Solitary Cell MTG: Reality Fracture’s New Rare Artifact Explained
Liliana Vess has dealt with demons, death, necromancy and more than a few world-ending problems over the years. In Magic: The Gathering Reality Fracture, Jace apparently decided the best way to deal with her was simply to lock her somewhere with absolutely nothing dead to work with. Impact-Site-Verification: d62edd5d-b35a-4902-9f76-2e07f04f9bf4
That prison is represented by Solitary Cell, a new two-mana Rare artifact from Reality Fracture. For red and white mana, it can exile an opponent’s nonland permanent with mana value 3 or less, then continue providing value by turning redundant legendary cards into fresh draws.
In other words, Solitary Cell looks like a very flavorful prison card, but it may also be a legitimately useful piece of removal.
What Does Reality Fracture's Solitary Cell Do?
When Solitary Cell enters the battlefield, it exiles a nonland permanent an opponent controls with mana value 3 or less until Solitary Cell leaves the battlefield.
The important word there is nonland. Unlike similar cards that are restricted to creatures, Solitary Cell can hit qualifying artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers and other permanents in addition to creatures. That gives Boros decks a fairly broad answer for just two mana, provided the target falls under that three-mana ceiling.
Solitary Cell also has a second ability that lets you pay {1}, tap it and discard a legendary card to draw a card. That is not card advantage by itself, but it does give the artifact something useful to do after it has already removed a threat.
Solitary Cell vs. Glass Casket and Portable Hole
The easiest way to understand Solitary Cell is to compare it with two cards Magic players already know: Glass Casket and Portable Hole.
Solitary Cell essentially combines the broader targeting of Portable Hole with the higher mana-value limit of Glass Casket. The tradeoff is that its mana cost is more restrictive, so this is not simply a better version of either card that can be dropped into any white deck.
If you are already playing red and white, though, that restriction matters much less. Paying two mana to remove a three-drop creature is fine, but being able to use the same card against an artifact, enchantment or cheap planeswalker makes Solitary Cell considerably more flexible.
Why the Legendary Card Ability Could Matter
The discard ability looks much better once you consider the kind of set Reality Fracture appears to be building around.
Reality Fracture features a large number of legendary characters and alternate-reality counterparts, including the set’s Echoed Pairs. In a deck with a high legendary count, drawing an extra copy of a legendary permanent you already control can leave you with a card that is difficult to use because of the legend rule.
Solitary Cell gives you an outlet for those awkward copies. Instead of holding a redundant legend indefinitely, you can discard it and draw something else. That does not make the ability the main reason to play Solitary Cell, but it is meaningful upside on a removal spell that may otherwise sit on the battlefield doing nothing after its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves.
Why Is Liliana in Solitary Cell?
The story connection is where the card gets particularly good.
Solitary Cell appeared alongside Reality Fracture Episode 2: Purge Yourself of Doubt, where Liliana is being held inside a prison designed specifically to neutralize her necromancy. The cell deprives her of the dead bodies and creatures she normally uses as resources, leaving one of Magic’s most famous necromancers stuck with almost nothing she can actually manipulate.
The card’s flavor text sums up the punishment perfectly:
“Denied all tools of necromancy, Liliana endured her least favorite feeling: boredom.”
For someone who has spent a large portion of her life commanding the dead, sitting alone with nothing to resurrect may actually qualify as torture.
The mechanical design fits the story nicely too. Solitary Cell removes a permanent from the battlefield until the prison itself disappears, while the story version temporarily removes Liliana from the action by placing her somewhere specifically engineered to keep her contained.
Is Solitary Cell Good?
It is still too early to say how much competitive play Solitary Cell will see, especially before Reality Fracture reaches prerelease and players begin testing the full set.
What it does have is a promising baseline. Two mana for temporary removal that can hit almost any type of cheap nonland permanent is useful, and the legendary-card cycling ability gives Solitary Cell some additional value in the kinds of decks Reality Fracture appears to encourage.
I would not call it a format staple before anyone has actually played with the card. I would, however, keep an eye on it. Flexible removal usually finds someone willing to give it a shot, and Solitary Cell has enough extra utility that it deserves more attention than its prison-cell artwork might initially suggest.
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