Messenger Jays MTG Card
2016-08-26 - Number 35
2019-11-07 - Number 427
2020-09-26 - Number CN2-35
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Bird |
| Abilities | Council's dilemma,Flying |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Improves strategic play with foreknowledge from top deck library peeks.
- Clue token generation accelerates resources and pressures opponents.
- Instant-speed activation offers adaptability during intense matches.
Text of card
Flying Council's dilemma — When Messenger Jays enters the battlefield, starting with you, each player votes for feather or quill. Put a +1/+1 counter on Messenger Jays for each feather vote and draw a card for each quill vote. For each card drawn this way, discard a card.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Messenger Jays provides a strategic edge by letting you peek at the top two cards of your library, adding a layer of foresight to your gameplay and enhancing your ability to make informed decisions.
Resource Acceleration: As you cast other spells, Messenger Jays’ ability to create Clue tokens lets you transform upcoming plays into resources, ramping up your presence on the board and keeping your opponents on their toes.
Instant Speed: The versatility of this card is enhanced by its instant-speed activation, allowing you to adapt to the flow of the game, maximizing tactical responses, and maintaining momentum on your turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One downside of Messenger Jays is its requirement to discard a card to trigger its ability. This can put players at a disadvantage, especially if their hand is already low on cards, as it forces them to choose between maintaining card advantage and leveraging the power of the bird’s effects.
Specific Mana Cost: The card’s casting cost requires a specific combination of blue mana. This cost can be restrictive, limiting the card’s inclusion to decks that can readily produce blue mana, and potentially excluding it from multicolor decks that aren’t heavily blue-focused.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is considered high for its stats and abilities, Messenger Jays can be less appealing compared to other cards with similar or lower costs. Players might opt for alternatives that offer more immediate impact on the game or have lower casting requirements.
Reasons to Include Messenger Jays in Your Collection
Versatility: Messenger Jays adds value to a wide range of strategies with its ability to provide card advantage. This bird creature can easily find a home in flying-themed decks or any blue-based control strategy that aims to maintain a full hand.
Combo Potential: When paired with cards that care about casting spells or drawing cards, Messenger Jays can become an important piece in a synergistic puzzle. Its ability to potentially draw multiple cards can quickly turn the tide in combo-oriented decks.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where games are drawn out and card advantage is king, Messenger Jays’s impact on the game cannot be underestimated. Its relevance in the current meta can be significant, especially when facing off against decks that lack flyer interaction.
How to beat
Messenger Jays, a recent addition to the card pool, can be a tricky flyer to tackle in the game. Its ability to draw you cards when it deals combat damage can quickly lead to an advantage for your opponent. To counteract the Jays’ potential impact, consider incorporating removal spells into your deck. Instant-speed removals like Shock or Fatal Push, which can target creatures irrespective of their size and flight capability, are especially effective as they allow you to react during the combat phase before any damage is dealt and card advantage is gained.
Alternatively, beefing up your defenses with reach or flying creatures of your own can serve as an excellent deterrent, making it more difficult for Messenger Jays to safely attack. Ensnaring creatures or using cards that limit your opponent’s ability to engage in combat is another viable strategy. Moreover, if your deck is built to pressure your opponent’s life total quickly, it may force them into a defensive position, nullifying the passive benefits of Messenger Jays and diverting its usage away from offensive strategies.
Ultimately, having a plan to either swiftly remove Messenger Jays or invalidate its advantages through board control and pressure is key to overcoming the challenges it presents during the duel.
Cards like Messenger Jays
Messenger Jays enriches the pool of creature-based card advantage engines in Magic: The Gathering. It bears a resemblance to cards like Mulldrifter, as both offer the ability to draw cards upon entering the battlefield. Yet, Messenger Jays offers a unique twist with multiple triggers for card draw, tied to creatures with different power entering the battlefield under your control.
Another card worth comparing is Elvish Visionary. This simple creature allows for a card to be drawn when it comes into play, much like Messenger Jays, but lacks the recurring potential and the flying trait that provides a strategic edge in board presence. Baleful Strix also earns a comparison, being another creature that draws you a card upon entering, but it comes with deathtouch and is limited to a single drawn card.
In the broader scene of Magic: The Gathering, Messenger Jays fits snugly among creatures that can repeatedly generate card advantage. Its distinction lies in the potential for multiple instances of card draw, encouraged by a diverse battlefield, making it an intriguing option for deck builders keen on maximizing card draw opportunities.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Messenger Jays MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown and Mystery Booster, 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 Messenger Jays 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 Messenger Jays Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-08-26 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Lars Grant-West.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-08-26 | Conspiracy: Take the Crown | CN2 | 35 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lars Grant-West | |
| 2 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 427 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lars Grant-West | |
| 3 | The List | PLST | CN2-35 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lars Grant-West |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Messenger Jays has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Messenger Jays card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2016-08-23 | Because the votes are made in turn order, each player will know the votes of players who voted beforehand. |
| 2016-08-23 | If a creature with an enters-the-battlefield council’s dilemma ability leaves the battlefield before that ability resolves, players can still vote for any option that would put +1/+1 counters on that creature, even though—or perhaps especially because—those votes won’t generate an effect. |
| 2016-08-23 | No player votes until the spell or ability resolves. Any responses to that spell or ability must be made without knowing the outcome of the vote. |
| 2016-08-23 | Players can’t do anything between voting and finishing the resolution of the spell or ability that included the vote. |
| 2016-08-23 | The effects of each council’s dilemma ability happen in the stated order. First the vote occurs, then the first effect, and finally the second effect. |
| 2016-08-23 | Unlike the will of the council cards from the original Conspiracy set, where a majority of votes determined what happened, each vote made for a council’s dilemma card adds to the ultimate effect. |
| 2016-08-23 | You must vote for one of the available options. You can’t abstain. |
