Karn, the Great Creator MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 10 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Planeswalker — Karn
Loyalty 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Karn, the Great Creator is a versatile planeswalker card that can shut down artifact strategies and retrieve key pieces from the sideboard.
  2. His static ability acts as a one-sided Null Rod, preventing opponents from activating artifact abilities, significantly impacting the game’s flow.
  3. Widely played in formats like Modern and Vintage, Karn, the Great Creator excels in decks that can capitalize on his -2 ability for a toolbox approach.

Text of card

Activated abilities of artifacts your opponents control can't be activated.
+1: Until your next turn, up to one target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value.
-2: You may reveal an artifact card you own from outside the game or choose a face-up artifact card you own in exile. Put that card into your hand.


Advantages of Karn the Great Creator

Card Advantage: Karn does not directly increase your card count, but it enables you to access a variety of cards from outside the game using its -2 ability, effectively expanding your card options and offering a unique way of gaining card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Karn doesn’t accelerate your resources traditionally. Instead, it neutralizes opponents’ artifacts, basically reducing their resources. What’s more? It can make your artifacts into 0/0 creatures enabling early pressure or surprise blocks.

Instant Speed: While Karn isn’t an instant, he does affect the board immediately upon entering. He can shut down all opposing activated abilities of artifacts or serve as your conduit to a sideboard toolbox, both hugely impactful moves that can disrupt an opponent’s strategy or turn the tide of the game in your favor.


Karn the Great Creator Shortcomings

Discard Requirement: Although a dominating Planeswalker, Karn, the Great Creator can’t force discard effects on opponents. This can be a setback in games where disrupting opponent strategies through discard stipulations is pivotal.

Specific Mana Cost: Karn, the Great Creator’s casting cost restricts your deck to be heavily skewed towards colorless mana strategies. It requires 4 colorless mana, which may not be accessible at key periods, giving it a considerable disadvantage in multicolor decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Karn, the Great Creator comes at a hefty price of 4 mana. While this Planeswalker is well worth the cost in games running for the long haul, in faster paced matches, the deficit of 4 mana could potentially hinder your tempo.


Reasons to Include Karn the Great Creator in Your Collection

Versatility: Karn the Great Creator’s unique abilities allow it to fit snugly into a myriad of decks. As a 5 Mana Planeswalker with a loyalty of 5, this card balances both cost and power – making it beneficial for decks that need potent removal and artifact revival.

Combo Potential: This card elevates combo strategies with its passive ability that nullifies opponent’s artifact capabilities. Karn’s -2 ability also serves dual-purpose, fetching any artifact from your sideboard for immediate use, or strategizing for future turns, fueling its high combo potential.

Meta-Relevance: Karn holds a significant place in the current meta, as it effectively counters decks focusing on artifact utilization. The control provided by Karn shines in mid-range strategies, tilting the balance to your favor.


Similar Cards

When it comes to assessing Karn, The Great Creator, in Magic: The Gathering, it’s interesting to benchmark it against some similar cards. Ugin, the Ineffable shares some striking parallels. Both are colorless planeswalkers that manipulate and cast artifacts, but Ugin manages to generate 2/2 creatures and possesses a stronger defensive mechanism with its -3 ability to destroy a permanent, one color or not.

Next in line for comparison is the Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge. While Karn revolves around neutering your opponent’s artifact utility and reactivating your own from exile, Tezzeret focuses more on aggro potential and life gain. Although Tezzeret doesn’t have the ability to shut down opponent’s artifact abilities like Karn, it does allow casting of artifact spells from your hand for free, which can be impactful.

Lastly, there’s Forsaken Monument, a Legendary Artifact working seamlessly with colorless spells. It might not be a planeswalker like Karn, but it serves a similar artifact-boosting purpose. When casting colorless spells, it pots for additional life and mana while strengthening your creatures. Nonetheless, its complete focus on empowering artifacts, unlike Karn’s additional disruptive capabilities, makes a stark difference.

In summary, while there are many cards that share synergy with artifacts, Karn, The Great Creator’s unique approach to manipulating artifacts sets him apart from other similar cards in Magic: The Gathering.


How to beat Karn the Great Creator

Defeating Karn, the Great Creator, a prominent character in MTG, demands a specific strategy. As this card prevents activation of abilities from artifacts opponents own in the graveyard or on the battlefield, countering this effect is pivotal. A well-rounded deck can help you maintain pace in the game and prepare to react to Karn’s inhibition.

Consider incorporating instant spells like Negate or Spell Pierce to counter Karn’s ability as he is brought onto the battlefield. Removal spells such as Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt can also be handy to destroy him as soon as they activate their abilities.

A diversified deck boasting creatures with high power stats could also be useful. Since Karn itself doesn’t possess blocking capabilities, a creature-based strategy could swiftly facilitate in overpowering him.

While Karn the Great Creator presents a significant challenge in MTG, the right mixture of counteractive spells and strategic gameplay can effectively overcome this powerful planeswalker. Carefully build your deck and plan your moves, and you’ll stand a good chance of success.


Conclusion

In conclusion, Karn the Great Creator continues to be a formidable force in the vast universe of Magic the Gathering. Reflective of the intricate bonds between lore, strategy, and community, this powerful planeswalker challenges players to think creatively and forge their paths to victory. As you harness his potential in your deck builds and gameplay, always be ready to adapt and evolve with the ever-changing dynamics of MTG. Your journey does not stop here. Explore deeper, embrace the complexity, and connect with other enthusiasts. Let’s keep learning together, sharing insights, and experiencing the thrill of the draw as we all strive to become masterful planeswalkers in our right. Join our community and step into even greater battles ahead.


Cards like Karn, the Great Creator

When it comes to assessing Karn, The Great Creator, in Magic: The Gathering, it’s interesting to benchmark it against some similar cards. Ugin, the Ineffable shares some striking parallels. Both are colorless planeswalkers that manipulate and cast artifacts, but Ugin manages to generate 2/2 creatures and possesses a stronger defensive mechanism with its -3 ability to destroy a permanent, one color or not.

Next in line for comparison is the Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge. While Karn revolves around neutering your opponent’s artifact utility and reactivating your own from exile, Tezzeret focuses more on aggro potential and life gain. Although Tezzeret doesn’t have the ability to shut down opponent’s artifact abilities like Karn, it does allow casting of artifact spells from your hand for free, which can be impactful.

Lastly, there’s Forsaken Monument, a Legendary Artifact working seamlessly with colorless spells. It might not be a planeswalker like Karn, but it serves a similar artifact-boosting purpose. When casting colorless spells, it pots for additional life and mana while strengthening your creatures. Nonetheless, its complete focus on empowering artifacts, unlike Karn’s additional disruptive capabilities, makes a stark difference.

In summary, while there are many cards that share synergy with artifacts, Karn, The Great Creator’s unique approach to manipulating artifacts sets him apart from other similar cards in Magic: The Gathering.

Ugin, the Ineffable - MTG Card versions
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - MTG Card versions
Forsaken Monument - MTG Card versions
Ugin, the Ineffable - War of the Spark (WAR)
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - War of the Spark (WAR)
Forsaken Monument - Zendikar Rising Promos (PZNR)

Cards similar to Karn, the Great Creator by color, type and mana cost

Karn, Living Legacy - MTG Card versions
Karn, Scion of Urza - MTG Card versions
Karn, Living Legacy - Dominaria United (DMU)
Karn, Scion of Urza - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Karn, the Great Creator MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Magic Online Promos, 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 Karn, the Great Creator and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Karn, the Great Creator Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2019-05-03 and 2024-01-12. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 722452015normalblackNaochika Morishita
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 779792015normalblackWisnu Tan
32019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 12015normalblackWisnu Tan
42019-05-03War of the SparkWAR 1★2015normalblackNaochika Morishita
52019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 1s★2015normalblackNaochika Morishita
62019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 1s2015normalblackWisnu Tan
72019-05-04War of the Spark PromosPWAR 1p2015normalblackWisnu Tan
82019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 2531997normalblackMark Zug
92019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 5012015normalblackWisnu Tan
102024-01-12Ravnica RemasteredRVR 12015normalblackWisnu Tan

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Karn, the Great Creator has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageRestricted
DuelLegal
ExplorerBanned
GladiatorLegal
PioneerBanned
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-05-03 A noncreature permanent that turns into a creature can attack, and its abilities can be activated, only if its controller has continuously controlled that permanent since the beginning of their most recent turn. It doesn’t matter how long the permanent has been a creature.
2019-05-03 Activated abilities contain a colon. They’re generally written “
-ost:
-ffect].” Some keyword abilities are activated abilities and will have colons in their reminder text, such as equip. Triggered abilities (starting with “when,” “whenever,” or “at”) are unaffected by Karn.
2019-05-03 If a permanent has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.
2019-05-03 In a casual game, a card you choose from outside the game comes from your personal collection. In a tournament event, a card you choose from outside the game must come from your sideboard. You may look at your sideboard at any time.
2019-05-03 Karn’s first ability affects only artifacts on the battlefield. Activated abilities that work in other zones can still be activated.
2019-05-03 Karn’s last ability can’t get a face-down card in exile, even if you know it’s an artifact card.

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