Lim-Dûl's Paladin MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Knight |
| Abilities | Trample |
| Released | 1996-06-10 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Alliances |
| Set code | ALL |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 108 |
| Frame | 1993 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Christopher Rush |
Key Takeaways
- Lim-Dûl’s Paladin enables card cycling, providing deck navigation and potential access to powerful plays.
- Its flanking ability adds a layer of strategy, influencing opponents’ combat decisions to the player’s advantage.
- The card’s mana cost and discard requirement may limit its inclusion in specific deck types and strategies.
Text of card
Trample During your upkeep, choose and discard a card from your hand, or bury Lim-Dûl's Paladin and draw a card. If any creatures are assigned to block it, Lim-Dûl's Paladin gets +6/+3 until end of turn. If Lim-Dûl's Paladin attacks and is not blocked, it deals no damage to defending player this turn and that player loses 4 life. Effects that prevent or redirect damage cannot be used to counter this loss of life.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Lim-Dûl’s Paladin provides consistent card cycling capabilities, giving players a significant edge by discarding a card to then draw another. This ability to churn through your deck can lead to drawing into more powerful options or finding the key pieces you need during a match.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources in the traditional mana-generating sense, Lim-Dûl’s Paladin’s conversion of weaker cards in hand into potentially more useful ones can accelerate your game plan indirectly. This, in turn, improves your ability to utilize the resources at your disposal more efficiently.
Instant Speed: One of the Paladin’s pivotal features is its flanking ability which can be unexpectedly advantageous. Although not at instant speed itself, it can deter opponents from attacking or blocking, as it impacts their creatures before damage is calculated. Such a strategic element can sway the course of combat in the player’s favor with careful timing.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Lim-Dûl’s Paladin necessitates a card discard for its activation, which may deplete your hand, especially when looking for combo pieces or if your deck relies on card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: This Paladin demands a precise combination of mana, including both black and red, potentially constraining its integration into multi-colored decks or those requiring a more flexible mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes both two generic and two colored mana, this card’s initial investment may be steep compared to other creatures with similar or more impactful abilities.
Reasons to Include Lim-Dûl’s Paladin in Your Collection
Versatility: Lim-Dûl’s Paladin is a unique card with abilities that cater to a variety of strategies. Its four-point swing in life totals per attack can be highly impactful in aggressive decks, while its ability to become stronger under certain conditions makes it adaptable to changing game states.
Combo Potential: With threshold and flanking, Lim-Dûl’s Paladin works well in combinations with graveyard synergy and can discourage blockers, potentially allowing you to leverage its discard ability for strategic advantage.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame where resource denial can be powerful, the discard effect of Lim-Dûl’s Paladin remains relevant. It disrupts opponents’ strategies while you continue to press the attack, making it a card to consider in certain matchups.
How to beat
Confronting Lim-Dûl’s Paladin in a game can pose a strategic challenge due to its potentially dramatic influence on the battlefield. Lim-Dûl’s Paladin is versatile, with abilities that trigger when it becomes blocked and also at the beginning of the upkeep if a player has discarded a card. This card, which swings between being a creature and a formidable force, requires careful planning to counteract.
The key to overpowering Lim-Dûl’s Paladin lies in controlling combat scenarios and managing your card resources effectively. Utilizing instant-speed removal can be highly effective, as it negates the Paladin’s threat without the need to block and thereby avoiding its triggered abilities. Furthermore, employing graveyard disruption can help mitigate the upside of its discard ability, cutting off the advantages it provides to your opponent.
Remember, adaptability and timing are your greatest assets when challenging this formidable adversary on the board. Through strategic play, such as careful removal and denying graveyard benefits, players can successfully navigate the threat posed by Lim-Dûl’s Paladin, maintaining the upper hand in the duel.
Cards like Lim-Dûl's Paladin
Lim-Dûl’s Paladin occupies a unique niche in the MTG landscape, sharing similarities with other creatures that boast an array of abilities. It’s akin to Order of the Ebon Hand with its ability to gain first strike, yet Lim-Dûl’s Paladin presents a more diverse toolkit, including trample and a potential card advantage through its discard and draw mechanism. Both cards are solid in their own right but fulfill slightly different roles on the battlefield.
Considering Exhume, there’s a nod to the graveyard interaction. While Exhume is more straightforward in bringing creatures back from the graveyard, Lim-Dûl’s Paladin engages with the graveyard more subtly, requiring a bit more setup to achieve its power boost and card advantage. Knight of the Ebon Legion also comes to mind, which like Lim-Dûl’s Paladin, grows stronger and offers a direct way to impact the game. Nevertheless, Lim-Dûl’s Paladin requires a balance of strategy and aggression to maximize its potential.
Analyzing these comparisons, it’s evident that while there are other MTG creatures with overlapping themes, Lim-Dûl’s Paladin offers a complexity that can be skillfully harnessed, boasting versatility and utility that can be pivotal in games where strategy adapts to evolving situations.
Cards similar to Lim-Dûl's Paladin by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Lim-Dûl's Paladin MTG card by a specific set like Alliances, 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 Lim-Dûl's Paladin and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Lim-Dûl's Paladin has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Lim-Dûl's Paladin card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-04-15 | An ability that triggers when something “attacks and isn’t blocked” triggers in the declare blockers step after blockers are declared if (1) that creature is attacking and (2) no creatures are declared to block it. It will trigger even if that creature was put onto the battlefield attacking rather than having been declared as an attacker in the declare attackers step. |
