Prototype Portal MTG Card


Prototype Portal excels in duplicating essential artifacts, granting formidable card advantage. Activating the portal’s repeatability can rapidly ramp up your board presence, outmatching opponents. While versatile, Prototype Portal requires careful mana investment and card management.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeArtifact
Abilities Imprint

Text of card

Imprint — When Prototype Portal enters the battlefield, you may exile an artifact card from your hand. , : Put a token that's a copy of the exiled card onto the battlefield. X is the converted mana cost of that card.


Cards like Prototype Portal

Prototype Portal stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a versatile artifact that epitomizes innovation on the battlefield. A peer to such artifacts could be Mirrorworks, which shares the ability to duplicate artifacts. However, the Portal’s imprint mechanic allows for repeated duplication of a chosen artifact card, offering a strategic advantage over Mirrorworks’ one-time copy per artifact entering the battlefield.

Looking closely at Mimic Vat, another artifact with imprint, we see distinct differences and similarities. While Mimic Vat exiles creature cards and creates tokens that can attack or block, Prototype Portal focuses on noncreature artifacts, potentially generating defensive and offensive tools every turn. The comparison illuminates their tactical deployment: Mimic Vat for creature-based strategies and Prototype Portal for continuous artifact value extraction.

To sum up, while among artifacts with replication abilities Prototype Portal may not be unique, it certainly establishes a strong presence. Championing long-term strategic setups, it allows MTG players to leverage their artifact arsenal turn after turn, thus holding a solid position in decks bent on utility and ingenuity.

Mirrorworks - MTG Card versions
Mimic Vat - MTG Card versions
Mirrorworks - MTG Card versions
Mimic Vat - MTG Card versions

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Juggernaut - MTG Card versions
Jade Monolith - MTG Card versions
Jade Statue - MTG Card versions
Dancing Scimitar - MTG Card versions
Grinning Totem - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Processor - MTG Card versions
Patagia Golem - MTG Card versions
Lodestone Myr - MTG Card versions
Lich's Tomb - MTG Card versions
Krark-Clan Ironworks - MTG Card versions
Jade Idol - MTG Card versions
Ur-Golem's Eye - MTG Card versions
Jester's Cap - MTG Card versions
Bottled Cloister - MTG Card versions
Rod of Ruin - MTG Card versions
Gnarled Effigy - MTG Card versions
Scrapbasket - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Prototype Portal excels in creating card advantage by allowing you to duplicate any artifact in your deck. This repeatability ensures that you can potentially flood the board with essential artifacts, outpacing your opponent’s resources.

Resource Acceleration: By imprinting a low-cost artifact onto Prototype Portal, you enable a consistent and efficient stream of artifact tokens. This allows for rapid acceleration and the ability to ramp up your board presence much faster than your opponents can manage.

Instant Speed: While Prototype Portal itself may not operate at instant speed, the artifacts it creates can be. Coupling the portal with artifacts that have instant speed effects or that can be activated during either player’s turn can inject unexpected twists into the game, adding a layer of strategy and complexity that your opponents will have to contend with.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Prototype Portal doesn’t directly ask you to discard cards, creating a copy of an artifact requires you to exile another card from your hand, essentially losing it for the duration of the game. This can deplete your hand and hinder your ability to respond to opponent moves.

Specific Mana Cost: Implementing Prototype Portal necessitates a rigid mana investment. It requires four mana, which includes one blue, possibly restricting the variety of decks this card can be optimally used in, particularly in formats where mana flexibility is paramount.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The initial investment to cast Prototype Portal is notably sizeable—four mana—as are the costs to activate its ability, potentially reducing the speed of your gameplay. In a game where tempo can be vital, this might offer an advantage to more aggressive opponents who utilize lower-cost artifacts and strategies.


Reasons to Include Prototype Portal in Your Collection

Versatility: Prototype Portal offers a unique flexibility that can complement a wide array of decks. By imprinting any artifact card from your hand onto it, you can adapt to various in-game situations by creating copies of the most needed artifacts turn after turn.

Combo Potential: The ability to create artifact copies opens up numerous combo routes, potentially interacting with cards that trigger upon artifacts entering the battlefield or utilizing the copying mechanism to generate infinite loops with the right board setup.

Meta-Relevance: With the dynamic nature of MTG’s meta, the Prototype Portal can become an essential tool, particularly in environments where artifacts play a key role or when combined with strategies that manipulate or exploit repeated artifact casting and entering-the-battlefield effects.


How to beat Prototype Portal

Prototype Portal can be an engine of value, creating copies of artifacts turn after turn in Magic: The Gathering. It’s a card that demands a response, or it can quickly become overwhelming. When facing this artifact, efficient removal spells are key. Look for cards like Abrade or Nature’s Claim, which can destroy artifacts at low cost and with instant speed, allowing you to respond before a copy can be made. Another strategy is to target the player’s hand with discard effects like Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek, removing the Prototype Portal before it can be cast.

Artifact hate cards such as Stony Silence or Kataki, War’s Wage can also completely shut down the Portal’s ability. If you’re in blue, countermagic like Counterflux or Negate can prevent the Portal from ever hitting the board. The key to beating Prototype Portal lies in early disruption and maintaining control over the artifacts that could fuel it.

It’s important to act swiftly when dealing with Prototype Portal; if left unchecked, the player can leverage it to generate immense value and establish a position that’s incredibly hard to overcome in the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Embracing MTG’s depth can significantly impact your experience and journey as a player. With the insights into Prototype Portal’s strengths, such as card advantage and combo potential, and its weaknesses like mana cost and vulnerability to artifact hate, you’re well-equipped to refine your deck-building decisions. Leveraging these strategies can create a formidable gameplay environment. Dive deeper into the versatility of MTG, enhance your collection with strong artifact-based strategies, and stay ahead of the meta. Elevate your game by continuing to explore, adapt, and innovate with your decks. To discover more strategies and tips for mastering MTG gameplay, we invite you to join the BurnMana community.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Prototype Portal MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and Commander 2018, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Prototype Portal and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Prototype Portal Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Drew Baker.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-10-01Scars of MirrodinSOM 1952003NormalBlackDrew Baker
22018-08-09Commander 2018C18 2162015NormalBlackDrew Baker
32020-09-26The ListPLST SOM-1952003NormalBlackDrew Baker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Prototype Portal has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Prototype Portal card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2011-01-01 Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the exiled card will trigger when the token is put onto the battlefield. Any “as
-his permanent] enters the battlefield” or “
-his permanent] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the exiled card will also work.
2011-01-01 If Prototype Portal has left the battlefield by the time its second ability resolves, you’ll still put a token onto the battlefield that’s a copy of the exiled card. On the other hand, if Prototype Portal is still on the battlefield at this time but there is no exiled card (because, perhaps, Riftsweeper’s ability caused the exiled card to be put into its owner’s library), no token is created.
2011-01-01 If the exiled card has in its mana cost (such as Chalice of the Void), that X is considered to be 0. The in Prototype Portal’s activation cost takes this into account, though it may be greater than 0 if the exiled card has other mana symbols in its mana cost (such as Riptide Replicator).
2011-01-01 You don’t choose the value of . Rather, the value of X is defined by the activated ability.
2011-01-01 You may not activate the second ability if no card has been exiled with Prototype Portal. In that case, the value of is undefined and can’t be paid.