Completing the Best Cards and Solving Their Strategies

In Magic: The Gathering, when your opponent plays a spell, you usually get a chance to respond. But what if their spell is so quick that you can’t react? In an instant, your creatures could be wiped out, your artifacts could be destroyed, and your opponent might seal their victory.

Spells with split second serve a unique role, making them challenging to interact with. However, they don’t automatically resolve the stack like some might think. Let’s explore what actions you can and can’t take with these spells.

What Is Split Second?

Split second is a keyword ability that debuted in 2006’s Time Spiral and occasionally appears in Commander and Modern expansions. It prevents any player from casting spells or activating abilities while that spell is on the stack.

This makes interacting with split second spells tricky. For example, you cannot cast a Counterspell or activate cards like Untimely Malfunction while those spells are on the stack, nor can you sacrifice a creature in response to Goblin Bombardment. To interact effectively, you’ll have to wait until the spell resolves.

While split second spells stop players from casting new spells or activating abilities, they don’t hinder mana abilities, triggered abilities, or special actions like morph. This provides you with some flexibility when playing against split second cards.

How To Use Split Second

Spells with split second function much like other spells, but they limit your opponent’s options for interaction significantly. They can’t be countered or affected by standard instants or activated abilities, meaning the only way your opponent can respond is with something that’s already on the battlefield.

Most split second spells are variations of otherwise similar spells, but they typically come with a higher mana cost. A straightforward example is Shock and Sudden Shock, both red instants dealing two damage to a target, yet Sudden Shock costs one extra generic mana and has the split second ability.

This allows you to incorporate split second cards into almost any deck as a backup for essential spells, or as alternatives that your opponents can’t counter. This can be crucial in meta games filled with control decks.

Nonetheless, since there are only a handful of split second spells, and they lack dedicated synergies, they’re often seen as niche tools in gameplay.

Top Cards Featuring Split Second

Spells with split second usually require a bit more mana than their more interactive counterparts. Therefore, the best ones are either uniquely effective spells or ones that need to go through without interference.

Shadow The Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog is the only card that grants split second to other spells, which can disrupt your opponents’ plans entirely. This card not only makes those spells nearly immune to being countered, but it also allows red and black to leverage many removal effects without worrying about counterplay from other colors.

If you utilize mana rocks or Treasures for your mana, Shadow can significantly lighten your cognitive load while playing Magic, as you won’t need to stress about possible responses from your opponents.

Krosan Grip

Krosan Grip is a variant of Naturalize that’s particularly handy when you need to remove an artifact or enchantment. It shines in shutting down combo setups that rely on crucial artifacts since your opponent often can’t activate their combos in response.

At just one mana more than Naturalize, and with green being the best color for mana acceleration, Krosan Grip can easily replace Naturalize in many mono-green decks, making a difference when split second could turn the tide of the game.

Inventory Management

Inventory Management stands out because it’s essential for Boros (red/white) Voltron decks. If an opponent tries to destroy a creature laden with your Auras and Equipment, you can spend just two mana to move everything to another creature or distribute them across multiple ones.

This can also be a clever combat trick, allowing you to rearrange Auras and Equipment on your creatures so that you can add them to unblocked ones or even save a key creature by shifting your Lightning Greaves away from it when a removal spell targets it.