activation of abilities that can sway the game in your favor.

Instant Speed: The versatility of Muzzio’s Preparations at instant speed cannot be overstated. This allows players to wait until the most opportune moment, like during an opponent’s end step, to surprise an adversary or to better respond to evolving game conditions, protecting key threats from removal or making pivotal plays without telegraphing strategies in advance.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside to using Muzzio’s Preparations is its potential impact on your hand. To initiate its abilities, there could be instances where it necessitates discarding a card, which isn’t always ideal, especially if you’re already managing a limited pool of options or crucial strategy components.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting requirements for Muzzio’s Preparations are set, meaning that you’ll need a particular type of mana to play it. This can pose a challenge in multicolored decks or those that rely on a diverse mana base, potentially restricting its inclusion to decks that are able to consistently meet these specific mana demands.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the card packs potent abilities, its mana cost is on the heftier side when assessed against other cards with similar effects. Deck builders frequently evaluate the cost-to-benefit ratio, and in some scenarios, there could be alternatives that achieve comparable results for less mana, thereby optimizing deck efficiency and performance.

Reasons to Include Muzzio’s Preparations in Your Collection

Versatility: Ideal for deck builders, Muzzio’s Preparations is a card that creates wide possibilities for enhancing creatures. With its ability to be part of numerous strategies, this card adjusts to various gameplay styles while offering a consistent improvement to your creatures.

Combo Potential: This card serves as a cog in the machine of artifact-themed decks. By granting creatures a +1/+1 counter and the potential to be cloned with its cipher ability, Muzzio’s Preparations pairs well with mechanics that capitalize on both counter modification and noncreature artifact synergies, opening a space for intricate and powerful combinations.

Meta-Relevance: With a game where creature-based strategies often dominate the scene, having an enchantment that buffs creatures and offers repeatable utility can be a game-changer. Whether the meta leans towards aggressive or controlling, the incremental advantage provided by Muzzio’s Preparations could prove invaluable in securing a winning position.

How to Beat Muzzio’s Preparations

Muzzio’s Preparations can be a subtle but potent addition to creature-focused decks in Magic: The Gathering. This card offers a unique twist on enhancing your creatures by using graft to proliferate +1/+1 counters across the board. Navigating a match against an opponent who utilizes this can be tricky, but strategies do exist to mitigate its impact.

To effectively counteract Muzzio’s Preparations, consider incorporating cards that limit counter generation or use counter removal effects. Cards that prevent abilities from triggering, such as Torpor Orb, can be invaluable here. Additionally, board wipes remain an ever-reliable answer to clear out boosted creatures en masse. It’s also wise to keep spot removal handy to deal with key creatures before they become too large to handle.

Adapting your playstyle is also crucial. Playing conservatively and holding your removal for the most opportune moment can save you from being overwhelmed by proliferating counters. Whether it’s through calculated removal or silencing persistent abilities, overcoming the challenge of Muzzio’s Preparations requires a blend of strategic foresight and responsive play.

Cards like Muzzio's Preparations

Muzzio’s Preparations is a unique addition to the suite of card enhancements in Magic: The Gathering, reminiscent of creature augmentations like Rancor. Muzzio’s Preparations stands out because it consistently applies its +1/+1 counters to creatures you control that have been bolstered with any other counters – a perpetual boon that remains throughout the game. Rancor, by contrast, offers a recurring approach with its return-to-hand ability upon the enchanted creature’s death, granting trample rather than an increase in size.

Parallel to this, Hardened Scales is a card that synergizes with creatures acquiring counters. Whereas Muzzio’s Preparations preempts by preparing creatures that will enter the battlefield, Hardened Scales works reactively, enhancing the value of counters as they are placed. Then there’s Doubling Season, a heavyweight in this category, which doubles the amount of all types of counters and tokens placed – a broader effect, but at a significantly higher casting cost and without the specificity of Muzzio’s ability to prepare future creatures.

Each of these enchantments brings a strategic edge to a player’s deck, but Muzzio’s Preparations offers a unique proactive strategy for enhancing creatures over the course of the game, carving its niche in enhancement-themed decks.

Cards similar to Muzzio's Preparations by color, type and mana cost

Unexpected Potential - MTG Card versions

Advantageous Proclamation - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Muzzio's Preparations MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy, 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 Muzzio's Preparations and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Muzzio's Preparations has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Banned
Legacy	Banned
Oathbreaker	Banned
Vintage	Banned
Duel	Banned

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-08-23	A conspiracy doesn’t count as a card in your deck for purposes of meeting minimum deck size requirements. (In most drafts, the minimum deck size is 40 cards.)
2016-08-23	A conspiracy’s static and triggered abilities function as long as that conspiracy is face-up in the command zone.
2016-08-23	Conspiracies are colorless, have no mana cost, and can’t be cast as spells.
2016-08-23	Conspiracies are never put into your deck. Instead, you put any number of conspiracies from your card pool into the command zone as the game begins. These conspiracies are face up unless they have hidden agenda, in which case they begin the game face down.
2016-08-23	Conspiracies aren’t legal for any sanctioned Constructed format, but may be included in other Limited formats, such as Cube Draft.
2016-08-23	You can look at any player’s face-up conspiracies at any time. You’ll also know how many face-down conspiracies a player has in the command zone, although you won’t know what they are.
2016-08-23	You don’t have to play with any conspiracy you draft. However, you have only one opportunity to put conspiracies into the command zone, as the game begins. You can’t put conspiracies into the command zone after this point.