Crag Puca MTG Card


Crag Puca - Eventide
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Shapeshifter
Released2008-07-25
Set symbol
Set nameEventide
Set codeEVE
Power 2
Toughness 4
Number101
Frame2003
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byJohn Franklin Howe

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers the upper hand by swapping cards, potentially disrupting strategies and bolstering your own hand.
  2. Instant-speed ability activation adds a strategic element of surprise to your play.
  3. Demand for specific mana and card discard can pose challenges in deck utilization.

Text of card

{UR}: Switch Crag Puca's power and toughness until end of turn.

"Be happy when you see a puca shaped like mischief. It's far better than one shaped like death." —Dindun of Kulrath Mine


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gains attention in gameplay by allowing a trade-off with an opponent, potentially disrupting their hand and strategy while replenishing your own resources.

Resource Acceleration: With its potential to swap for a more costly card, Crag Puca can inadvertently speed up your resource curve, setting up plays sooner than usual.

Instant Speed: Though not an instant itself, Crag Puca’s ability can be activated at instant speed, offering flexibility and surprise factor during the unpredictability of matches.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Crag Puca demands a card discard to activate its ability. This can be detrimental when you’re already at a card disadvantage or if you’re trying to maintain a strategic hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Crag Puca’s transformative power hinges on a hybrid mana cost, needing careful planning around mana availability, potentially restricting seamless play in multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing three mana upfront for a shapeshifter can be steep, particularly when alternatives might provide more immediate board impact or versatility at a similar cost.


Reasons to Include Crag Puca in Your Collection

Versatility: Crag Puca offers a mutable presence on the battlefield, able to adjust to different situations due to its shapeshifting ability. It fits into numerous blue and red strategies where flexibility can be key to overcoming an opponent.

Combo Potential: Its power to transform when dealing combat damage presents unique interactions and synergies with cards that capitalize on creatures changing their form. Players can explore numerous combinations, unlocking potential within their decks.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where adaptability is paramount, Crag Puca shines by providing an element of surprise and disruption. Its capacity to weave in and out of different deck archetypes makes it a worthwhile consideration for keeping up with the shared elements of the current competitive landscape.


How to beat

Crag Puca is an intriguing creature card that offers a distinct flexibility in gameplay. As an enigmatic changeling, Crag Puca can blend into any creature type which can present a challenge. To effectively counter this shape-shifter, understanding its abilities is key. The card’s power to switch the power and toughness of target creature until end of turn can be disruptive, but it’s also an opportunity. An effective strategy is to force the activation of this ability prematurely or in a way that is less advantageous for your opponent.

Furthermore, since Crag Puca requires blue mana to activate its switching ability, preparing mana disruption or counterspells can inhibit the opponent’s plans. Cards that prevent activated abilities from being used or that punish the use of such abilities can also be a formidable roadblock against Crag Puca. Additionally, since Crag Puca has to deal combat damage to a player to trigger its ability, ensuring a strong defensive line can nullify its effect. By analyzing the timing and maintaining a strong defensive strategy, players can navigate the shapeshifting antics of Crag Puca to secure their victory on the battlefield.


Cards like Crag Puca

Crag Puca holds a unique place in Magic: The Gathering’s pantheon of shape-shifting creatures. Crag Puca’s ability to switch power and toughness until the end of turn can be seen as a flexible tool, akin to the adaptability of fellow shapeshifter Aquamorph Entity. While both provide versatility, Aquamorph Entity offers this as a one-time boost with a four-mana investment alongside the Replicate ability which can clone the spell.

Another relative in this quirky family is the more contemporary Brazen Borrower. This card shares the ability to disrupt the board by bouncing non-land permanents back to their owner’s hand. Although it doesn’t have the power swapping feature of Crag Puca, it compensates with added utility and a sturdy body when cast with its adventure.

Shimmering Glasskite adds an extra layer of protection against abilities that target your creatures, giving Crag Puca a run for its utility. Yet, Crag Puca’s transformative potential gives it a distinct edge in matchups where power and toughness manipulation can become a strategic linchpin. By examining their individual merits, Crag Puca emerges as a card that, while not the most straightforward, can offer strategic depth and surprise advantages in MTG gameplay.

Aquamorph Entity - MTG Card versions
Shimmering Glasskite - MTG Card versions
Aquamorph Entity - MTG Card versions
Shimmering Glasskite - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crag Puca MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, 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 Crag Puca and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crag Puca has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2013-04-15 Effects that switch power and toughness apply after all other effects that change power and/or toughness, regardless of which effect was created first.
2013-04-15 Switching a creature’s power and toughness twice (or any even number of times) effectively returns the creature to the power and toughness it had before any switches.

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