Cloudskate MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Illusion
Abilities	Fading,Flying
Released	2000-02-14
Set symbol
Set name	Nemesis
Set code	NEM
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	29
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Carl Critchlow

Key Takeaways

Cloudskate offers card advantage by returning opponents’ nonlands and disrupting their plans.
Flash ability allows instant play, making Cloudskate a surprise board control tool.
Despite its benefits, Cloudskate requires careful hand and mana management.

Text of card

Flying Fading 3 (This creature comes into play with three fade counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a fade counter from it. If you can't, sacrifice it.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When dealing with the Cloudskate card, strategic players appreciate the potential for card advantage. This card lets you return a nonland permanent you don’t control to its owner’s hand. Disrupting opponent strategies and swinging the momentum in your favor is a key tactical advantage, offering you increased board control and indirectly more card value as your opponent loses theirs.

Resource Acceleration: Cloudskate may not produce additional resources directly, but by bouncing key pieces of your opponent’s board, you effectively fast-track your own board presence. This temporary resource acceleration places you ahead in the arms race of board state, essentially setting your opponent back while you continue to advance unhindered.

Instant Speed: One of Cloudskate’s defining features is its flash ability, allowing you to play it at instant speed. This grants you the flexibility to react on your opponent’s turn, whether that’s disrupting a combo, saving the card for an opportune moment, or simply preserving the element of surprise. The ability to operate on your opponent’s time rather than being restricted to your own main phase is a powerful tactical tool in any MTG player’s arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One drawback of Cloudskate is that to utilize its suspend ability, you may need to discard it early on, potentially reducing your hand advantage and forcing strategical hand management.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost requires blue mana, which is not universally flexible, thereby limiting its integration to blue-centric or compatible multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Weighing in at a converted mana cost for its traditional casting, some players might find it costly compared to other creatures that offer immediate board presence or similar bouncing effects without the suspend wait time.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Cloudskate card is a flexible option for deck builders, adept at fitting into various strategies thanks to its suspend ability, which allows tactical delays for a strategic play or evasion tactic.

Combo Potential: This card’s bounce effect upon entering the battlefield can be paired with numerous combos, resetting permanents or triggering enter-the-battlefield abilities of other creatures for powerful plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ebb and flow of the meta, having a Cloudskate in your collection can be invaluable, particularly if the competitive scene favors decks laden with tempo plays and control elements that this card can exploit.

How to beat

Cloudskate is a unique creature card that can set your opponent’s strategy back by bouncing their permanents to their hand. It’s a subtle yet effective form of board control. The key to overcoming Cloudskate lies in minimizing the value your opponent gets from the bounce effect. One approach is to play with less expensive permanents that can be quickly redeployed. Another strategy is to utilize instant speed spells and abilities that can be used in response to Cloudskate’s trigger, preserving your board presence.

Additionally, cards with enter the battlefield effects can serve as a boon rather than a hindrance when paired against Cloudskate. By designing your deck with these effects in mind, you can turn the bounce into an advantage, netting you extra value each time your permanents return to your hand. Graveyard synergy also dulls Cloudskate’s impact. By focusing on cards that operate well from the graveyard, you’re less affected by the temporary set-back of a bounce as you can still access these resources.

Ultimately, while Cloudskate aims to disrupt your game plan, careful deck construction and strategic play can mitigate its effect and potentially turn its disruptive nature into an asset for your MTG strategies.

Cards like Cloudskate

In the realm of MTG, Cloudskate is a unique creature known for its ability to suspend and essentially delay its entrance onto the battlefield. This feature harks back to the mechanics seen in cards like Riftwing Cloudskate, another creature that offers the suspend ability, albeit with a different impact upon entering the game. Both specialize in bringing tempo advantage by disrupting opponents’ game plans. Riftwing Cloudskate specifically allows you to bounce a permanent to its owner’s hand, which can be strategically valuable in controlling the game’s pace.

Along similar lines, we have Aether Adept and Man-o’-War, both creatures that follow the tradition of bouncing other creatures on the battlefield. However, they do not boast the suspend mechanic inherent to Cloudskate. Yet their immediate impact as they enter the battlefield can be particularly useful in certain gameplay situations when an instant response is needed.

Assessing Cloudskate’s role in an MTG deck, its versatility in terms of timing and the strategic depth it adds through suspending can be quite impactful. In comparison to its peers, it stands out with its unique blend of delaying tactics and board control, providing notable advantages in matches that value tempo and foresight.

Cards similar to Cloudskate by color, type and mana cost

Soratami Cloudskater - MTG Card versions

Vodalian Soldiers - Fallen Empires (FEM)

Wu Light Cavalry - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)

Overtaker - Mercadian Masques Promos (PMMQ)

Darting Merfolk - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)

Sneaky Homunculus - Eighth Edition (8ED)

Aquamoeba - World Championship Decks 2003 (WC03)

Soratami Cloudskater - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Minamo Sightbender - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cloudskate MTG card by a specific set like Nemesis, 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 Cloudskate and other MTG cards: