Cloud Dragon MTG Card

Portal (POR)
1997-05-01 - Number 45

Masters Edition IV (ME4)
2011-01-10 - Number 41

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number POR-45

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Illusion Dragon
Abilities	Flying
Power	5
Toughness	4

Key Takeaways

Cloud Dragon offers card advantage and resource acceleration, enhancing player’s tactical choices and game pace.
It has instant speed capability, allowing for unexpected plays and maintaining board presence threat.
Yet, summoning Cloud Dragon comes with a high mana cost and specific mana requirements, potentially limiting flexibility.

Text of card

Flying Cloud Dragon can intercept only creatures with flying.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Cloud Dragon card represents a significant addition to your hand, possessing the potential to sway the tide of battle in your favor by offering you more options and tools to outmaneuver your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Not only a formidable presence on the board, but Cloud Dragon also often includes mechanics that help boost your mana pool, effectively speeding up your gameplay and enabling you to cast more substantial spells sooner than usual.

Instant Speed: If Cloud Dragon can be cast at instant speed, this allows for strategic flexibility, letting you pass your turn without committing to a play while keeping the threat of summoning a powerful creature at a moment’s notice.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Cloud Dragon’s powerful presence in flight comes at the potential cost of your hand balance. Summoning it requires you to discard, reducing your strategic options as you part with potentially crucial cards.

Specific Mana Cost: Tapping into the ethereal essence of Cloud Dragon demands a specialized mana arrangement. Its casting requires not just any mana but that which resonates with its sky-high domain— a constraint that can skew your deck’s mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Harnessing the majesty of the Cloud Dragon is no small feat. It demands a substantial mana investment, a price point that is steep compared to other options. Players might weigh its lofty cost against the benefits, considering alternate creatures that descend onto the battlefield for fewer resources.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cloud Dragon slips effortlessly into various archetypes, rewarded by having a high-flying, evasive creature to apply pressure or defend your skies. Its flying attribute also makes it more difficult for your opponent to block, providing a constant threat.

Combo Potential: This dragon, with its ability to interact from the moment it hits the board, can synergize with decks that capitalize on creature-based strategies or those that seek to maximise value from entering or leaving the battlefield effects.

Meta-Relevance: Given its inherent resilience against ground-based creatures, Cloud Dragon holds a favorable position in a metagame teeming with non-flying threats. Its ability to soar over blockers can be a key advantage when trying to close out games or maintain board control.

How to beat

The Cloud Dragon card becomes a formidable force in the skies of MTG with its evasive flying trait and respectable power. Facing off against this high-flying creature can be an intimidating task. Effectively countering Cloud Dragon hinges on being able to remove it from the game without falling prey to its aerial advantage.

To gain the upper hand, deploying removal spells that can target creatures regardless of their flying ability is key. Cards like Murder, which can destroy any target creature for three mana, can swiftly bring the Cloud Dragon down to earth. Additionally, board wipes like Wrath of God serve as a clean slate, clearing the Cloud Dragon and other potential threats off the table in one fell swoop.

It’s also beneficial to maintain a deck that can robustly withstand the damage from flying creatures. Including creatures with reach or spells that can buff your own flying defenders ensures your life total remains secure against these airborne aggressors. With careful planning and the right countermeasures, you can ensure Cloud Dragon’s reign in the skies is nothing more than a passing cloud.

Cards like Cloud Dragon

The Cloud Dragon stands out for its unique synergy between flying and ease of return from the graveyard in MTG. Its counterparts, such as Dragon Mage, offer different benefits, like a wheel effect upon dealing combat damage. However, Cloud Dragon provides elegance in its simplicity, maintaining the focus on aerial domination without added complexities.

Looking at other aerial threats, Mist Dragon is another creature card that shares the ability to avoid combat with its phase out ability. Although Mist Dragon can save itself from potential threats on the battlefield, Cloud Dragon can be recycled from the graveyard, potentially offering more long-term value. Thunder Dragon, with its ability to clear multiple ground-based creatures upon entry to the battlefield, proposes another approach to leveraging flight. Yet it lacks the resilience provided by Cloud Dragon’s ability to soar back from the graveyard to the skies again.

Assessing these flying creatures highlights Cloud Dragon’s advantages in MTG’s vast array of dragon cards. Its recurring potential gives players a reliable means to maintain air superiority, a strategy that can be unexpectedly durable and impactful in many gameplay scenarios.

Cards similar to Cloud Dragon by color, type and mana cost

Sun Quan, Lord of Wu - MTG Card versions

Arcanis the Omnipotent - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cloud Dragon MTG card by a specific set like Portal 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 Cloud Dragon and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Cloud Dragon Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1997-05-01 and 2011-01-10. Illustrated by John Avon.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1997-05-01	Portal	POR	45	1997	Normal	Black	John Avon
2	2011-01-10	Masters Edition IV	ME4	41	1997	Normal	Black	John Avon
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	POR-45	1997	Normal	Black	John Avon