Clone MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 19 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Shapeshifter
Power 0
Toughness 0

Key Takeaways

  1. Cloning maximizes card impact without additional hand resources, doubling the value of powerful cards.
  2. Resource acceleration through clones scales up mana and token production, overwhelming opponents with ease.
  3. Clone cards’ functionality at instant speed provides strategic advantage and potential game-turning surprises.

Text of card

Upon summoning, Clone acquires all normal characteristics, including color, of any one creature in play on either side; any enchantments on original creature are not copied. Clone retains these characteristics even after original creature is destroyed. Clone cannot be played if there are no creatures in play.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cloning a card can effectively double the value you get from a single card. When you clone a powerful creature or a key spell, you’re essentially casting it twice, maximizing the impact on the game without the need for an additional card from your hand.

Resource Acceleration: Playing a clone can be a form of resource acceleration when copying creatures with mana abilities or those that generate tokens. This allows you to scale up your resources and overwhelm your opponents by duplicating the effects of potent mana dorks or token generators.

Instant Speed: Some clone effects can be activated at instant speed, offering a strategic advantage by letting you adapt to the current board state during an opponent’s turn. This surprise factor can turn the tides of a game, especially if you clone an opponent’s creature in response to an attack or crucial play.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When deploying a clone card, you might be compelled to discard another card from your hand. In tight game scenarios, this trade-off can deplete your already scarce hand, potentially putting you at a strategic disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Clone cards typically demand specific mana combinations, restricting their inclusion to decks that can produce the required colors consistently, thereby reducing their flexibility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The essence of clone effects often comes with a high mana investment. While the ability to copy a powerful creature is enticing, the mana you spend could sometimes be allocated to more impactful plays, especially in the early to mid-game phases where board development is crucial.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Clone cards offer unparalleled flexibility. They can adapt to various situations, effectively copying the strongest creatures on the battlefield. This makes them a perfect fit for strategies that require adaptability.

Combo Potential: Clone cards can be part of ingenious combos, duplicating the powers of creatures with beneficial enter-the-battlefield effects or unique abilities, thereby amplifying your potential for powerful plays.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the ever-shifting nature of the meta, having cards in your arsenal that can directly counter or match the strengths of top-tier creatures is vital. Clone cards provide exactly that kind of reactive capacity, keeping your deck competitive.


How to beat

Clone, a card known for copying the best creatures on the battlefield in MTG, can be a formidable foe. Its ability to become a carbon copy of the most powerful creature you control turns the tides, often creating mirror matches where combat becomes a complex game of chess. To topple a Clone, one strategy is to limit the number of impactful creatures you play, reducing the potential targets for cloning. Use removal spells efficiently, targeting the original creature Clone is copying before it can utilize any enter-the-battlefield effects or abilities. Alternatively, adopting a strategy involving creatures with negative effects for the opponent when they enter the battlefield can deter the use of Clone effectively. Counterspells are also handy in your arsenal, preventing the Clone from ever hitting the board. Always keeping in mind the possibility of a Clone can shape your gameplay to ensure you remain one step ahead.

Overall, while the Clone card presents a unique challenge, understanding its mechanics and having a planned response can mitigate its effectiveness, ensuring your deck can handle the copycat tactics it brings to the table.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the delicate art of deck construction in MTG can often hinge on the inclusion of versatile and adaptive cards. Clone cards, known for their chameleonic nature, can serve as pivotal additions to your assembly. They are capable of turning the tide of battle by mirroring formidable creatures, escalating your board presence or disrupting your opponent’s strategies. Appreciating both their potential benefits and drawbacks is key to leveraging their power effectively. Complete your collectible arsenal with these transformative cards and embrace the challenge they represent. Dive into our insightful resources to refine your strategic approach and outplay your opponents with cunning duplicity.


Cards like Clone

The world of Magic: The Gathering is teeming with illusions and copies, and Clone is a classic example of this. Clone offers a unique versatility in duplicating any creature on the battlefield, potentially giving players access to powerful effects or creatures that belong to their opponents. This flexibility is what separates it from other similar cards. Phantasmal Image, for instance, is cheaper and can also copy creatures, but it comes with a significant downside – it has the potential to be easily targeted and destroyed.

Another card in the conversation is Stunt Double. This card steps up the game by featuring flash, allowing players to make surprise plays and clone creatures at instant speed. While Clone itself can only operate at sorcery speed, Stunt Double’s added flexibility can be a game changer in many scenarios. Then there’s Mirror Image, which, like Clone, copies a creature you control but does so at a reduced cost. However, it lacks the ability to become a copy of an opponent’s creature, thus narrowing its versatility.

In light of these comparisons, Clone remains an adaptable tool in a player’s arsenal, capable of changing the board state with just the right copied creature. Its straightforward and broad cloning capabilities maintain its position as a formidable card to consider in deckbuilding within Magic: The Gathering.

Phantasmal Image - MTG Card versions
Stunt Double - MTG Card versions
Mirror Image - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Image - Magic 2012 (M12)
Stunt Double - Conspiracy: Take the Crown (CN2)
Mirror Image - Core Set 2019 (M19)

Cards similar to Clone by color, type and mana cost

Phantasmal Forces - MTG Card versions
Phantom Monster - MTG Card versions
Wall of Vapor - MTG Card versions
Screeching Drake - MTG Card versions
Tradewind Rider - MTG Card versions
Archivist - MTG Card versions
Extravagant Spirit - MTG Card versions
Thieving Magpie - MTG Card versions
Inga Rune-Eyes - MTG Card versions
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces - MTG Card versions
Laboratory Drudge - MTG Card versions
Undercover Operative - MTG Card versions
Archmage Emeritus - MTG Card versions
Hisoka, Minamo Sensei - MTG Card versions
Johnny, Combo Player - MTG Card versions
Dream Prowler - MTG Card versions
Cytoplast Manipulator - MTG Card versions
Crookclaw Transmuter - MTG Card versions
Dreamborn Muse - MTG Card versions
Turtleshell Changeling - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Forces - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Phantom Monster - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Wall of Vapor - Chronicles (CHR)
Screeching Drake - Portal Second Age (P02)
Tradewind Rider - World Championship Decks 1998 (WC98)
Archivist - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Extravagant Spirit - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Thieving Magpie - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Inga Rune-Eyes - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Sakashima of a Thousand Faces - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Laboratory Drudge - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Undercover Operative - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Archmage Emeritus - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Hisoka, Minamo Sensei - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Johnny, Combo Player - Unhinged (UNH)
Dream Prowler - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Cytoplast Manipulator - Dissension (DIS)
Crookclaw Transmuter - Time Spiral (TSP)
Dreamborn Muse - Tenth Edition (10E)
Turtleshell Changeling - Lorwyn (LRW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Clone MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Clone and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Clone Magic the Gathering card was released in 17 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 511993normalblackJulie Baroh
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 521993normalblackJulie Baroh
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 521993normalwhiteJulie Baroh
41993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 521993normalblackJulie Baroh
51993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 521993normalblackJulie Baroh
61994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 511993normalblackJulie Baroh
71994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 511993normalwhiteJulie Baroh
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 511993normalwhiteJulie Baroh
92002-10-07OnslaughtONS 751997normalblackCarl Critchlow
102005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 67★2003normalblackKev Walker
112005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 672003normalwhiteKev Walker
122007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 732003normalblackKev Walker
132009-07-17Magic 2010M10 452003normalblackKev Walker
142010-07-16Magic 2011M11 492003normalblackKev Walker
152012-03-30Duel Decks: Venser vs. KothDDI 142003normalblackKev Walker
162012-07-13Magic 2013M13 452003normalblackKev Walker
172013-07-19Magic 2014M14 472003normalblackKev Walker
182022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 512015normalblackJulie Baroh
192022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 3481997normalblackJulie Baroh

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Clone has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2007-07-15 Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied creature will trigger when Clone enters the battlefield. Any “as
-his creature] enters the battlefield” or “
-his creature] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the chosen creature will also work.
2007-07-15 If the chosen creature is a token, Clone copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that put it onto the battlefield. Clone is not a token.
2007-07-15 If the chosen creature is copying something else (for example, if the chosen creature is another Clone), then your Clone enters the battlefield as whatever the chosen creature copied.
2009-10-01 If the chosen creature has in its mana cost (such as Protean Hydra), X is considered to be zero.
2012-07-01 Clone copies exactly what was printed on the original creature and nothing more (unless that creature is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that creature is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on.
2012-07-01 If Clone somehow enters the battlefield at the same time as another creature, Clone can't become a copy of that creature. You may choose only a creature that's already on the battlefield.
2012-07-01 You can choose not to copy anything. In that case, Clone enters the battlefield as a 0/0 Shapeshifter creature, and is probably put into the graveyard immediately.
2013-07-01 Clone's ability doesn't target the chosen creature.

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