Summoner's Pact MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
RarityRare
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Instantly searches for green creatures, giving players immediate strategic flexibility without upfront cost.
  2. Potential strategic setback due to the required {2}{G}{G} cost on the next upkeep, risking game loss.
  3. Retains competitive relevance, enabling swift responses and combo execution in various MTG metagames.

Text of card

Summoner's Pact is green. Search your library for a green creature card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay . If you don't, you lose the game.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Summoner’s Pact provides an immediate boost to your hand by letting you search your library for that crucial creature card without spending any mana upfront.

Resource Acceleration: This card sets the stage for powerful plays as it can instantly bring a game-changing creature into your hand, potentially accelerating your board presence significantly.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed with Summoner’s Pact means you can wait to see how your opponent’s turn unfolds before deciding which creature to fetch, thus optimizing your strategic response.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Summoner’s Pact card itself doesn’t require a discard, its condition could force you to forfeit the game if you cannot pay the {2}{G}{G} on your next upkeep. This creates risk especially if your deck doesn’t generate sufficient mana or if unexpected counterplay disrupts your mana base.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost to avoid the game-losing penalty is color-specific, requiring two green mana. For decks that aren’t primarily green or lack mana flexibility, this can create consistency issues especially under tight situations where green mana sources are controlled or scarce.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though the initial cast of Summoner’s Pact is free, the mandatory {2}{G}{G} due at the next turn’s upkeep can be restrictive. In comparison to other green spells or creature tutors, this delayed mana requirement may hinder your capability to further develop your board presence or leave mana open for reactionary plays during critical turns.


Reasons to Include Summoner’s Pact in Your Collection

Versatility: Summoner’s Pact offers the unique ability to fetch any green creature from your deck at no upfront cost, making it an excellent tool for a wide range of decks that rely on key creatures to execute their game plan.

Combo Potential: This card is a staple in decks built around powerful creature combos. It can instantly search for a missing piece, enabling game-winning sequences on the spot. It’s particularly synonymous with setups that seek to unleash formidable creatures like Primeval Titan or to assemble intricate infinite loops.

Meta-Relevance: In the ever-evolving MTG landscape, Summoner’s Pact maintains relevance. It thrives in metas where speed and consistency in assembling a winning board state are critical. Its utility in competitive play is proven, and the ability to react swiftly to an opponent’s moves can often be the difference between victory and defeat.


How to beat

Summoner’s Pact has become a linchpin in many competitive MTG decks, heralded for its ability to fetch a key creature at a moment’s notice without an immediate mana cost. This green instant allows players to search their library for a green creature and put it into their hand while deferring payment until their next upkeep. This unpaid debt, however, could be the Achilles’ heel for those who play it.

To effectively counteract Summoner’s Pact, consider running interference on your opponent’s mana pool or their ability to reach the next upkeep. Utilizing cards that force a player to tap out or strategies that disrupt their mana base can render them unable to pay the pact’s cost on time, which results in losing the game. Land destruction or counterspells can be extremely valuable tools in this scenario, creating an environment where Summoner’s Pact becomes a risky gamble rather than a surefire strategy.

Understanding and anticipating when an opponent might rely on Summoner’s Pact can turn the tables, transforming their potential game-winning creature into a harbinger of their own defeat. Smart, reactive gameplay is critical to overpower this seemingly free summoning spell.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving into the depths of MTG strategy reveals the intricate dance between risk and reward, embodied by cards like Summoner’s Pact. The ability to summon any green creature at a pivotal moment can swing the game in your favor, making it a powerhouse in combo decks. However, the looming payment of {2}{G}{G} on your next turn poses a thrilling challenge. To wield this card effectively, understanding your deck’s mana capabilities and foreseeing opponents’ disruptive tactics is key. For those looking to fine-tune their strategy, we offer insights and advanced play tips to help you capitalize on Summoner’s Pact’s potential without falling trap to its downside. Are you ready to turn the tides of battle? Dive in with us and master the use of this dynamic card.


Cards like Summoner's Pact

Summoner’s Pact captures attention for its zero-cost creature tutoring capabilities in Magic: The Gathering. It echoes the mechanics of cards like Green Sun’s Zenith, which also facilitates the search for green creatures. The distinction, though, lies in Green Sun’s Zenith’s scalable mana cost, providing greater range at the expense of initial investment. Summoner’s Pact’s free upfront cost has the catch of a required payment in the following turn or facing game loss, adding a strategic layer to its use.

Analogously, Chord of Calling presents itself as a worthy peer, sharing the instant speed creature tutoring advantage. It bears the convoke mechanic, potentially reducing or eliminating the mana cost by tapping creatures. However, unlike the Pact, Chord of Calling doesn’t wield the tightrope of a payment deadline and allows for flexibility in mana expenditure and creature involvement.

Acknowledging these comparisons, Summoner’s Pact stands out for its immediate impact with no initial mana cost, positioning it as a potent choice for players desiring swift board presence. This card fits particularly well in decks that can capitalize on or mitigate its unique payment challenge, underlining its distinct spot in Magic: The Gathering tutors.

Green Sun's Zenith - MTG Card versions
Chord of Calling - MTG Card versions
Green Sun's Zenith - MTG Card versions
Chord of Calling - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Summoner's Pact MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight and Modern Masters, 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 Summoner's Pact and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Summoner's Pact Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2007-05-04 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Chippy.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-05-04Future SightFUT 1392003NormalBlackChippy
22013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1642003NormalBlackChippy
32018-03-16Masters 25A25 1892015NormalBlackChippy
42021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 2342015NormalBlackChippy

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Summoner's Pact has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2013-06-07 Although originally printed with a characteristic-defining ability that defined its color, this card now has a color indicator. This color indicator can’t be affected by text-changing effects (such as the one created by Crystal Spray), although color-changing effects can still overwrite it.
2021-03-19 If Summoner’s Pact is countered, the delayed triggered ability that threatens you with a game loss won’t trigger at the beginning of your next upkeep.

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