Crystal Spray MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Instant
Released	2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Invasion
Set code	INV
Number	50
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jeff Miracola

Key Takeaways

Crystal Spray’s instant speed provides reactive play options and strategic board state alterations.
It demands discarding a card, a potential downside if resources are already stretched thin.
The artifact’s color manipulation skill can be a pivotal tactical advantage in many decks.

Text of card

Change the text of target spell or permanent by replacing all instances of one color word or basic land type with another until end of turn. Draw a card.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crystal Spray offers the flexibility to shift the color of mana produced, or even alter the color of spells or permanents, thus ensuring that players can adapt to changing board states and maintain their flow of options.

Resource Acceleration: While Crystal Spray doesn’t directly produce mana, it allows for better resource management by potentially converting unusable mana into a color that’s needed at a critical moment, ensuring that all available resources can be utilized.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Crystal Spray can be cast in reaction to in-game triggers or during an opponent’s turn, providing strategic advantages such as bluffing mana availability or disrupting an opponent’s plans with sudden color changes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Crystal Spray necessitates that players throw away one of their own cards when casting it. This trade-off can set you back, especially if your hand is already running low on cards, diminishing your strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: This artifact requires a precise combination of one red and two other mana. For those running multicolored decks, it’s one more hurdle in an already complex mana base, potentially limiting its inclusivity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Even though Crystal Spray may offer a temporary advantage, the three mana cost is steep when compared to other cards with similar or better effects. Savvy players might find this cost to be prohibitive, favoring alternatives that provide more value or versatility for the mana invested.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Crystal Spray can shift the dynamics of a game by changing the color of spells or permanents. This enables it to fit into a wide array of deck archetypes where color manipulation can be a tactical advantage.

Combo Potential: With its ability to alter colors on the fly, Crystal Spray opens up the potential for various combos, especially in decks that hinge on specific color requirements or those that capitalize on color-based synergies.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to disrupt color-dependent strategies, Crystal Spray becomes a useful tool when facing decks that rely heavily on certain color combinations, making it a relevant card to consider in certain meta scenarios.

How to beat Crystal Spray

Crystal Spray is a unique and versatile card that Magic: The Gathering players can utilize to manipulate the color of mana or change the text of a spell or permanent on the fly. This instant spell can significantly alter the course of a game by adjusting mana requirements or switching the target of a spell. While this adaptability is powerful, beating Crystal Spray involves strategic planning and careful consideration of your own resources.

One effective strategy is to play cards that can’t be affected by color changes or text alterations. This could include creatures with protection abilities or spells that specify they can’t be targeted by spells or abilities. Another tactic is to bait out the use of Crystal Spray with less critical spells or permanents before committing your more important cards to the battlefield. Lastly, keeping a watchful eye on your opponent’s mana pool and potential to cast Crystal Spray helps you play around this trick, ensuring your most impactful plays remain unaltered.

Ultimately, preparing for and reacting to Crystal Spray requires an understanding of the nuances within Magic: The Gathering’s complex gameplay, thereby preventing your opponent from turning the tides with this color-shifting card.

Cards like Crystal Spray

Crystal Spray is an intriguing tool in the roster of color-manipulating spells within Magic: The Gathering. It can be aligned with cards like Shifting Sky, which also provides the ability to change the color of multiple aspects in the game. However, Crystal Spray offers a targeted, instant-speed response, allowing for more tactical applications during gameplay. Shifting Sky’s global effect impacts the entire board and is a slower enchantment.

Another card that echoes the utility of Crystal Spray is Glamerdye. Both cards allow players to change the color of spells or permanents, but Glamerdye stands out with its retargeting capability, which can be activated for an additional cost. This opens the door for repeated use, unlike the single-use nature of Crystal Spray. However, the instant speed of Crystal Spray gives players the freedom to adapt rapidly to dynamic game states.

When evaluating these assets alongside others in Magic: The Gathering, Crystal Spray holds its ground as a flexible and versatile option for players seeking to manipulate the color attributes on the fly, adding an interesting layer of strategy to the game.

Cards similar to Crystal Spray by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crystal Spray MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Crystal Spray and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crystal Spray has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	Alters all occurrences of the chosen word in the text box and the type line of the given card.
2004-10-04	Can target a card with no appropriate words on it, or even one with no words at all.
2004-10-04	Changing the text of a spell will not allow you to change the targets of the spell because the targets were chosen when the spell was cast. The text change will (probably) cause it to be countered since the targets will be illegal.
2004-10-04	If you change the text of a spell which is to become a permanent, the permanent will retain the text change until the effect wears off.
2004-10-04	It can be used to change a land’s type from one basic land type to another. For example, Forest can be changed to Island so it produces blue mana. It doesn’t change the name of any permanent.
2004-10-04	It can’t change a word to the same word. It must be a different word.
2004-10-04	It only changes what is printed on the card (or set on a token when it was created or set by a copy effect). It will not change any effects that are on the permanent.
2004-10-04	You can’t change proper nouns (i.e. card names) such as “Island Fish Jasconius”.
2004-10-04	You choose the words to change on resolution.