Key to the City

Artifact

{T}, Discard a card: Up to one target creature can't be blocked this turn.

Whenever Key to the city becomes untapped, you may pay {2}. If you do, draw a card.

Combos

• Alesha, Who Smiles at Death + Key to the City

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (48)

seshiro_of_the_orochi on Building around Hazoret's Favor

1 month ago

Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder might be a fitting commander both colour-wise and ability-wise. Another possibilityis Greven, Predator Captain.

You should definitely consider Key to the City. It just does a lot.

Rhadamanthus on Interaction between Agrus Kos, Eternal …

1 month ago

For future reference, it's okay to put multiple questions about the same card into the original post. But it looks like you had these follow-up thoughts far enough from each other that you might not have been able to edit the OP, so don't worry about it for this one.

You draw a card for each copy of Basilica Skullbomb's ability. Copying an ability copies the entire effect (everything after the ":").

Whichever copy of The Ozolith's ability resolves first will move counters and the others (including the original ability, since it will always resolve last) will do nothing. This is primarily because the triggered ability has an "intervening 'if' clause" that requires The Ozolith to actually have counters on it ("... if The Ozolith has counters on it..."). Even if that wasn't the case, the definition of "moving" a counter requires that there be something to move from the original location, and once the first copy resolves The Ozolith won't have any counters left to move.

All of the creatures will be unblockable from Key to the City. The "up to one target" is just there in case you want to use it to discard a card for some other reason without targeting anything. The fact is that it did target only Agrus in your example and can therefore be copied with Agrus' ability.

The copy effects for Mirage Mirror will overwrite each other as they resolve. This is just how the interaction of multiple copy effects works. You can make responses in-between to activate abilities it temporarily gains in the process (e.g. firebreathing, regeneration shields, activated flying etc.) which through the layer system will be applied on top of whatever base characteristics it ultimately ends up with from the last copy effect. Since the original ability will be the last one to resolve, that means the final base characteristics of the Mirror will be Agrus and you will have to deal with the Legend Rule.

The Delina, Wild Mage example works the way you think it does but you still have to pay the mana required by Agrus' ability each time, so it will be difficult to go "infinite".

CamraMaan on Interaction between Agrus Kos, Eternal …

1 month ago

Similarly, how will Key to the City interact with Agrus? Will the "up to one" portion have any effect on the rest of my creatures being unblockable? My assumption is it will not, but I can see some friends making it into a debate.

Crow-Umbra on What's your dream play?

3 months ago

I don't have a current dream play, besides sharing the same one as CoarselyRefined.

If anything, I think I played out a personal dream play already. Here's the basic beat:

• I was playing my Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck a couple years back.

• I pitched a Master of Cruelties in my yard on someone's end step before my turn, using a Thrill of Possibility.

• At start of my turn I immediately move to combat, using Alesha's ability to recur the Master of Cruelties.

• In response to MoC entering the battlefield, I use Key to the City to pitch a basic land, and make MoC unblocked. It hits an opponent taking them down to 1 life.

• I move to second main phase and cast a Goblin Bombardment, which I immediately use to sac the MoC, and throw the 1 damage at the player it just hit in combat.

The last two players proceeded to rightfully focus me and knock me out on their subsequent turns. It was worth it lol.

metalflame on Halvar, Divine Voltron

4 months ago

IMO must includes for draw, control, and a bit of ramp Grappling Hook, Angel of Condemnation, Endless Atlas, Darksteel Mutation, Empowered Autogenerator, Steel Hellkite.

Here are a list of unblockable artifacts that smooth out any voltron play Hot Soup, Prowler's Helm, Whispersilk Cloak, Suspicious Bookcase, Rogue's Passage, Trailblazer's Boots, Manifold Key, Key to the City.

Crow-Umbra on Alesha, who keeps playing cards

4 months ago

Sorry to spam another response, I just read your updated deck description, and I think your gut feeling on removing the +1/+1 counter sub-theme is correct. If you want your creatures to connect, you could use stuff like Spirit Mantle or equipment with Deathtouch or "unblockable", like Basilisk Collar or Whispersilk Cloak to help sneak damage through. Key to the City is a piece of tech used by many Alesha lists as a means to push damage through and also get cards into the yard.

Mark of Asylum could also potentially be a swap for The Wanderer. A bit more resilient to removal.

Another fun subtheme I played around with is to recur creatures that punch very heavily if they connect, like Virtus the Veiled, Raving Dead, and the infamous Master of Cruelties. At one point, I had a Menace subtheme with stuff like Goblin War Drums, Sonorous Howlbonder, and Labyrinth Raptor.

Alesha has a lot of tech available to her, to the point of being a bit overwhelming. I think by the time I retired my Alesha deck, I had tried out like 3-4 build variations. Towards the end, I realized the deck worked better (for me), when Alesha wasn't the primary aggro and reanimation option.

UnleashedHavok on Are You Sure You Want to Do That? V2

8 months ago

Thanks for taking a look Optimator! I appreciate the compliment on my deck. It's pretty heavily inspired by precociousapprentice's list and primer.

I totally get not being able to keep up with WotC's release schedule, that was one of the big reasons why I stepped away from Magic for a bit. That, and the birth of my son a little over 2 years ago lol. Don't know if you know, but the adorable little buggers are time consuming, in the best way.

Now for your suggestions. I really like all of the cards, but not sure whether or not they fit in to the mentality behind this deck and I'll tell you why.

I really like Cut / Ribbons and had not seen it before, but if you look at my card choices, almost everything is at instant speed. I'm already thinking I'm going to cut (hehe) Dusk / Dawn. The reason for this is that I want all of my responses to being attacked to be decisive, and fatal for the aggressor. I do not want to actively agitate the table until I am ready to take control of the game, or win outright. Blowing up people's stuff agitates them, and makes them want retribution. It might be a great card to discard to Key to the City to encourage attacks toward other people at the table, or for a surprise assassination.... hmmmmm. My next question on that would be, what would your suggested cut be to ad in Cut / Ribbons and why, now knowing a bit of the rationale behind the deck.

I have been going back and forth on Exsanguinate, and also Debt to the Deathless. I really like both cards for flavor and use. But I will say that two of the big, swing-y win cons in this deck are Acidic Soil, and Price of Progress. And that is what gives me pause. I will generally get 5-6 lands and then start pitching land cards to Key to the City, assuming I have mana rocks out to supplement the rest of my pool. Pitching lands to Key to the City to allow attacks of my opponents. Encouraging strife, and making it seem as though I am growing weaker. The curve of this deck is low since so many of the answers are 2-3 mana. I've been debating whether or not Exsanguinate would just be a dead draw.

Finally Approach of the Second Sun. This card has absolutely fascinated me since it came out. I love the flavor of the card, the artwork I think is great. Really lovely. It also puts a time-clock on the table, an intense sense of urgency. And I've always thought it would paint a great big target on it's player's forehead. I haven't experienced playing it myself, and haven't been at a table where it has been played so don't know the response to it. To steal from precociousapprentice yet again, the removal in this deck is meant to be surgical, to allow the rest of the table to cultivate their own board states freely as long as I am able to handle them, to appear weak until it is time to take the reins. I'm not sure whether or not Approach of the Second Sun fits in to that.

Again, I am open to discussion. That's what I want from this. I do like the card suggestions, I think they are all solid cards. But I'm not convinced they fit with the mentality of the deck.

seshiro_of_the_orochi on Mighty Manotaur

9 months ago

Might I suggest Obsidian Battle-Axe? It equips to Tahngarth for free,gives haste and puts him directly at 7 power.

In my own Minotaur-Voltron (Momo: Twice the horns, twice the fun), I really like Key to the City. Also, Helm of the Host seems like it could do some ridiculous things in here. Another idea as you're already running Arachnogenesis: Obscuring Haze is surprisingly cheap.