Ajani's Aid MTG Card

Increases hand quality by tutoring specific permanent cards directly into your hand. Offers instant-speed defensive options, potentially preventing significant damage. Mana cost and color specificity may limit inclusion in some decks, requiring careful planning.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2017-01-20
Set symbol
Set name	Aether Revolt
Set code	AER
Number	188
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Terese Nielsen

Text of card

When Ajani's Aid enters the battlefield, you may search your library and/or graveyard for a card named Ajani, Valiant Protector, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you search your library this way, shuffle it. Sacrifice Ajani's Aid: Prevent all combat damage a creature of your choice would deal this turn.

Cards like Ajani's Aid

Ajani’s Aid is a specialized card that offers a unique blend of protection and utility within the Magic: The Gathering realm. When considering cards with likeness, Safe Passage instantly comes to mind as it also provides a shield against damage for a turn. But Ajani’s Aid offers something more with its ability to tutor for a specific card, namely an Ajani planeswalker, adding a layer of strategy that Safe Passage lacks.

Another card that echoes the protective theme is Heroic Intervention, which grants not just damage prevention but also indestructibility to your creatures and other permanents. Unlike Ajani’s Aid, Heroic Intervention caters to a broader range of scenarios. Then there’s Faith’s Reward, which can provide a comeback mechanic by returning all permanents that went to the graveyard this turn. While it doesn’t prevent damage, it can reverse catastrophic losses, differentiating itself from Ajani’s Aid’s preemptive defense.

Ultimately, while each of these cards carries its weight by safeguarding players’ interests in different ways, Ajani’s Aid carves its niche with the duel ability to search for a namesake planeswalker, positioning it as a tactical selection for those seeking both early defense and a late-game ally summoning advantage.

Cards similar to Ajani's Aid by color, type and mana cost

Buried in the Garden - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ajani’s Aid allows you to search your library for a permanent card, putting it into your hand. This tutor effect ensures you get the exact card you need when you need it, increasing your hand options and improving card quality over sheer quantity.

Resource Acceleration: Accelerating your resources is not this card’s primary feature. However, by fetching a vital piece of your strategy from your library, it effectively accelerates your game plan’s execution, allowing for a swifter deployment of crucial threats or answers.

Instant Speed: While Ajani’s Aid is not an instant, the card it retrieves can be crucial for instant-speed interaction on your opponent’s turn. Furthermore, the card has an ability that can be activated at instant speed to prevent damage from a creature or planeswalker source, offering flexible and timely defense when most needed.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ajani’s Aid may necessitate the discard of other valuable cards, particularly if it’s used as part of its first ability. This can put players at a disadvantage, especially when card advantage is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires one green and one white mana, which might not seamlessly fit into all deck strategies. Players running multicolor decks may find it challenging to allocate the specific mana needed without hindering their mana curve elsewhere.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With four mana needed to cast Ajani’s Aid, some players might argue that its cost is slightly high given its singular protective effect. It competes for a slot in the deck with other cards that could potentially offer more versatile or impactful abilities for a similar or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Ajani’s Aid in Your Collection

Versatility: Ajani’s Aid offers an adaptable solution in decks that aim for resilience, providing both immediate protection and a lasting benefit once Ajani planeswalker cards are in play.

Combo Potential: This card holds potential synergies with strategies built around planeswalkers, enabling numerous interactions and empowering your board position when combined with fellow cards featuring Ajani.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Ajani’s Aid serves as a versatile tool, offering both a protective measure against threats and enhancing the potency of your planeswalker-centered strategies.

How to beat

Ajani’s Aid can be a strong defensive asset for any MTG player, aiming to maintain stability on the battleground while waiting for the right moment to launch a decisive attack. Its mechanism provides not only an immediate safeguard by preventing damage from a single source but also sets the stage for late-game plays by pulling the fabled planeswalker Ajani into action when the time is ripe.

To effectively counteract this card, players can opt for strategies that include multi-point attacks or spells that strike numerous targets simultaneously. This approach helps bypass the damage prevention on a single source that Ajani’s Aid provides. Focusing on spells that can’t be countered or using abilities that offer hexproof or indestructibility can also be advantageous. Disruption techniques such as discarding or using cards that restrict the casting of certain spells can crumble the protection Ajani’s Aid offers and leave the path open for a critical strike. Moreover, having a backup plan to deal with Ajani upon his arrival is crucial, as readying removal spells or abilities to manage planeswalkers can prevent your opponent from capitalizing on the valor of their heroic ally.

In summary, a combination of broad-spectrum offense and strategic disruption can effectively neutralize Ajani’s Aid and keep you in command of the MTG battlefield.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ajani's Aid MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt, 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 Ajani's Aid and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ajani's Aid has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2017-02-09	The last ability of Ajani’s Aid doesn’t target anything. You choose a source of damage as the ability resolves.
2017-02-09	You can activate the last ability even if there is no creature about to deal combat damage, or even no creature at all. No damage will be prevented, but it will enable your revolt abilities.