There is nothing quite as exciting as knowing you're about to win a Magic: the Gathering card game on your next turn. That is, until your competitor drops a ruthless and unexpected card to take an extra turn that leads to a game-winning play.
There are a lot of intriguing plays in Magic: the Gathering that can be pretty hard on the offense. Some cards force you to discard cards, infect your creature's powers, and even take control of your creatures. This post looks at one of the most unexpected and game-changing plays, which is to gain an extra turn.
10 Final Fortune
The Final Fortune card as part of the Seventh Series is precisely as its art shows, and it's designed to cause your opponent to rage quit. This card, unlike many other extra turn cards, doesn't require a combo and anything fancy to activate it. It's a simple two cast red.
The only caveat being, you have one shot to use it. If you can't win the game in that extra turn, you automatically lose the game. This is an instant card, which means you can play it at any time. However, it's best played once you finish your turn. That way, it doesn't override it and protects you in case your opponent has a defense to it. Luckily if you end up skipping your extra turn, you don't lose the game.
9 Time Stretch
If you've ever wanted to turn back time and have more than one redo, Time Stretch is the card for you. It's a sorcery card, which is similar to an instant card, which is a short-term spell. Once you pay for its mana cost, the spell resolves, and it is immediately put into the owner's graveyard.
This blue card costs ten combined mana to cast. This is a lot of mana, so you need to play it as part of a combo to get it out early. This card works well when in combo with Raven's Crime, Spellweaver Helix, which allows you a seemingly unlimited number of turns to get to a win. If you have some other crazy idea up your sleeve, you can use a card like Baral, Chief of Compliance, which works as a creature and helps lower the mana cost of Time Stretch.
8 Emrakul, The Aeons Torn
Some creature cards are so terrifying, you wonder how they're even allowed in the game. Emrakul, The Aeons Torn is the epitome of that. Considering Magic: the Gathering game players start with 20 points, it's daunting to face a creature with 15 attack and 15 defense. Its spell also can't be countered. Worst yet, if it's put in the graveyard for whatever reason, its owner can shuffle their graveyard into their library.
To use it, you're going to need some support from a card that reduces its casting cost or gives you the ability to put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield, like Elvish Piper, and Through the Breach.
7 Temporal Trespass
Temporal Trespass is a very sinister-looking card, and for excellent reason. This card has two very significant powers, including a hack to lower the casting cost and a no-strings-attached way to gain an extra turn.
The term Delve entered the game in Future Sight, which is the third expansion released in 2007. This ability allows you to reduce the casting cost of a card by exiling cards from your graveyard. In the case of Temporal Trespass, if you use the Delve ability, you can cast the card for as low as three blue mana. Once you cast it, you get an extra turn. This isn't an instant card, so you will have to wait for your turn to use it. The only caveat with Temporal Trespass is it can only be used once and then gets exiled.
6 Stitch In Time
Are you feeling lucky, punk? This card relies on it. At first glance, Stitch in Time seems like one of the joke cards from Unglued or Unhinged series. Unlike Avatar of Me, Assquatch, and Ambiguity, it's genuine.
While many of the cards on this list require a handful of mana or other card combinations to get on the field, Stitch of Time costs one general mana, one blue, and one red mana.
Why this card is so strange is, Stitch of Time requires something Magic: the Gathering doesn't sell to play the card's sorcery spell. As part, you're going to need to go through your pockets to find some change. Upon playing the mana cost, find a coin, call a side (heads or tails) and flip it. If it lands on your selection, you get an extra turn.
5 Seedtime
Some cards are best in the hands of a poker-style player. Someone who knows how to egg on their opponents to get them to act or react.
Seedtime is a simple card that requires particular circumstances to be used. Although it's an instant card, which usually means it can be used at any time, this one can only be used during the owner's turn. At a combined mana cost of two, it's also cheap to cast. The unlock, however, requires that the opponent plays a blue spell during the owner's turn.
The key here is, if you know what color deck you're up against, you can arm yourself accordingly. If you are rocking a green deck that's up against a blue spell deck, this is a tremendous side-bar card to have on hand.
4 Second Chance
In golf, they have something called a mulligan. It allows you to retake your shot without penalty. In Magic: the Gathering, there's a card called Second Chance. This card is super helpful if you find yourself neck and neck with an opponent and not much life left.
The card cost one blue mana and two general mana. It's an enchantment, which means it can remain in play indefinitely. It only kicks in if, during your upkeep, you have five or less life. If you do, the card gets sacrificed, and you get to take an extra turn.
The best part of this card is, it can sit on the playing field, taunting your opponent as a lifeline should they try anything crazy.
3 Capture of Jingzhou
Imagine for a minute that you're royalty. You can do whatever you want. When gaming, you would probably abuse this power by taking an extra turn, just cause you can. In the case of the Capture of Jingzhou card, you have that power.
This is a sorcery card, which means you can cast it during your turn. Pay the converted mana cost of 5, and you take another turn after your first one. You can consider using a card like Baral, Chief of Compliance, to reduce the casting cost.
Capture of Jingzhou doesn't require a life threshold or a combination of cards. It's just a quick and easy way to annoy your opponent and get you closer to a win. Sometimes the simplest of cards are the best!
2 Magistrate's Scepter
Counters are used in various forms in many Magic: the Gathering collections. As the third most common type, many allow you to pay mana to charge up some special ability. In the case of artifact Magistrate's Scepter, the mana cost to create one charge counter is four mana. The primary ability of the card is unlocked when you tap the card and remove three charge counters, and gain an extra turn.
In hindsight, the casting cost of putting the card in play is quite low at three mana. But the cost of mana to reach the primary ability is very high, which is 12 mana in total. Luckily there are ways to manufacture charge counters, including cards like Coretapper, Power Conduit, and Surge Node. More importunately, unlike many other cards with this ability, you don't have to sacrifice Magistrate's Scepter and can continue to reuse the ability as needed.
1 Medomai The Ageless
One way to ensure that your competitor is on the brink of rage quitting is to use the Medomai the Ageless as part of a combo deck.
On its own, Medomai the Ageless has some exceptional abilities. At a combined mana cost of 6, as a dual-color card, it's a four attack and four defense card that is also flying. This means flying creatures can only counter it. If your opponent can't block flying creatures and ends up taking the damage, you get to take an extra turn.
The only caveat with this card is it can't attack during the extra turn. If you could, you would have endless turns. That said, there are ways to combo the card with others like Strionic Resonator to rack up extra turns. Be sure to troll your opponent by letting them know they have time during your 2-3 extra turns to get a drink or take a bathroom break.