Planar Gate MTG Card
1994-06-01 - Number 290
2011-01-10 - Number 221
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Artifact |
Key Takeaways
- Planar Gate enables casting multiple creatures swiftly, enhancing your board state and outmaneuvering opponents.
- Its cost-cutting effect serves as resource acceleration, freeing up mana for versatile gameplay tactics.
- While not instant, it promotes mana efficiency, allowing for simultaneous large creature plays and surprise interactions.
Text of card
Pay up to less than required whenever casting a summon spell.
Nireya reached through the Gate, sensing the energies trapped beyond.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Planar Gate’s ability to significantly reduce the cost of creature spells can open up opportunities for you to cast multiple creatures in a single turn, effectively building your board presence faster and creating a card advantage as you outpace opponents in terms of threats played.
Resource Acceleration: With its impactful reduction on creature spell costs, this artifact acts as a form of resource acceleration. It allows for efficient use of mana, enabling you to allocate resources to other spells or abilities to further your game strategy.
Instant Speed: Although Planar Gate itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the savings it provides on your creatures can allow you to keep mana open for instant speed interactions. This can lead to powerful turns where you cast a large creature and still hold up mana for other surprises during your opponent’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Planar Gate card does not directly impose a discard requirement on the player, but it’s significant investment in resources may lead you to discard other useful cards to deploy it promptly.
Specific Mana Cost: This artifact requires a precise allocation of six mana to cast, which could cause delays in your game plan as you gather the necessary resources. With a cost that includes colorless mana, it can fit into any deck but still demands a substantial amount of mana investment before it becomes operational.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Planar Gate bears a high upfront cost for its mana-reducing abilities. In the fast-paced dynamic of current formats, allocating six mana to this card could be restrictive when quicker, less mana-intensive options are available that could contribute to board state or card advantage more immediately.
Reasons to Include Planar Gate in Your Collection
Versatility: Planar Gate offers a unique cost reduction for creature spells, making it a flexible addition to decks that aim to cast large creatures sooner than usual.
Combo Potential: The artifact pairs well with strategies that seek to flood the board with creatures, working harmoniously with effects that trigger upon creature cast or enter the battlefield.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state where summoning vast creatures can turn the tide, Planar Gate provides a competitive edge by enabling earlier and more powerful plays, aligning seamlessly with creature-heavy deck builds.
How to beat
The Planar Gate is a unique artifact in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering a significant reduction in creature spell costs. Understanding the tempo this card can provide your opponent is critical to countering it effectively. Despite its power, it’s vulnerable to the standard array of artifact removal spells. Naturalize, Disenchant, and other targeted removal spells can handle it cleanly, assuming you’ve kept mana open for a response.
A key strategy against Planar Gate is maintaining pressure and preventing its owner from establishing board presence. This means being proactive in your game plan, aggressively pursuing your win condition, and disrupting your opponent’s setup. If Planar Gate hits the battlefield, prioritize its removal before large creature spells swing the game. Also, consider incorporating counter spells like Negate in your deck as a preemptive measure against high-impact artifacts and enchantments.
Lastly, adapting your deck to include versatile answers is always wise, especially in metagames where artifacts like Planar Gate are prevalent. Efficient use of removal and counter spells will not only help you beat Planar Gate but also leave you well-prepared for a range of other threats that might emerge during play.
Cards like Planar Gate
Planar Gate is a unique artifact in Magic: The Gathering that appeals to players who favor creature-heavy strategies. Its closest comparison is with the artifact card Quicksilver Amulet. While both cards bypass traditional casting costs, Planar Gate reduces the cost of creature spells by two colorless mana and requires the mana to be paid. In contrast, Quicksilver Amulet allows the placement of a creature directly onto the battlefield for a flat four mana, circumventing any color requirements or additional costs.
Another functionally similar card is Urza’s Incubator. This artifact trims down by two mana the casting cost of creatures of a chosen type, much like Planar Gate. However, Urza’s Incubator strictly benefits tribal decks, concentrating its effect on one creature type only, whereas Planar Gate broadens its reach to all creatures regardless of type. The versatility of Planar Gate arguably gives it a wider application, although the specificity of Urza’s Incubator can be more impactful in the right deck.
Ultimately, Planar Gate offers a consistent cost reduction advantage, valuable in decks looking to deploy expensive creatures early. While it may not offer the immediate gratification of Quicksilver Amulet or the tribal synergy of Urza’s Incubator, it holds a firm place with its ability to shape the tempo and flow of creature-centric decks.
Cards similar to Planar Gate by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Planar Gate MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Masters Edition IV, 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 Planar Gate and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Planar Gate Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-06-01 and 2011-01-10. Illustrated by Melissa A. Benson.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994-06-01 | Legends | LEG | 290 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Melissa A. Benson | |
| 2 | 2011-01-10 | Masters Edition IV | ME4 | 221 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Melissa A. Benson |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Planar Gate has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Planar Gate 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 | Multiple Gates are cumulative. Two will reduce the cost by up to , and so on. |
| 2004-10-04 | Only reduces the generic mana portion of a spell’s cost. If the cost does not include generic mana or includes less than , you get a reduced or null effect from this card. |
| 2004-10-04 | Only works for its controller, not all players. |
| 2008-04-01 | Works on all spells with the type Creature, even if the spell has another type like Artifact or Enchantment. |
