Karn's Touch is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Target noncreature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its mana value until end of turn. (It retains its abilities.)
Complete guide
Karn's Touch is a versatile blue instant that allows you to breathe life into inanimate machinery. By transforming a noncreature artifact into a creature until the end of the turn, it provides both offensive potential and defensive utility.
What It Does
When you cast Karn's Touch, you target a noncreature artifact currently on the battlefield. Upon resolution, that artifact becomes an artifact creature in addition to its other types. Its power and toughness are set to be equal to its mana value (formerly known as converted mana cost) until the end of the turn. Crucially, the artifact retains all of its original abilities while it is a creature.
How It Resolves Step by Step
First, you choose a legal noncreature artifact target and pay the two blue mana required. Once the spell resolves, the game checks the artifact's mana value and sets its power and toughness accordingly. If the artifact has a mana value of zero, it becomes a 0/0 creature and will be put into the graveyard immediately unless an effect increases its toughness. The transformation lasts until the cleanup step of the current turn.
Common Mistakes
The most frequent error involves 'summoning sickness.' Even though the permanent is an artifact you might have controlled for several turns, it cannot attack or use tap abilities the moment it becomes a creature unless you have controlled that specific permanent since the beginning of your most recent turn. Additionally, remember that if the artifact was already an artifact creature, it is not a legal target for this spell.
When to Play It
Karn's Touch is excellent for surprise blocks during your opponent's combat phase or for turning a high-cost utility artifact into a massive attacker. It can also be used aggressively to turn an opponent's noncreature artifact into a creature in response to a board wipe, ensuring their artifact is destroyed along with other creatures.
Interaction examples
An Offer You Can't RefuseIf you use An Offer You Can't Refuse to counter a spell, you receive two Treasure tokens. Later, you can cast Karn's Touch targeting one of these Treasures. Since a Treasure token has a mana value of 0, it becomes a 0/0 artifact creature and will die immediately unless you have an anthem effect or a way to boost its toughness.
CounterspellIf you attempt to use Karn's Touch to turn a powerful artifact into a creature to win the game, your opponent might cast Counterspell to stop it. If Counterspell resolves, Karn's Touch is removed from the stack and put into your graveyard, and your artifact remains a noncreature.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Karn's Touch
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
A noncreature permanent that turns into a creature can attack, and its
abilities can be activated, only if its controller has continuously controlled that permanent since the beginning of their most recent turn. It doesn’t matter how long the permanent has been a creature.No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Aetherflux Reservoir + Karn's Touch
- 1Cast Karn's Touch by paying
, causing Aetherflux Reservoir to become an artifact creature until end of turn. - 2Give Aetherflux Reservoir lifelink.
- 3Activate Aetherflux Reservoir by paying 50 life, dealing 50 damage to any target and causing you to gain 50 life.
- 4Repeat step 3.
Training Grounds + Basalt Monolith + Karn's Touch
- 1Cast Karn's Touch by paying , causing Basalt Monolith to become an artifact creature until end of turn.
- 2Activate Basalt Monolith's first ability by tapping it, adding
. - 3Activate Basalt Monolith's second ability by paying
, untapping it. - 4Repeat.
Heartstone + Basalt Monolith + Karn's Touch
- 1Cast Karn's Touch by paying , targeting Basalt Monolith.
- 2Activate Basalt Monolith's first ability by tapping it, adding .
- 3Activate Basalt's Monolith's last ability by paying
, untapping it. - 4Repeat.
Thran Dynamo + Umbral Mantle + Karn's Touch
- 1Cast Karn's Touch by paying , targeting Thran Dynamo.
- 2Activate Umbral Mantle's equip ability by paying
, attaching it to the Thran Dynamo. - 3Activate Thran Dynamo by tapping it, adding .
- 4Activate Umbral Mantle by paying
and untapping it, giving itself +2/+2 until end of turn. - 5Repeat.
Gilded Lotus + Umbral Mantle + Karn's Touch
- 1Cast Karn's Touch by paying , targeting Gilded Lotus.
- 2Activate Umbral Mantle's equip ability by paying , attaching it to the Gilded Lotus.
- 3Activate Gilded Lotus by tapping it, adding three mana of any one color.
- 4Activate Umbral Mantle by paying and untapping it, giving itself +2/+2 until end of turn.
- 5Repeat.
Chromatic Orrery + Umbral Mantle + Karn's Touch
- 1Activate Chromatic Orrery's first ability by tapping it, adding
. - 2Cast Karn's Touch by paying , causing Chromatic Orrery to become an artifact creature until end of turn.
- 3Activate Umbral Mantle's equip ability by paying , attaching it to Chromatic Orrery.
- 4Activate Chromatic Orrery by paying and untapping it, giving it +2/+2 until end of turn.
- 5Activate Chromatic Orrery's first ability by tapping it, adding .
- 6Repeat from step 4.
- 7Once you have infinite mana, you may instead use Chromatic Orrery's second ability if you control a colored permanent.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Karn's Touch
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.