Soldier of Fortune MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Mercenary
Released	1996-06-10
Set symbol
Set name	Alliances
Set code	ALL
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	80
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Douglas Shuler

Key Takeaways

Soldier of Fortune can indirectly create card advantage by disrupting opponent’s planned strategies.
Instant speed activation offers flexibility in game, making it unpredictable for opponents.
Despite a specific mana requirement, its unique disruption tactic can be a game-changer.

Text of card

o R, oc T: Target player shuffles his or her library.

"Loyalty to coin alone is loyalty nonetheless." —General Varchild

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Soldier of Fortune offers consistent disruption of your opponent’s deck, forcing them to shuffle their cards regularly. This can indirectly lead to a card advantage if it disrupts their carefully planned strategies.

Resource Acceleration: Though not a direct source of resource acceleration, this card can effectively waste your opponent’s resources as they spend time and effort trying to recover from their shuffled library.

Instant Speed: The ability of Soldier of Fortune to be activated at instant speed allows for strategic flexibility. This can keep your adversaries guessing, unsure of when you’ll choose to shuffle their deck again, potentially foiling their plans at a critical moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The need to discard can be a steep price, and in the case of Soldier of Fortune, any potential benefits have to be weighed against what could be a vital card leaving your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Unlike more flexible mana costs, Soldier of Fortune requires red mana, making it less versatile and thereby limiting deck-building choices. This can be challenging for players who favor multi-color decks and may not always have red mana readily available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Soldier of Fortune comes with a relatively high mana cost for its effect. When considering this in the landscape of the game where other cards provide similar or better effects for less mana, it might not always be the most mana-efficient option in your deck.

Reasons to Include Soldier of Fortune in Your Collection

Versatility: Soldier of Fortune offers an unconventional approach to disrupting your opponent’s strategy. This card has the ability to force your opponent to shuffle their library, which can be strategically used to hinder library manipulation or top-deck tutoring commonly found in various deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: This card can enable interesting synergies with effects that benefit from an opponent shuffling their library or with cards that care about the number of times a player shuffles their deck within a game. Its repeatable effect means it can be leveraged turn after turn for consistent combo setups.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where players often rely on setting up their draws or combing through their libraries to find key pieces, Soldier of Fortune can serve as a counterbalance. It may not be a mainboard staple, but in the right metagame, this unusual disruption could make it a valuable sideboard tech, potentially outmaneuvering your opponent’s finely tuned plans.

How to beat

The Soldier of Fortune, an iconic creature in the MTG world, has a unique ability to force shuffles. At first glance, it might seem like a benign effect, but this card can disrupt your opponent’s carefully curated library and potentially hinder strategies dependent on library manipulation or top-deck control. Overcoming this constant shuffling can be a challenge but not insurmountable.

To counter this perpetual shuffle, players should consider including cards with scry abilities to filter draws regardless of library shuffles, or utilize graveyard strategies that don’t depend on library order. Also, employing instant-speed removal can handle the Soldier before it has a chance to influence the match. A great strategy involves playing aggressively, reducing the relevance of the shuffle and pressuring the opponent’s resources. Decks with fewer dependencies on library order or those that favor exile mechanics rather than draw may also find Soldier of Fortune’s ability less of an obstacle.

In essence, maintaining flexibility in your play, and incorporating alternative strategies that either negate or render the Soldier’s shuffling effect moot are keys to beating this pesky creature. Adopting a multifaceted approach ensures the Soldier’s presence won’t dominate the battlefield or derail your path to victory.

Cards like Soldier of Fortune

Soldier of Fortune offers a unique angle in the world of Magic: The Gathering, allowing players to shuffle an opponent’s deck as a twitch. While this card might seem solely disruptive, its real strength lies in its potential combo with cards that ensure an opponent’s top deck is known. This strategic move can counter library manipulation tactics utilized by an opponent.

Goblin Spelunkers, for instance, share the red color identity and cost but provide a different advantage through their mountainwalk ability. While the Spelunkers can become unblockable under the right conditions, Soldier of Fortune instead continuously threatens to undo an opponent’s careful deck arrangement. In the realm of creature functionalities, the two cards cater to diverse strategic needs.

Comparatively, cards like Cosi’s Trickster capitalize on deck shuffling, but they grow stronger with each shuffle instead of disrupting strategy. This allows for a different approach where each shuffle can contribute to a powerful, increasingly unmanageable creature. Both types of cards can impact games, yet Soldier of Fortune’s active, targeted disruption mechanism offers a distinct way to interfere with an opponent’s plans.

In assessing the utility of Soldier of Fortune, its ability to manipulate an opponent’s deck makes it a card that demands attention in matchups that rely heavily on the top-deck strategy. Despite not being a powerhouse in combat, its disruptive potential can be invaluable in the right MTG deck.

Cards similar to Soldier of Fortune by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Soldier of Fortune 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 Soldier of Fortune and other MTG cards: