Jeweled Torque MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Number	301
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mark Zug

Key Takeaways

Jeweled Torque provides card advantage and mana acceleration, key for control decks in extended games.
Its necessity for instant-speed play aligns well with reactive strategies, boosting efficiency in resource management.
Consider the artifact’s discard requirement and specific mana cost when integrating it into diverse MTG deck builds.

Text of card

As Jeweled Torque comes into play, choose a color. Whenever a player plays a spell of the chosen color, you may pay . If you do, you gain 2 life.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Jeweled Torque’s ability to generate card advantage can significantly boost a player’s hand, ensuring a steady flow of options and strategies. By drawing a card whenever an opponent casts their second spell each turn, it consistently refills your resources in blue-heavy or control decks where games tend to extend to more drawn-out battles.

Resource Acceleration: Apart from card advantage, the Jeweled Torque contributes to resource acceleration by allowing its controller to create a Treasure token under the same conditions. This added mana can be essential for casting high-cost spells sooner, or for facilitating multi-color deck synergies, potentially tipping the scales in your favor by ramping up your plays ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: With its inherent ability to function at instant speed, Jeweled Torque aligns perfectly with a reactive playstyle. Its passive effect triggers during an opponent’s turn, letting you capitalize on their actions without expending mana or cards from your hand immediately. This can lead to more efficient resource management and surprises up your sleeve as the game evolves.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When playing with the Jeweled Torque, one of its downsides is that you must discard a card. This can be particularly challenging when your hand is already diminishing and every card counts. Optimal play often requires a careful balance of resources, and having to get rid of a potentially valuable card is a significant cost.

Specific Mana Cost: The Jeweled Torque requires a very particular mana investment to use it effectively. While this may work seamlessly in some decks, it can become a stumbling block in multi-colored decks that might not consistently generate the correct type of mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is on the higher side, the Jeweled Torque competes directly with other impactful cards that might offer greater advantage or versatility. Players must weigh the benefits of including it against other options that may yield a higher return for the same mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Jeweled Torque offers flexibility across various deck archetypes, serving as both a mana accelerator and a source of color fixing, ideal for multicolored decks craving consistency.

Combo Potential: This artifact’s ability to produce mana when you cast a multicolored spell opens up synergies with cards that thrive on casting multiple spells in a turn or benefit from an abundance of mana.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where multicolored spells dominate, Jeweled Torque gains prominence by ensuring your spells resolve promptly while potentially ramping into larger threats ahead of schedule.

How to beat

Jeweled Torque has entered the MTG arena as a new artifact, offering a fresh layer of defense for players with its life-gaining ability. When you’re up against Jeweled Torque, consider the importance of timing and removal spells. Cards like Abrupt Decay or Naturalize allow you to target and remove problematic artifacts efficiently, circumventing its life-gain effect. In aggressive red decks, artifact removal options such as Shattering Spree or Smash to Smithereens can be particularly effective while dealing damage.

Another strategy to tackle Jeweled Torque is to overwhelm it with multiple threats. Since Jeweled Torque only triggers once per turn, presenting several creatures or spells in a single turn can outpace the life gain and tip the scales in your favor. Prioritizing spell efficiency and strategic planning are key when facing the endurance Jeweled Torque can provide to your opponent.

In essence, to overcome Jeweled Torque’s life-gain barrier, integrating targeted artifact removal spells in your deck and applying pressure with multiple threats can help dismantle its defenses, keeping you one step ahead in the game.

Cards like Jeweled Torque

Jeweled Torque shines as a recent artifact card that has found its way into multiple decks within Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to generate mana of any color a land an opponent controls could produce positions it similarly to the classic card Chromatic Lantern. Both facilitate mana diversity and deck fluidity, yet Jeweled Torque also presents a passive income of life points under the right conditions, something Chromatic Lantern lacks.

Analogous to Mana Web, Jeweled Torque disrupts opponents’ mana usage during your turn. However, while Mana Web restricts, Jeweled Torque offers a gentler and potentially more advantageous approach by providing life. Additionally, Prism Ring resembles the life-gaining aspect of Jeweled Torque when casting spells of a certain color. Nonetheless, the Torque’s universality and passive benefit during opponents’ turns give it an edge in versatility.

Assessing its companions in the multicolor mana and life gain niches, Jewelled Torque serves as a multifaceted tool that leans towards a slightly more passive, but beneficial role. These comparisons demonstrate how it can align and even excel in specific deck strategies within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Jeweled Torque by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Jeweled Torque MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Jeweled Torque and other MTG cards: