Summary
One of the oldest rules inMagic: The Gatheringis that a deck can only include four of any given card, except for basic lands. This restriction helps you build interesting decks that aren’t all 47 Lightning Bolts and a few mountains.
Over the course of Magic’s more than thirty years, however, there have been a few cards that break this rule. These cards are worded specifically to bend the rules of Magic, letting you play as many of them in your deck, with a bonus or two for having more of them in play or having played them during a game. If you’re looking to build something a little different for your next casual or even Commander deck, check out these unique cards.
6Rat Colony
Never Too Many Rats
The first of these rule-breaking cards comes with Rat Colony, a little guy from Dominaria who loves having as many Rats in play as you can. Rat Colony gets +1/+0 for each other Rat you control, not just other cards with the same name.
With a ton of other Rats in play, Rat Colony can quickly ramp up in power, though missing out on the boost to toughness leaves a little to be desired with these Rats. The neat thing about Rat Colony though, is that it doesn’t force you to only use other cards with the same name, you can fit twenty of them into a Rat-themed Commander deck and not have to worry about not having enough other copies of it.
5Slime Against Humanity
Gettin’ Too Old For This Ooze
Three mana for a 2/2 isn’t a great trade-off, but as you cast more and more of this card, you’ll see better and better returns. Slime Against Humanity creates a 0/0 Ooze creature token with trample when you cast it, putting 2+X +1/+1 counters on it, with X being the number of cards in your graveyard or exile with the Ooze creature type or with the same name as Slime Against Humanity.
This extra layer of protection helps protect you if you have your graveyard exiled or have cards exiled over the course of the game, ensuring your next Slime Against Humanity doesn’t go back to being a 2/2. This strategy takes a little bit of time to set up and get going, however, so it can be a little slow tobuild up to your larger Ooze tokens.
4Dragon’s Approach
Here, There Be Cards
A burn spell that lets you play any number of cards is pretty good, and one with an upside like Dragon’s Approach is fantastic. Dragon’s Approach deals three damage to each opponent when you cast it, which can deal a fair amount of damage each time you cast it. Theoretically, all you have to do is cast fourteen of them to reduce your opponent’s life totals to below zero, which isn’t great but can get you there in a pinch.
To help you along, you may make use of the Approach part of the card. When you cast a copy of Dragon’s Approach, you can exile four other cards with the same name. Doing so lets you search your library for a Dragon creature card and put it directly onto the battlefield, which is a ridiculously powerful ability given all the wild Dragon cards Magic has printed over the years.
3Relentless Rats
The OG Returns
The first card of its type to be released in Magic, Relentless Rats is the card that started it all. This uncommon came with a special ruling that had never been printed in Magic before, letting your deck include any number of cards named Relentless Rats in it.
Your Relentless Rats gets stronger the more copies of it you have in play, so if you have six Relentless Rats, each one of them is getting +5/+5, making them a three mana 7/7. Keep pumping out Rats, and you’ll have a massive army of these in no time.
2Persistent Petitioners
Just Need You To Sign Here, And Here, And Here…
One of the more interesting of the cards that let you run any number of copies of it in a deck, Persistent Petitioners is a mill-based version, with the hope that you can generate enough copies of them to mill your opponents out before anything else happens.
The card has a few things going for it, the primary thing being that it costs only two mana. You can cast them more efficiently than other spells of its type, and get to the ability that comes with it faster. You can tap four untapped Advisor creatures you control to make one of your opponents mill twelve cards. Get enough Persistent Petitioners in play, or make a ton of copies of them, and you’ll quickly be milling your opponents out of the game.
1Shadowborn Apostle
Make The Pact
The most interesting card that lets you break the rules like this is Shadowborn Apostle, a one mana 1/1 that doesn’t necessarily get better the more you have out, but lets you summon some dark dealers to make up the difference.
you’re able to pay one black mana and sacrifice six creatures that all share the name Shadowborn Apostle tosearch your deck for a Demon creature card, put it directly into play, and shuffle your library. Vilis, Broker of Blood is the go-to target for this ability, giving you card advantage, removal, and a huge body to beat down with. If you need something specific, Rune-Scarred Demon lets you tutor up any card you want when it comes into play, making it a fantastic target for Shadowborn Apostle.
