Dragon's Claw MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeArtifact

Key Takeaways

  1. Preserves life totals in aggressive games, indirectly maintaining a player’s hand advantage.
  2. Can enhance mana efficiency by saving life, which can be translated into more spells and effects.
  3. Instant speed effect allows continuous passive benefit against decks with red spells.

Text of card

Whenever a player plays a red spell, you may gain 1 life.

Though no longer attached to the hand, it still holds its adversary in its grasp.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Dragon’s Claw doesn’t let you draw extra cards directly, it serves a strategic role in keeping a healthy card advantage through its damage mitigation. In matchups where life totals are aggressively contested, the ability to preserve your life points means that you don’t have to commit extra resources to stabilize, effectively allowing you to maintain a greater number of cards in hand that can affect the board state.

Resource Acceleration: Dragon’s Claw doesn’t accelerate your mana in the traditional sense, but it can indirectly contribute to mana efficiency. Each point of life saved is a potential mana that doesn’t need to be spent later on stabilizing your life total with spells or creatures. Moreover, for decks that capitalize on life as a resource, each point gained can be converted into additional spell casts or abilities that can turn the tide of the game.

Instant Speed: Dragon’s Claw offers its effect at instant speed, working as soon as it hits the battlefield and continuously throughout the course of the game. This continuous passive benefit means you’re effectively improving your position every time an opponent casts a red spell, without needing to allocate any further mana or turns to get additional value out of the card.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Dragon’s Claw necessitates a precise mana investment, demanding one red mana to cast. This requirement resists inclusion in decks that do not focus on red mana, potentially constricting its adaptability within a vast array of deck configurations.

Discard Requirement: While this artifact itself does not require discarding, it operates most effectively in scenarios where red spells are played often — a condition that may not always be satisfied, especially in a multi-colored deck. This may result in the Dragon’s Claw sitting inert on the battlefield, not contributing towards your game plan.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its moderate casting cost, in a fast-paced game where every mana point counts, investing in Dragon’s Claw may represent a significant opportunity cost. When considering the breadth of artifacts available, its impact on life total balance may not justify the mana spent, especially when immediate board presence or disruption holds higher strategic value.


Reasons to Include Dragon’s Claw in Your Collection

Versatility: Dragon’s Claw is welcomed in various deck archetypes that contend with spellslinger decks or those that consistently cast red spells. It serves as both a defensive mechanism against burn strategies and an incremental advantage for players utilizing lots of red spells themselves.

Combo Potential: In decks designed around instants and sorceries, this card can work alongside effects that copy spells, maximizing life gained. It becomes particularly potent in “storm” decks, where the number of cast spells climbs rapidly in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: With a constant flux of aggressive red decks in the meta, Dragon’s Claw stands as a pragmatic sideboard choice for those looking to offset the relentless damage dealt by such strategies. It’s especially relevant in matchups where preserving life total is crucial to outlasting an opponent.


How to beat

Dragon’s Claw is a niche but potent artifact in the world of Magic: The Gathering, highly effective against decks that cast a large number of red spells. To counteract the advantage it provides, players can take several strategic paths. Removing artifacts with targeted spells such as Disenchant or offering up an alternative threat that demands a response can draw focus away from the Dragon’s Claw. It’s also beneficial to employ non-red spells or even shift the entire strategy away from spell casting, potentially focusing on creatures and combat damage to circumvent the life-gain Dragon’s Claw offers. Monitoring game pace and baiting out the artifact’s activation without committing heavily to a red-centered approach can also tilt the scales back in your favor. Despite Dragon’s Claw’s ability to be a thorn in the side of red-heavy decks, adaptive tactics and flexible playstyles can neutralize its impact, allowing you to claim victory on the battlefield.


Understanding Dragon’s Claw and Its Contemporaries

Dragon’s Claw is a unique artifact in MTG that stands out in the realm of red spell strategies. This card sits alongside similar items like Kraken’s Eye and Angel’s Feather, which also provide life gain benefits triggered by specific color spell casts. Dragon’s Claw’s specialty, however, is its synergy within red deck compositions, offering consistent life gains in response to red spells that you or your opponents cast.

Cards like Dragon's Claw

Reviewing Dragon’s Claw in the company of its peers, we find the aforementioned Kraken’s Eye and Angel’s Feather, which function similarly by rewarding players with 1 life for each spell of the respective color cast. The fundamental difference is the color focus — Kraken’s Eye for blue spells and Angel’s Feather for white spells. Dragon’s Claw has an edge in fast-paced, aggressive red strategies where red spells are often played by both the player and the adversary, doubling potential life gain scenarios. Unlike Witchbane Orb, which provides a broader protection from spells but lacks the incremental life gain, Dragon’s Claw delivers sustainable advantage, particularly in matchups where red spells are abundant.

In the end, Dragon’s Claw holds a valuable role in MTG for players looking to fortify themselves against damage-heavy red spells, both offensively and defensively. The apt selection amongst these life-gain artifacts could very well be the defining factor in turning the tides of a duel in your favor.

Kraken's Eye - MTG Card versions
Angel's Feather - MTG Card versions
Witchbane Orb - MTG Card versions
Kraken's Eye - Darksteel (DST)
Angel's Feather - Darksteel (DST)
Witchbane Orb - Innistrad (ISD)

Cards similar to Dragon's Claw by color, type and mana cost

Chaos Orb - MTG Card versions
Winter Orb - MTG Card versions
Amulet of Kroog - MTG Card versions
Nacre Talisman - MTG Card versions
Howling Mine - MTG Card versions
Essence Bottle - MTG Card versions
Emerald Medallion - MTG Card versions
Scrying Glass - MTG Card versions
Cursed Totem - MTG Card versions
Tsabo's Web - MTG Card versions
Millikin - MTG Card versions
Ark of Blight - MTG Card versions
Surestrike Trident - MTG Card versions
Energy Chamber - MTG Card versions
Water Gun Balloon Game - MTG Card versions
Angel's Feather - MTG Card versions
Demon's Horn - MTG Card versions
Steel Overseer - MTG Card versions
Wurm's Tooth - MTG Card versions
Liquimetal Coating - MTG Card versions
Chaos Orb - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Winter Orb - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Amulet of Kroog - Rinascimento (RIN)
Nacre Talisman - Ice Age (ICE)
Howling Mine - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Essence Bottle - Tempest (TMP)
Emerald Medallion - Commander Anthology (CMA)
Scrying Glass - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Cursed Totem - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Tsabo's Web - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Millikin - Odyssey (ODY)
Ark of Blight - Scourge (SCG)
Surestrike Trident - Darksteel (DST)
Energy Chamber - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Water Gun Balloon Game - Unhinged (UNH)
Angel's Feather - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Demon's Horn - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Steel Overseer - Magic 2011 (M11)
Wurm's Tooth - Magic 2011 (M11)
Liquimetal Coating - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dragon's Claw MTG card by a specific set like Darksteel and Ninth Edition, 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 Dragon's Claw and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Dragon's Claw Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2004-02-06 and 2011-07-15. Illustrated by Alan Pollack.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12004-02-06DarksteelDST 1172003normalblackAlan Pollack
22005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 2962003normalwhiteAlan Pollack
32005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 296★2003normalblackAlan Pollack
42007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 3222003normalblackAlan Pollack
52009-07-17Magic 2010M10 2102003normalblackAlan Pollack
62010-06-04Duels of the PlaneswalkersDPA 922003normalblackAlan Pollack
72010-07-16Magic 2011M11 2052003normalblackAlan Pollack
82011-04-01Duel Decks: Knights vs. DragonsDDG 632003normalblackAlan Pollack
92011-07-15Magic 2012M12 2062003normalblackAlan Pollack

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dragon's Claw has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2009-10-01 If a player casts a red spell, Dragon’s Claw’s ability triggers and is put on the stack on top of that spell. Dragon’s Claw’s ability will resolve (causing you to gain 1 life) before the spell does.
2009-10-01 The ability triggers whenever any player, not just you, casts a red spell.

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