{"id":623,"date":"2017-01-27T07:51:31","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T07:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/?p=623"},"modified":"2017-01-27T08:00:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T08:00:37","slug":"card-of-the-month-key-to-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/2017\/01\/27\/card-of-the-month-key-to-the-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Card of the Month &#8211; Key to the City"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><div class=\"wp-caption alignleft judgeimg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/judges\/dci\/71133963\"><img src=https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/dci\/avatar?dci=71133963&size=200 alt=\"Written by Francesco Scialpi\nLevel 2, Italy\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Written by Francesco Scialpi<br \/>\nLevel 2, Italy<\/p><\/div><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This card, despite its pretentious name, is definitely a \u201cworking class\u201d one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Obviously, we say it with no derogatory intent: simply, we want to say that Key to the City does a lot of different things, but does not excel in any.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This artifact:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s a \u201cdiscard outlet\u201d, it allows us to discard cards, and often it\u2019s exactly what we want to do.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Makes creatures unblockable.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s a \u201crummaging engine\u201d, it allows us to discard\/draw repeatedly.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/magiccards.info\/scans\/en\/kld\/220.jpg\" width=\"312\" height=\"445\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Furthermore, it\u2019s colorless, thus we can fit it in any deck, regardless of played colors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Key to the City is not particularly powerful in a aggro deck, nor in a control one, and we will never play the 4x, not even in a slow format like Standard. One or two copies are fine for a constructed deck. In Limited or Commander, playing the Key should have its own reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From a rules point of view, Key to the City is particular enough to deserve an in depth analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>\u201cT\u201d, Discard a card: Up to one target creature can&#8217;t be blocked this turn.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cUp to one target creature\u201d means that this ability can be activated with and without a target. As a comparison, let\u2019s have a look at how <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-content\/plugins\/lems-mtg-helper\/lems-mtg-helper-cardfinder.php?find=Panic+Spellbomb&width=223&height=310\" class=\"jTip\" name=\"\"><\/span>Panic Spellbomb<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> works.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Panic Spellbomb\u2019s first ability requires a target. If there aren\u2019t creatures in play, this ability can\u2019t be activated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Differently, Key to the City\u2019s ability can be activated without targets, so it can be used even with no creatures in play.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the ability is played with a target, we can respond with <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-content\/plugins\/lems-mtg-helper\/lems-mtg-helper-cardfinder.php?find=Reroute&width=223&height=310\" class=\"jTip\" name=\"\"><\/span>Reroute<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If instead is played without targets, we can\u2019t respond with Reroute: on the stack the ability has no targets, so it isn\u2019t \u201can ability with a single target\u201d, therefore casting Reroute is not legal.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We can\u2019t activate the ability without discarding a card. Discarding is part of the cost of the ability, because it comes before the colon &#8211; everything after the colon in an activated ability is the effect. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let\u2019s suppose we have an <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-content\/plugins\/lems-mtg-helper\/lems-mtg-helper-cardfinder.php?find=Incorrigible+Youths&width=223&height=310\" class=\"jTip\" name=\"\"><\/span>Incorrigible Youths<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a creature with madness and haste, in hand. If we discard <\/span><b>Youths<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the <\/span><b>Key<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and cast Youths, are we also able to target it and make it unblockable this turn? No, it doesn\u2019t work. Madness goes on the stack only after we have completed the activation of the <\/span><b>Key\u2019s <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ability. To complete the activation, we have to declare \u00a0a target (or no target), and at this moment Youths is not in play.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If an attacking creature has already been blocked, we can target it with the Key\u2019s ability, but the creature will remain blocked. A declared block can\u2019t be undone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If a creature that can\u2019t be blocked loses all abilities, for example because of an Ovinize, the creature keeps the \u201ccan\u2019t be blocked\u201d status. Such status it\u2019s not an ability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>\u201cWhenever Key to the City becomes untapped, you may pay (2)<\/b><b>. If you do, draw a card.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This second ability will normally trigger during the untap step. Pay attention, it will trigger, but won\u2019t immediately go on the stack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An ability can trigger at any moment, but to go on the stack it will have to wait the first moment a player will be about to receive priority. During the untap step, players do not receive priority: the first opportunity for the Key\u2019s ability to go on the stack is in the subsequent step, at the beginning of the upkeep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If, at the beginning of the upkeep, there are other abilities that trigger, they will go on the stack in Active Player (AP), Non-Active Player (NAP) order.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let\u2019s make some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let\u2019s suppose we know the first two or three cards on top of our library, because we scryed, for example. We control <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-content\/plugins\/lems-mtg-helper\/lems-mtg-helper-cardfinder.php?find=Crawling+Sensation&width=223&height=310\" class=\"jTip\" name=\"\"><\/span>Crawling Sensation<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In the untap step Key to the City triggers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the beginning of the upkeep, we can choose to put Crawling Sensation on the stack \u00a0first and then Key to the City, or vice versa, depending on our desire to draw or not the card on top of the library.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let\u2019s suppose we are in the same situation, plus our opponent enchanted us with a <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-content\/plugins\/lems-mtg-helper\/lems-mtg-helper-cardfinder.php?find=Curse+of+the+Bloody+Tome&width=223&height=310\" class=\"jTip\" name=\"\"><\/span>Curse of the Bloody Tome<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. First, Key to the City and Crawling Sensation go on the stack in the order we prefer, and then Curse of the Bloody Tome. Curse of the Bloody Tome will resolve first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Key\u2019s second ability goes on the stack whenever it becomes untapped. The decision to pay 2 and draw, or not to pay, is taken upon resolution, not during declaration. If our opponent wants to respond to the ability, they have to do it before the resolution and before knowing if we are going to pay 2 or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Credits<\/h4>\n<p><div class=\"wp-caption alignnone judgeimg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/judges\/dci\/1213586778\"><img src=https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/dci\/avatar?dci=1213586778&size=200 alt=\"Lino Guttuso\nTranslation reviewer\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Lino Guttuso<\/strong><br \/>\nTranslation reviewer<\/p><\/div> <div class=\"wp-caption alignnone judgeimg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/judges\/dci\/5081051539\"><img src=https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/dci\/avatar?dci=5081051539&size=200 alt=\"Fabio Pierucci\nTranslation\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Fabio Pierucci<\/strong><br \/>\nTranslation<\/p><\/div>\u00a0<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone judgeimg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/judges\/dci\/8089573001\"><img src=https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/dci\/avatar?dci=8089573001&size=200 alt=\"Brook Gardner-Durbin\nReviewer\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Brook Gardner-Durbin<\/strong><br \/>\nReviewer<\/p><\/div>\u00a0<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone judgeimg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/judges\/dci\/4208120376\"><img src=https:\/\/apps.magicjudges.org\/dci\/avatar?dci=4208120376&size=200 alt=\"Aruna Prem Bianzino\nEditor\"><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Aruna Prem Bianzino<\/strong><br \/>\nEditor<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A discard outlet together with a rummaging engine, making creatures unblockable. Francesco introduces us to the secrets of the Swiss Army knife of Kaladesh! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[25,32,53],"language":[38],"class_list":["post-623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-card-of-the-month","tag-cotm","tag-imj-magazine","tag-key-to-the-city","language-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":627,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/playerexperience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}