Blinding Radiance MTG Card

Blinding Radiance - Arena New Player Experience Extras

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2018-07-14
Set symbol
Set name	Arena New Player Experience Extras
Set code	XANA
Number	2
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Denman Rooke

Key Takeaways

Allows card draw and creature untapping, offering both defense and offense acceleration in one package.
Instant speed casting provides strategic flexibility, enabling surprise moves and maintaining mana threat.
Discard requirement and specific mana cost may limit versatility in multi-color or resource-tight decks.

Text of card

Tap all creatures your opponents control with toughness 2 or less.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Blinding Radiance shines when it comes to disrupting your opponents’ board while allowing you to keep pressing your advantage. Drawing a card upon casting means you replenish your hand, ensuring that you don’t fall behind in resources during pivotal turns.

Resource Acceleration: This card can unexpectedly tip the scales by untapping all creatures you control. This reset not only prepares your defenses but can also be considered a form of resource acceleration as it gives you the potential for additional attacks or the ability to use abilities of creatures that require tapping.

Instant Speed: The power of Blinding Radiance lies in its flexibility, thanks to its instant speed. Cast it during your opponent’s turn to surprise them during combat or to make a decisive move without having to wait for your own turn. This instant-speed play also allows strategic players to leave mana untapped, maintaining the threat of a counterplay while still holding a trick up their sleeve.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Blinding Radiance card comes with a discard requirement that can set you back if your hand resources are already stretched thin. Finding yourself in a situation where you’re forced to discard a valuable card to cast Blinding Radiance can significantly disrupt your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Blinding Radiance dictates a specific mana combination for its casting cost, which can make it a challenging fit in decks that aren’t tailored to this color scheme. This limits the card’s versatility and can impede its inclusion in multicolored decks that might struggle with generating the necessary mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment to cast Blinding Radiance is considerable when compared to other options in the game. For its cost, players may expect a more impactful effect on the board state. Such a high expenditure of resources for its luminous yet potentially minimal effect may not always justify a slot in your deck, especially when there are more cost-effective ways to control the board.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Blinding Radiance is a versatile inclusion capable of fitting into a multitude of deck archetypes. With its ability to hinder your opponent’s creatures, it is ideal for decks that need that extra turn to set up or protect their board.

Combo Potential: For players eyeing synergy, Blinding Radiance can work wonders. It can serve as a part of a lockdown combo to blanket the battlefield or to simply give an edge in combat by debilitating an opponent’s key creatures.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where combat-centric decks thrive, Blinding Radiance provides a relevant countermechanism. Particularly against aggressive strategies, it can serve as a protective measure keeping pace with the ever-shifting meta.

How to beat

Blinding Radiance can be a thorn in the side of MTG players who rely on creature-based strategies. The card’s ability to tap all creatures your opponent controls and prevent them from untapping during the next untap step can halt an aggressive strategy in its tracks. Overcoming this obstacle requires strategic planning and the incorporation of cards that aren’t as vulnerable to becoming tapped or that can untap themselves independently.

Cards with vigilance or those with abilities that grant untap benefits can effectively negate the effect of Blinding Radiance. Additionally, utilizing instant-speed spells or abilities to remove Blinding Radiance before combat can ensure that your creatures aren’t affected come your turn. Control decks that operate with a diverse range of tactics, such as counterspells and hand disruptions, can also maintain pressure on the board without relying solely on creature-based combat. The key to beating Blinding Radiance lies in diversifying your approach and understanding when to aggressively remove threats or simply to adjust your strategy until the effect wears off.

Recall as well, that being prepared with enchantment removal spells in your deck is essential. These allow for a quick and effective response to Blinding Radiance, restoring your creature-based game plan and momentum.

Cards like Blinding Radiance

Blinding Radiance emerges as a unique tool in the white control arsenal of Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels with other cards that focus on manipulating combat and protecting your life total. It bears some resemblance to cards like Ethereal Haze or Holy Day, both designed to prevent combat damage for a turn. However, Blinding Radiance can be distinguished by its ability to also weaken creatures, reducing their strength and limiting their offensive capabilities beyond just a single combat phase.

Examining cards such as Sunlance, players might find some functional similarities. Sunlance also allows control players to deal with threats by outright removing a single non-white creature, albeit without Blinding Radiance’s broader impact on the battlefield. Another notable spell to compare would be Gideon’s Reproach, which deals damage to an attacking or blocking creature. While it can remove a larger threat, Blinding Radiance excels in affecting multiple creatures and changing the tide of combat more significantly over time.

When evaluating these cards side by side, Blinding Radiance stands out for its potential to shift a game’s momentum with its broad-reaching effects, providing players with a versatile tool for controlling the battlefield and setting up favorable encounters in MTG’s strategic gameplay.

Cards similar to Blinding Radiance by color, type and mana cost

Cleansing Meditation - MTG Card versions

Kayla's Reconstruction - MTG Card versions

Proclamation of Rebirth - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Blinding Radiance MTG card by a specific set like Arena New Player Experience Extras, 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 Blinding Radiance and other MTG cards: