Political Trickery MTG Card

Mirage (MIR)
1996-10-08 - Number 81

Political Trickery - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)

World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
1997-08-13 - Number jk81sb

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery

Key Takeaways

Potential card advantage achieved through land exchanges disrupts opponent’s strategies and mana bases.
Despite a discard cost and specific mana need, it offers strategic instant-like surprise plays.
Best used in blue-based decks, Political Trickery excels in control and political multiplayer environments.

Text of card

Choose target land you control and target land an opponent controls. Exchange control of those lands.

"Politics is a game—move a stone here, move a stone there—except sometimes the stones bleed." —Shauku, Endbringer

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Political Trickery shines by allowing you to exchange control of one of your lands for an opponent’s, indirectly offering you a form of card advantage. This swap can disrupt your opponent’s mana base while potentially giving you access to colors or land abilities outside your deck’s spectrum.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources in the traditional sense, Political Trickery can effectively accelerate your resources if the land you gain access to produces more than one mana or has valuable mana-related abilities. It’s a subtle way to shift the tide of resource availability in your favor.

Instant Speed: Though Political Trickery is a sorcery, this card’s strategic value at times rivals instant-speed interactions. It allows you to initiate exchanges at crucial moments, setting the stage before your turn begins or after an opponent has tapped out, providing a surprise element that can be as impactful as any instant-speed play.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Political Trickery demands a card discard as part of its casting cost. This can put players in a tight spot, particularly in games where hand advantage is crucial for maintaining control and flexibility.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a color-specific mana requirement, needing both blue and a generic mana. This makes it less versatile for multicolor decks that may struggle with mana consistency and unable to fit in mono-color decks that don’t run blue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a somewhat hefty mana cost for an effect that exchanges control of lands, players might find that Political Trickery comes into play too late or competes with other impactful four-mana spells that could potentially sway the game’s outcome more effectively.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Political Trickery offers the unique ability to swap lands, and it easily slides into blue-based control or political multiplayer decks. This singular effect can be a game-changer in the right circumstances, giving you access to a specific mana source or affecting the board state to your advantage.

Combo Potential: With a knack for setting off landfall triggers and interacting with cards that monitor land positioning, Political Trickery excels by activating abilities of lands you acquire or disrupting an opponent’s carefully curated land setup.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where land-based strategies are prevalent, or if utility lands hold significant power, this card can serve as a tool for control and disruption, making it a nuanced addition against certain deck archetypes.

How to beat

Political Trickery is an intriguing card in the world of MTG, offering players the ability to exchange lands and disrupt their opponents’ mana base. When facing this sneaky enchantment, it’s critical to have a strategy to maintain the upper hand in the match. One approach is to utilize land destruction cards to eliminate the potential targets for Political Trickery, making it a dead draw for your opponent.

Additionally, keeping countermagic at the ready can thwart the spell before it takes effect, preserving your carefully planned mana structure. Swift Reconfiguration, a piece of instant-speed interaction, can offer a surprise element, converting their tempo play into an opportunity for you to advance. Crucially, adaptability is fundamental; having versatile permanents or cards that benefit from entering the battlefield under your control can flip the script on Political Trickery’s intent. Cards like Tireless Tracker can help you benefit from additional land drops and maintain card advantage even if your opponent temporarily gains control of one of your lands.

If you’re able to anticipate and prepare for the potential change in landscape that Political Trickery can cause, you’ll be in a better position to navigate through and ultimately lead the game to a victorious conclusion.

Cards like Political Trickery

Political Trickery is an intriguing spell in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering, reminiscent of other land-focused swapping cards. One such comparison is with Shifting Borders, which also permits the exchange of lands between players. However, Political Trickery brings a new dynamic due to its one-off swap, without the recurring exchange that Shifting Borders offers. What really distinguishes Political Trickery is the element of surprise and the strategic shift it can create with just a single move.

Another comparable card is Vedalken Plotter, which shares the ability to trade lands. Vedalken Plotter requires a creature on the battlefield and offers a similar one-time exchange. Political Trickery excels by being less predictable due to its nature as a sorcery that can be played at just the right moment without telegraphing your intentions to your opponent. Lastly, we look at Role Reversal, which allows players to trade not just lands but any permanents, giving it broader application but with a higher mana cost and the need for a more complex board state to fully utilize its potential.

Considering the impact on gameplay and the subtleties involved in manipulating the battlefield, Political Trickery offers strategic advantages that can subtly shift the balance of a game, making it a compelling choice for players who enjoy a dash of deception in their deck.

Cards similar to Political Trickery by color, type and mana cost

Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions

Counsel of the Soratami - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Political Trickery MTG card by a specific set like Mirage and World Championship Decks 1997, 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 Political Trickery and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Political Trickery Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1996-10-08 and 1997-08-13. Illustrated by Scott Kirschner.