10 of the Craziest Magic: The Gathering Unfinity cards

Unleashing the Madness: 10 Mind-Blowing Magic: The Gathering Unfinity Cards

The ‘Unsets’ were born out of the game’s designers looking for a way to ensure certain designs – like dexterity-based – didn’t impact tournament play. Mark Rosewater took the project and ran with it. Formerly a comedy writer, he injected the sense of fun and parody the Unsets have become known for, with the cards given a silver border to indicate they were for casual play only. But they are more than just an amusing way to play the game; they have helped push Magic design forward, with tokens, full-art lands, split cards and dice-rolling all having roots in Unsets. Even squirrels were once considered too silly fun black-boarder and confined to an Un-existence.

Outside of taking us intergalactic, the MTG Unfinity card list introduces something new yet familiar to Unsets. Gone is the silver border, instead Unfinity cards are in black border so that some are legal in eternal formats. Many, however, remain true to their roots and are for ‘casual’ games only, identifiable by having an acorn shaped holo-stamp rather than the traditional oval one. Here are some of the most outrageous from the MTG Unfinity card list.

Form of the Approach of the Second Sun

Who wants to be a dragon when you can be a DECK?! Combining two incredible cards – Approach of the Second Sun and Form of the Dragon – Form of the Approach of the Second Sun turns YOU into your deck! You become a card, you insert yourself into your deck, and when you draw ‘you’, you win! The trick here is keeping a whole library on your head without dropping it… headwear might be a good approach; you may get a judge call, but a hat with a wide brim, like a New Capenna trilby, could see you secure victory in fine form.

Carnival Barker

Carnival Barker is a game ender, he’s just going to need a little help. His ability can only be used once, but once is all you need when you’re going to haste and trample up a monster and attack for lethal. To maximise the Barker; you need to ensure the room is full once you activate his ability; get friends to gather with the promise of drinks and snacks, get that party atmosphere going with rapturous applause (30 seconds is a lifetime to pull it off), and swing in for the ‘W’!

D00-DL, Caricaturist

A 1/1 for six mana aren’t great stats, but it comes with a 4/4 flying, first-striking, vigilant, menacing, trampling, death-touching, life-linking, hasting monster – so long as you can draw it in time! Unlike the Carnival Barker, the time you’re given is short – just 15 seconds, so if you spend 8 seconds drawing the various features the creature needs, that leaves you 7 to get the rest of it done. Practice is key here, if you know the D00-DL, Caricaturist is in your deck, have an idea of how you’re going to draw that critter, especially those menacing eyes. Alternatively, just focus on those needed to win – haste, trample, flying should probably do it, depending on the board state.

Plate Spinning

Plate Spinning is powerful, yet only as powerful as the spells you’re going to copy with it. Let’s be real, balancing one card is going to be tricky, two almost impossible while still playing the game, three, forget about it. With that in mind, ensure you sequence your cards correctly, lining up the big spell you really want to copy the turn after dropping this. There does seem to be a loophole: I’d need to check with a judge, but the wording suggests the cards could be balanced on top of each other on the same finger, which makes it a little easier, but don’t quote me on that.

Killer Cosplay

Killer Cosplay is a really fun one, rewarding those with a deep knowledge of the game. This equipment lets you turn a creature it equips into any creature in the game with an identical mana cost! Need a Birds of Paradise to fix your mana, or a Royal Assassin to take down an opposing threat? You can have it! Remember though, it’s exact mana cost – that includes coloured mana symbols too. If this is in your deck, it’s worth having a quick Scryfall search to see what other beasts mirror your creatures’ mana costs.

Photo Op

Most of the Unfinity card list require a bit of set-up, but perhaps none more than Photo Op. Finding a way to incorporate social media, Photo Op requires you to post a photo online posing like a card, have someone reply guessing the card, and then have that card on you in order to put it into your hand. It’s a lot of work, requiring you to both anticipate the cards you may need and have active followers. Best to stick to iconic cards here, with a few props on hand to help, spaghetti for an Emrakul? Giant triangular headpiece for an Elesh Norn? Let’s not even go there with Uktabi Orangutan…

Clown Car

As the only non-acorn holo-stamped card on this Unfinity list, Clown Car is legal in eternal formats, and you can see why. With more Magic-y flavour, you could imagine this card appearing in the dice-rolling set of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Clown Car enables you to go wide or tall with your creatures and vehicle, or maybe even both… but unfortunately, it’s luck that decides. Still, a powerful threat that scales as the game goes on, allowing you to attack with an army of robot clowns or a giant car!

Treacherous Trapezist

Unsets have always been full of puns, but this card truly is for the wordsmiths out there. The set is alive with alliteration, with seven cards in blue alone. In limited, drafting plenty of commons like Focused Funambulist and Bamboozling Beeble will help you scry to the cards you need and keep you swinging in with an army of fantastic flying fellows!

Autograph Book

Autograph Book is another card that requires a little preparation (bring a pen!) and a room full of people, the more the merrier. Get everyone you can to sign this artifact, which will not only give you a steady stream of cards in the game, but a fantastic memento outside of it. If you play at a Magic or Command Fest, even better! You can get some of the game’s celebrities to sign it, although it doesn’t net you any more cards sadly. Strategically, try and get your friends to write as small as they can so you can cram more signatures on there.

Urza’s Fun House

Urza’s Fun House pokes fun at one of Magic’s most enduring combos – the assembling of ‘Urza-Tron’ to drop ridiculous bombs from turn three, while also continuing the digital extension of cardboard we saw previously with Urza, Academy Headmaster. Considering this card has an acorn holo-stamp, I’m not sure in which format you can assemble it with the Tron lands exactly (maybe with the help of the aforementioned Photo Op?), but if you do, you literally have infinite mana to play with, and victory is just a Fireball away!