Absolute Law MTG Card
1998-10-12 - Number 2
2000-08-02 - Number nl2sba
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Enchantment |
Text of card
All creatures gain protection from red.
The strength of law is unwavering. It is an iron bar in a world of water.
Cards like Absolute Law
In the realm of enchantments that shape gameplay, Absolute Law sets an interesting precedent in Magic: The Gathering. This card shares conceptual ground with Absolute Grace, another enchantment that grants creatures protection, but from black instead of red. This difference is crucial in game scenarios, as it dictates which creatures are rendered effectively unassailable depending on the opponent’s deck color.
Looking at other cards, we find Mother of Runes, which offers similar protective capabilities. Though not an enchantment, this creature allows players to choose protection from a specific color each turn, thus providing more flexibility compared to the static ability of Absolute Law. Then there’s Worship, an enchantment with a wider protective scope, ensuring a player’s life total can’t fall below 1 as long as they control a creature. While it doesn’t offer protection to the creatures themselves, it safeguards the player’s in-game survival.
In summary, while exploring the breadth of protective strategies within Magic: The Gathering, Absolute Law is a valuable piece in a deck aiming to counteract red-based threats. It occupies a niche role, ensuring a straightforward and unilateral defense that can be pivotal in turning the tide during matches.
Cards similar to Absolute Law by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Absolute Law offers an unbending rule on the battlefield, giving all of your white creatures protection from red. This not only shields your key players from red removal and damage spells but also ensures unobstructed attacks against red creatures, effectively supplying ongoing tactical benefits throughout the duel.
Resource Acceleration: While Absolute Law doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it significantly reduces the necessity to expend additional resources for creature protection. By passively safeguarding your lineup, it enables you to dedicate mana and cards to further your board presence or strategic plays.
Instant Speed: As an enchantment, Absolute Law is not an instant-speed spell, but its enduring presence commands a portion of the game tempo in your favor. Once on the field, it continuously operates as a sentinel, dissuading red threats and interventions without the need for further action or mana investment, leaving your resources free for immediate responses and other instant-speed interactions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Absolute Law necessitates having another card to discard, posing a disadvantage when your hand is nearly empty or when each card is crucial for your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: This card mandates white mana for casting, potentially restricting its inclusion only to mono-white or two-color decks that can reliably provide white mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that might be considered steep for its protection ability, players might seek alternative cards that offer similar effects for less mana investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Absolute Law is a useful sideboard card for decks facing red strategies. Its universal effect that grants protection from red to all creatures you control can easily turn the tide in games dominated by direct damage and removal spells.
Combo Potential: This enchantment pairs well with creatures that benefit from protection or those that trigger upon targeting. It can create lockout scenarios against opponents reliant on red for creature control, allowing your combo pieces to stay on the board uninterrupted.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where red aggressive or burn decks are prevalent, Absolute Law becomes a valuable tool. It helps to counteract common red threats and can significantly shift the outcome of a match, making it a relevant choice for your collection to adapt to such meta shifts.
How to Beat
Absolute Law presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering due to its ability to grant protection from red to all creatures you control. To effectively navigate around this card, consider switching your strategy to rely less on red damage spells that would be rendered ineffective. Strategies such as using non-red board wipes or relying on black for creature removal can be instrumental. Moreover, enchantment removal spells like Disenchant or Naturalize become key tools in directly dealing with Absolute Law itself.
Favoring creatures over spells for dealing damage can also sideline the protections granted by Absolute Law. Since protection specifically prevents damage, targeting, enchanting/ equipping, and blocking from red sources, leveraging creatures of other colors can maintain pressure on your opponent. Additionally, using colorless damage sources or spells that decrease a creature’s toughness to zero, rather than dealing damage, can circumvent the shield provided by Absolute Law to clear the way for your victory.
Understanding and diversifying your deck to adapt to protection abilities can significantly boost your resilience against specific cards like Absolute Law. It ensures that you’re prepared for such encounters and able to turn the tide back in your favor during play.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Absolute Law MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and World Championship Decks 2000, 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 Absolute Law and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Absolute Law Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 2000-08-02. Illustrated by Mark Zug.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1998-10-12 | Urza's Saga | USG | 2 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Mark Zug | |
| 2 | 2000-08-02 | World Championship Decks 2000 | WC00 | nl2sba | 1997 | Normal | Gold | Mark Zug |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Absolute Law has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Absolute Law card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | This affects all creatures, not just your own. |