Aven Warcraft MTG Card

Aven Warcraft excels in protecting creatures, indirectly leading to card advantage by outlasting combat damage. Instant speed adds tactical depth, offering a surprise element that can turn the tide in heavy combat scenarios. While offering solid defense, the discard condition and mana specificity are notable limitations to consider when deck building.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Threshold
Released	2002-05-27
Set symbol
Set name	Judgment
Set code	JUD
Number	2
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Roger Raupp

Text of card

Creatures you control get +0/+2 until end of turn. Threshold Creatures you control also gain protection from the color of your choice until end of turn. (You have threshold if seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)

Cards like Aven Warcraft

Aven Warcraft is an intriguing presence among combat trick cards in Magic: The Gathering. It shares some traits with cards like Brave the Elements, which offers protection to creatures you control from the color of your choice for a turn. Aven Warcraft, on the other hand, provides not just protection but also a potential boost in power with its threshold ability. While Brave the Elements costs only one white mana, which is significantly lesser, it lacks the ability to turn the tide with an augmented attack force.

Focusing on the same strategy, there’s Gods Willing, giving a creature protection from the color of your choice and scrying 1, thus maintaining card flow. Gods Willing is more about pinpoint precision and future planning compared to Aven Warcraft’s broader combat application. Alternatively, Feat of Resistance offers a similar protective capability and bolsters a creature with a +1/+1 counter, potentially offering a lasting advantage beyond just one turn, a benefit Aven Warcraft doesn’t provide continuously.

Choosing the right card often depends on the specific needs of the deck and playstyle. While Aven Warcraft might not offer the cheapest protection, the potential for a power surge under the right conditions can make it a game-changer in combat scenarios.

Cards similar to Aven Warcraft by color, type and mana cost

Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Aven Warcraft, the ability to potentially decrease combat damage to your creatures can be crucial for preserving your board state and maintaining an advantageous position. This can lead to indirect card advantage by ensuring your creatures survive encounters they otherwise wouldn’t.

Resource Acceleration: Aven Warcraft doesn’t directly accelerate resources, yet the protection it offers can certainly keep valuable creatures on the field. Protecting key creatures allows continued access to any mana or abilities they provide, indirectly contributing to the acceleration of your resources.

Instant Speed: The true flexibility of Aven Warcraft is revealed in its instant speed. This gives you the elemental tactical advantage of responding to combat developments on the fly, potentially outmaneuvering your opponent when they least expect it. It’s especially beneficial during the critical moments of battle when a well-timed play can shift the momentum in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Aven Warcraft is its discard condition. Activating its ability necessitates discarding a card, potentially depleting your hand and leaving you at a strategic disadvantage, especially if your available cards are essential to your game plan or if you’re contending with a limited hand size.

Specific Mana Cost: Aven Warcraft has a specific mana cost that includes white mana, making it less flexible for multicolored decks that might struggle with mana fixing or for players who prefer not to be tied down to a single color’s mana base. This requirement can hinder its integration into diverse deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost sitting at a place where players expect significant impact on the game, Aven Warcraft’s cost efficiency comes into question. There are alternative cards available that can offer a more immediate or substantial influence on the battlefield without the same level of investment, which is something players might consider when building their decks.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Aven Warcraft is a card that can seamlessly slide into various deck archetypes, notably those that focus on creature buffs and defensive strategies. Its instant speed allows players to respond adaptively during the game.

Combo Potential: With its ability to give creatures +0/+2 until end of turn, it has inherent synergy with abilities that trigger upon casting spells or targeting your own creatures, thereby enhancing strategic play combinations.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where combat tricks and surprise buffs can determine the outcome of battles, Aven Warcraft holds its ground. It becomes exceptionally useful in metas where small creature decks prevail and require an extra edge in toughness to survive.

How to beat Aven Warcraft

Aven Warcraft has emerged as a tactical spell for Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts, offering a unique blend of defense and offense for creature-based strategies. Its ability to grant creatures with toughness less than three indestructible until end of turn enables an impressive defensive stance, often nullifying the effectiveness of damage-based removal or combat tricks aimed at smaller creatures.

One way to circumvent Aven Warcraft’s protection is by deploying removal spells that don’t rely on dealing damage, such as those that exile or force a player to sacrifice creatures. Cards like Path to Exile or Diabolic Edict circumvent the indestructibility by removing the creature from the battlefield without inflicting damage. Board wipes that change a creature’s base toughness, like Dismember, can also be effective by reducing a creature’s toughness to zero, effectively bypassing the indestructible keyword. Moreover, negating Aven Warcraft via counterspells like Mana Leak or by deploying hand disruption tactics to remove it before it’s played are also effective strategies.

Players must also consider the momentary aspect of Aven Warcraft’s effect and may choose to wait it out. By holding back removal until the opponent’s end step or the player’s own turn, the safety net of Aven Warcraft can be effectively bypassed, allowing players to target the previously shielded creatures once their indestructibility fades.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Aven Warcraft MTG card by a specific set like Judgment, 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 Aven Warcraft and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Aven Warcraft has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal