Temporal Aperture MTG Card

Urza's Saga (USG)
1998-10-12 - Number 310

Temporal Aperture - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)

World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
1999-08-04 - Number kb310

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact

Key Takeaways

Temporal Aperture enables shuffling and playing the top card of your deck, potentially optimizing resource access.
Its five mana activation cost offers rapid board presence, but demands careful mana management.
Versatile yet unpredictable, it suits decks that benefit from spontaneous card advantage.

Text of card

o5, oc T: Shuffle your library and reveal the top card. Until end of turn, as long as that card remains on top of your library, you may play the card as though it were in your hand without paying its casting cost. (If the spell has o X in its casting cost, X is 0.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Temporal Aperture offers players the opportunity to shuffle their library and then play the top card, giving a potential edge by accessing more of their deck’s resources during a match.

Resource Acceleration: By facilitating the play of the top card for just five mana, this magic card can significantly accelerate your resource deployment, potentially leading to more impactful turns and sudden swings in board presence.

Instant Speed: Although Temporal Aperture itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the ability to activate it anytime you could cast an instant means players can end their turn and still make a decisive move during an opponent’s turn, keeping up the pressure or responding effectively to changes in the game state.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Temporal Aperture necessitates ditching a card to harness its ability, potentially draining your hand when you might need options.

Specific Mana Cost: Activating Temporal Aperture demands a strict blend of generic plus blue mana, which can be tricky for multicolored decks to manage consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a sizeable investment of five mana to engage its effect, players may find the cost steep compared to other artifact options offering similar or more predictable outcomes.

Reasons to Include Temporal Aperture in Your Collection

Versatility: Temporal Aperture offers flexibility to decks that thrive on unpredictability and surprise factor. It allows players to potentially play cards outside of their normal casting capabilities, making it a wildcard in any match.

Combo Potential: With its ability to shuffle your library and then play with the top card, Temporal Aperture can synergize with deck manipulation strategies or cards designed to exploit the top-deck mechanic.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games tend to go longer, Temporal Aperture can break stalemates by providing a continuous stream of resources and potential threats that opponents must answer every turn.

How to Beat Temporal Aperture

Temporal Aperture is a unique artifact in Magic: The Gathering, allowing players to shuffle their library and play the top card at the expense of five mana and its activation. While this can potentially lead to powerful outcomes, it hinges on randomness, which can be manipulated to your advantage. To effectively counter this card, players should prioritize disruption strategies that target the opponent’s library and hand.

Consider using cards that force shuffles at inopportune moments or manipulate the top deck, such as “Goblin Charbelcher” or “Brainstorm.” Additionally, effects like “Thoughtseize” or “Duress” disrupt the card advantage that Temporal Aperture aims to provide by removing key cards before they can be played. Lastly, simple artifact removal spells such as “Naturalize” or “Shatter” can be a direct and effective way to get rid of Temporal Aperture and severely hinder an opponent relying on it.

By preventing an opponent from maximizing the value of Temporal Aperture, you put yourself in a strong position to outpace and outmaneuver them, undercutting the unpredictable advantage the artifact offers. Interruption, targeted removal, and hand disruption are your best tools in keeping this artifact from tilting the game in your opponent’s favor.

Cards like Temporal Aperture

Temporal Aperture offers Magic: The Gathering aficionados a unique spin on the concept of deck manipulation and card advantage. Its closest relatives in ability and effect include cards like Future Sight and Experimental Frenzy. Future Sight allows players to look at the top card of their library any time and play it if they wish, granting continuous access to additional cards without having to draw them. However, unlike Temporal Aperture, it doesn’t shuffle the library, which gives players the ability to plan several moves ahead with the known card order.

Experimental Frenzy is another similar card, giving players the liberty to play cards off the top of their library, not just one, but potentially several in a turn. Although it provides a wider array of choices than Temporal Aperture, it comes with a restriction on playing cards from the hand while it’s on the battlefield. This contrasts with Temporal Aperture, which allows for more flexibility and surprise since it could potentially reveal any card in the library at instant speed.

While each card has its strengths and nuances within Magic: The Gathering, Temporal Aperture stands out for allowing instantaneous spontaneity with deck resources, making it a distinctive and unpredictable option in a player’s arsenal.

Cards similar to Temporal Aperture by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Temporal Aperture MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and World Championship Decks 1999, 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 Temporal Aperture and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Temporal Aperture Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 1999-08-04. Illustrated by Michael Sutfin.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1998-10-12	Urza's Saga	USG		310	1997	Normal	Black	Michael Sutfin
2	1999-08-04	World Championship Decks 1999	WC99		kb310	1997	Normal	Gold	Michael Sutfin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Temporal Aperture has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	If your library is shuffled or that card otherwise leaves the top of your library, the effect ends.
2004-10-04	The card is removed from the top of the library when you play it, just like a card is removed from your hand when you play it.
2004-10-04	While you do not have to pay the mana cost, you do have to pay any other costs described in the text that are paid when playing the card. If the cost in the card text is optional, such as with Buyback, you can optionally pay that cost.