Chronatog MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Atog
Released	1997-02-03
Set symbol
Set name	Visions
Set code	VIS
Power	1
Toughness	2
Number	28
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Christopher Rush

Key Takeaways

Chronatog offers card advantage through turn-skipping, fitting niche strategies and avoiding discard traps.
The card’s instant-speed activation adds a layer of depth and unpredictability to gameplay.
However, the obligatory turn-skip can be a severe strategic setback if not played wisely.

Text of card

Skip your next turn: Chronatog gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Use this ability only once each turn.

For the chronatog, there is no meal like the present.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Chronatog allows players to skip their turn, providing an unusual form of advantage. By not drawing for a turn, you potentially protect valuable cards from discard mechanics or denial strategies. Additionally, this tactic can be used in combination with cards that benefit from skipped turns.

Resource Acceleration: What stands out with Chronatog is its potential to create tempo plays. While it doesn’t directly accelerate resources, its ability to forego turns can be paired with cards that untap lands or permanents, effectively giving you unplanned acceleration in subsequent turns and leveraging the time gained.

Instant Speed: Although Chronatog itself is not an instant, its activation is at instant speed, adding strategic depth. You can surprise opponents by choosing to skip your next turn at the end of their turn, maintaining the ability to respond to their actions, while setting up for a powerful play that could alter the course of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When considering Chronatog’s place in your deck, it’s vital to recognize the trade-off that comes with its ability. Activating its power demands that you skip your next turn, which can put you at a severe disadvantage by giving your opponents free rein to build their board unchecked.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana requirements for Chronatog are exclusively blue, which naturally restricts its inclusion to blue-centric or blue-supporting decks. This makes it less flexible for players who prefer a varied mana base or multicolored strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite only costing two mana, Chronatog’s effect hinges dramatically on game context. While it can help in specific situations, other two-drop creatures or cards might offer immediate board presence or utility without the significant drawback of losing an entire turn.

Reasons to Include Chronatog in Your Collection

Versatility: Chronatog offers players the unique ability to skip their turn, which might not seem advantageous at first glance. However, this can be a strategic move in configurations that capitalize on opponents being forced to play out their hands or in games where time counters and suspend cards are at play.

Combo Potential: Decks that utilize stax strategies or ones that include cards like Smokestack can benefit greatly from Chronatog. By skipping turns, you evade detrimental effects while your opponent is still subjected to them. This can create insurmountable advantages as the game progresses.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames where control decks strive to attain victory through meticulous manipulation of game phases and turns, Chronatog can be a powerful asset. The card forces opponents to adapt to a different flow of gameplay, often giving you the upper hand in less conventional but potent deck builds.

How to beat

Chronatog is a unique challenge on the battlefield with its ability to force a player to skip their turn in Magic: The Gathering. To counteract Chronatog, focusing on instant-speed removals can be effective as you can target the creature during your opponent’s turn before they have the chance to utilize its ability. Additionally, deploying cards that prevent activated abilities from being triggered can disrupt Chronatog’s game plan, such as Pithing Needle or Linvala, Keeper of Silence.

Strategies that involve maintaining card advantage and pressing the pace of the game also work well against Chronatog. For example, using aggressive creatures to escalate the pressure or opting for land destruction can impede your opponent’s ability to leverage Chronatog’s ability to their advantage. It’s crucial to anticipate when to go on the offensive or control the board, so Chronatog doesn’t become the axis on which the match turns. A judicious balance of disruption, pressure, and timely removal will keep Chronatog in check and secure your position in the game.

Recognizing the importance of timing and resource management while playing against a Chronatog deck is paramount. By employing these tactics, you can effectively neutralize the temporal threat that Chronatog poses and keep the flow of the game within your control.

Cards like Chronatog

Chronatog from Magic: The Gathering stands out as a unique and somewhat unorthodox piece in any player’s strategy. This creature card allows players to skip their turn to activate its ability, a peculiar function that mirrors that of Chronatog Totem in terms of skipping turns. While Chronatog Totem also has the skip-turn feature, it differs as it is an artifact and does not require tapping, as opposed to the creature-based mechanic of Chronatog.

Examining further, Eater of Days is another card that manipulates turns but in the opposite way; instead of skipping turns, it causes you to lose your next two turns upon entering the battlefield. Unlike Chronatog, Eater of Days offers a hefty presence on the board, but at the cost of significant turns. Lastly, we have Time Vault, a vintage and potent artifact that can grant extra turns but requires skipping turns to gather “Time” counters, similar to Chronatog’s ability sacrifice.

In essence, while there is a selection of Magic: The Gathering cards that interact with turn sequences, Chronatog’s distinctive skip-turn ability, resourceful in specific deck strategies, sets it apart in games where timing and turn advantage play crucial roles.

Where to buy

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

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Chronatog 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 Chronatog card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.