How does the crew mechanic work in MTG?
Introduction
The crew mechanic is a unique and innovative feature introduced in Magic: The Gathering’s (MTG) Ixalan set in 2017. In this article, we’ll delve into the intricacies of the crew mechanic and explore how it works. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, understanding the crew mechanic will enhance your game and make you a better player.
What is the Crew Mechanic?
The crew mechanic allows a player to sacrifice creatures, known as crew cards, to allow a land-based vehicle, known as a vehicular vehicle, to tap and add its power to the creatures’ total power. This mechanic encourages players to build a well-rounded and diverse deck to take full advantage of it. **
Basic Rules for Crewing
- To crew a vehicle, you must have a certain number of power on your creatures equal to or greater than the crew value of the vehicle, which is represented by a number written in small text (e.g., 10 means you need creatures with at least 10 power in total).
- You can always crew vehicles, even those with more than one player’s controller.
- Sacrificing creatures does not grant them special abilities** for the remaining turns.
Crewing Vehicles on the Opponent’s Turn
The crew mechanic isn’t exclusive to your main phase on your turn; you can also crew a vehicle in response to another player’s attack or activation. As long as your creatures with the required power are untapped and on the battlefield, you can satisfy the crew conditions.
Crew and Summoning Sickness
- Creatures with Summoning Sickness, which is gained when summoned, cannot crew vehicles
- Artifacts, enchantments, or planeswalkers cannot be used to meet the crew** power requirement, as they lack the attribute of power
Some Important Considerations
When you crew a vehicle
- The vehicle taps just like a creature token and counts as having the necessary power to attack that turn **
- Other abilities are not triggered until the player’s next main phase
Coping with Crew Cards
When you need to add power to an existing vehicular vehicle or create tokens, consider having a group of low-powerrated creatures to take advantage of the crew mechanism. To create a synergy between low-powerrated creatures, you can make use of cards that improve the toughness of creatures such as protection or lifegain for the creatures
Table: Creatures in the Crew’s Power List
| Creature | Crew | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Wolfman | 12 | Green and White |
| Viper | 20 | Black |
| Yeti | 9 | Multicolor |
| Raptor | 8 | Colorless |
| Dread | 21 | Black, Red, and Green |
You can also think about it like this:
- To crew a land-based vehicle, just like for a sacrificial creature, as long as the power to crew this vehicle is matched, tap the creature once and this vehicle becomes one with total power, all the untapped creatures then become attackers and defenders together. Crewing vehicles for the use of this vehicular land vehicle. As long as the power necessary to continue the vehicle into the first turn, but the result of the two creatures being the result.
Special Considerations – Copy, Clone, & Summoned Creatures
* To copy a card, either a creature **or not**, it cannot be attacked by a plane, either, it makes a player a player but not be a player when it moves, so these creatures make the same ability as others.
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