Nifty. Good in limited if you can pay the double-blue. I doubt it has a place in constructed, though.
TheTraitorKing
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(9 votes)
Hooray for Convertible Turtle!
JWolps
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
What's with the low rating? This card is seriously cool.
Gaussgoat
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(5 votes)
Incredibly annoying as a blocer, particularly with the shroud.... it is amazing how many early creatures get stumped by this guy, and the 4/1 threat means people can't just tap themselves out and bum-rush you.
3.5/5
HairlessThoctar
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
I LOVE BEING A TURTLE
A3Kitsune
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Too bad the M10 rules changes removed the gap between 'assign combat damage' and 'receve combat damage', otherwise you could send him in to combat as a 4/1, have him deal 4 damage, and sac a search-land during the gap to switch him, making him toughness 4 in time to receve damage.
Nickkom
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(7 votes)
This guy is seriously awesome. He holds down the fort so well, bouncing spells and and blades off his shell, and when nothing's on the board, he just lashes out and bites for four every turn, and they can't do anything about it!
I love the flavor, I love the picture, and I love the anguish this causes opponents. In the pre-release, I kept attacking with double snappers for the win.
Frustrated, my opponent cried, "I CAN'T LOSE TO TURTLES!"
5/5
Lateralis0ne
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Laguz: just put a land into play on the opponent's turn. I'm fairly sure that fetch lands and Expanse can be used as instants.
TomAlso
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Why only three point something, this guy is amazing!! He will be played by Esper/Grixis control. Makes a very efficient wall that basically blocks anything without flying in standard and cannot be removed. Oh, and when the field is clear.... bash for four damage! Picture is BADASS too :) the turtle is like: wtf are you looking at???? wanna be pawned??
MrPink343
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
HE HAS SHROUD! Come on, any card with a toughness of 4 and shroud is worth at least 4 stars!
True_Smog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Giant Solifuge any one ?
Selez
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The shroud is what makes this card ridiculous. Wizards put it on the card to reduce confusion with power/toughness boosting effects, but it's turned the thing into mono-blue's best standard defense. Turn one, Halimar Depths. Turn Two, Treasure Hunt for two (so you don't have to discard anythin'). Turn Three, play this or, in U/W, Wall of Denial, and sit back and let your creatures soak up the damage. Just be sure to run a few spot removal spells for your opponent's stuff and you good.
Tommy9898
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(9 votes)
I really don't see much of a difference between this and turtleshell changeling and really so excited over shroud? Big whoop, I'm not impressed.
Coactus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Flavor text:
"Calcite Snapper is NOT amused..."
SRSLY this card is excellent. No power creep at all, and totally playable in the current Meta. Just what blue needed.
Guntz1092
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
definitely a staple blue card, even without landfall
an early untargetable blocker whos 2nd to only Wall of Denail, but without the white color restriction
imo, its landfall ability is a just a nifty added bonus
Norro
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Why is it that you people can't think this can be converted to instant speed? There are a crapload of cards that do that now, such as walking atlas, Kahlni heart, and if im not mistaken harrow does the trick too... oh well, u have to play green as well, but in that case just run some fatties aswell because of all the l;and search, such as woodcrasher baloth or territorial baloth with this guy and one could really put some hurting...
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Makes me want to make a turtle deck all over again. A 3-drop that attacks for four is valuable in any blue deck that wants to win via damage output btw
mdakw576
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I thought it was fairly mediocre until I went up against it. It's really, really annoying. It may as well be a 4/4, since you can just switch his pow/tough when it's clear to attack (or trade with a creature), or you can have him sit back and protect you. With shroud you can't remove him easily either.
4/5
nammertime
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ruin Ghost if you want to use this guy at instant speed.
cloneffect
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Arguably one of the top two blue creatures around at the moment, along with sphinx of jwar and perhaps sphinx of lost truths. I didn't grok this guy to start with, but after testing it turns out he's excellent. Really, excellent. No idea why he's rated so low, this deserves 5/5, or at least 4.5/5. Potentially wall of denial works better for blue-white control, as you're going to be less queasy about blowing it up with day of judgment, but for mostly anything else running blue, and mono-blue in particular, the snapper is a staple. He laughs at burn, blocks mostly anything mid-to-early game (and is particularly good at dealing with quick vamps), and then can trundle in for either 4 whacks out of their life total, or to take a chunk out of their planeswalker.
And yes, the artwork is awesome. Nobody wants to mess with calcite snapper...
Laguz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
White/Blue control is better than mono-blue control, and wall of omens is better than this. That doesn't mean this isn't a good card though. 3.5/5
jhunter46
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Team this up with Fetch Lands or Tectonic Edge and a Sun Titan. Declare your attack and pull back a land, switch his power and toughness and swing. Less Card Advantage than Sea Gate Oracle but still nice.
TongueSlicer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Can you attach an equipment card to this, like Adventuring Gear?
Keiya
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@TongueSlicer: No, you can't. Equipping a card to a creature is an activated ability of the Equipment, hence making Calcite Snapper an illegal target due to its Shroud.
Troutz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Annoying, in a good way though I guess. If you want to make a budget, casual control deck, here's a good place to start.
Nighthawk42
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Would be great if shroud hadn't been so weakened in constructed by all the "target player" creature destruction. As is, sideboard at best.
Seems to combo well with Pyroclasm and Slagstorm to clear the board but leave the turtles alive.
iSlapTrees
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Some one hate rated this down below 4.0 :O
that is a no-no! >:s
TheSwarm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hard to see at first, but when you really consider the applications of the card it really comes to down to the basic fundamentals of magic. First off, mana advantage. its toughness is higher than its mana cost, you are getting a good deal. secondly, shroud. Shroud is a ridiculous ability, especially in standard, a format where the control decks are taking over. Basically, this guy is not going anywhere. Third, his second ability allows you to do significant damage with him. He is very versatile, acting as both a defensive creature and as an offensive creature and a guy who is not going to leave the battlefield for a while
Antares2
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i think turtles deserve some more awesome cards like this. right now, you can't play a turtle tribal deck! this is an outrage! they should print a Turtle planeswalker in M12!
Henrietta
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
TheSwarm: "Mana advantage"? Really? This card is a great casual card but your reasoning for it isn't great. You can get a Kraken Hatchling with 1 less power and a mana cost of one. Having toughness higher than your mana cost is not special at all. This card is a good casual card because it has shroud, is a 1/4 blocker, and a 4/1 attacker, not because of this imaginary "mana advantage" of having 4 toughness for 3 mana.
stille_nacht
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
this card does have a good place in constructed. in my UB control, i regularly side it vs. UW control, and even RDW.
vs. UW control, it is quite simply an amazing card. (all apply to ub control also except luminarch) -stops luminarch from charging -uncounterable, un-removable -4 damage/turn -kills their jace.
vs. RDW (these points are hugely important given the difficulty control has with kuldotha red, etc.) -solid early blocker -immune to removal
Stray_Dog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Only just realised what the P/T switching mechanic represents *facepalm*
Superllama12
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@Tommy9898: Well, Turtleshell Changeling costs 1 more, meaning that it can attack for 4 power on turn 5 if you pay . Also, because this costs no mana, it allows you to use that mana later. The 3 cmc allows it to attack turn 4 for 4, which is very rare in blue, especially on a common. The landfall is especially good in this block, because of all the fetchlands and such. Lastly, the shroud means that your opponent can't use removal on it, and 4 toughness, especially in the early game, can reliably block a lot of stuff.
djflo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Played 4 of these in a counter-burn deck amongst friends today. This is is a fantastic casual card, especially paired with cards like Snakeform and Diminish. TURTLED!
However, what this is best at, and what makes it really good, is creating laughs around the table.
JFM2796
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Very clever design. Your turn when you need to attack (assuming you played a land) its a 4/1 and when you need to block during your opponent's turn its a 1/4.
The one toughness means your never going to flip it. Useless card
RAV0004
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I found something super nifty about shroud, and since I like turtles, Imma share it here with you guys instead of on something better, like Neurok Commando. Please don't pass it around, thanks.
Soulbond bypasses Shroud! Turn your Calcite Snapper into a 6/3 with Druid's Familiar, or let that four damage net you a card with dear old Tandem Lookout. Opponent's board position got your down? give Calcite flying with Wingcrafter! Or first strike or haste (lol why) or lifelink!
BongRipper420
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Out of all of the land fall abilities, this is definitely among the most mild. Not to say this is a bad card though, it's quite decent. The shroud really helps this card out.
2.5/5, it's a little limited in it's applications, but it works.
immelmann
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Why do people just assume shroud = "immune to all magic"?
@ stille_nacht
Shroud doesnt mean it can't be countered....unless the card specifically says it cannot be countered (like Thrun, the Last Troll), or you already have an permanent on the board saying spells you cast can't be countered, they can still counter your spell while its resolving.
@ DacenOctavio
Your commando will die. Pyroclasm and Slagstorm WILL hit creatures with shroud, as they do not target specific creatures. Shroud only prevents targeting.
Lueseto
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I play this in a controlish Aether Vial deck and it's incredibly fun. Vial it in to block those ugly attackers, next turn play land and swing for 4 and they are like ò_Ó what's that turtle bro
Shroud works double time on this card, making it a strong blocker while also protecting the Converturtle from Cunning Sparkmage when it goes on the offensive. 4/5 great card in limited and probably one of the strongest turtles ever printed.
Comments (45)
3.5/5
I love the flavor, I love the picture, and I love the anguish this causes opponents. In the pre-release, I kept attacking with double snappers for the win.
Frustrated, my opponent cried, "I CAN'T LOSE TO TURTLES!"
5/5
"Calcite Snapper is NOT amused..."
SRSLY this card is excellent. No power creep at all, and totally playable in the current Meta. Just what blue needed.
an early untargetable blocker whos 2nd to only Wall of Denail, but without the white color restriction
imo, its landfall ability is a just a nifty added bonus
A 3-drop that attacks for four is valuable in any blue deck that wants to win via damage output btw
4/5
And yes, the artwork is awesome. Nobody wants to mess with calcite snapper...
Seems to combo well with Pyroclasm and Slagstorm to clear the board but leave the turtles alive.
that is a no-no! >:s
vs. UW control, it is quite simply an amazing card. (all apply to ub control also except luminarch)
-stops luminarch from charging
-uncounterable, un-removable
-4 damage/turn
-kills their jace.
vs. RDW (these points are hugely important given the difficulty control has with kuldotha red, etc.)
-solid early blocker
-immune to removal
TURTLED!
However, what this is best at, and what makes it really good, is creating laughs around the table.
Soulbond bypasses Shroud! Turn your Calcite Snapper into a 6/3 with Druid's Familiar, or let that four damage net you a card with dear old Tandem Lookout. Opponent's board position got your down? give Calcite flying with Wingcrafter! Or first strike or haste (lol why) or lifelink!
2.5/5, it's a little limited in it's applications, but it works.
@ stille_nacht
Shroud doesnt mean it can't be countered....unless the card specifically says it cannot be countered (like Thrun, the Last Troll), or you already have an permanent on the board saying spells you cast can't be countered, they can still counter your spell while its resolving.
@ DacenOctavio
Your commando will die. Pyroclasm and Slagstorm WILL hit creatures with shroud, as they do not target specific creatures. Shroud only prevents targeting.
TURTLES RULE
4/5 great card in limited and probably one of the strongest turtles ever printed.