Looming Spires MTG Card


Looming Spires - Battle for Zendikar
RarityCommon
TypeLand
Released2015-10-02
Set symbol
Set nameBattle for Zendikar
Set codeBFZ
Number238
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byFlorian de Gesincourt

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances creatures with a crucial +1/+1, turning potential losses into powerful battlefield presence.
  2. Accelerates aggression, setting the stage for early-game dominance and strategic victories.
  3. Delivers instant combat tricks, surprising opponents and tipping combat scenarios in your favor.

Text of card

Looming Spires enters the battlefield tapped. When Looming Spires enters the battlefield, target creature gets +1/+1 and gains first strike until end of turn.: Add to your mana pool.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Looming Spires doesn’t directly allow you to draw more cards, it provides strategic top-deck manipulation by granting a creature +1/+1 until end of turn. This small boost can turn the tide of a match, ensuring your creatures outclass your opponent’s and survive battles they might otherwise lose, effectively maintaining your presence on the board.

Resource Acceleration: Looming Spires does not increase your mana pool immediately, but it does offer a significant advantage on the battlefield. The land enters the battlefield tapped, providing a boost of power to a creature which can accelerate your plan, especially if you’re pushing for an aggressive strategy. Improving your board state early can be a critical step toward winning the game.

Instant Speed: While Looming Spires doesn’t operate at instant speed, it allows for instant strategy enhancement the moment it comes into play. It can give that unexpected extra power to a creature, which might be just what’s needed to catch an opponent off guard during your turn, possibly eliminating a key threat or delivering a decisive blow to their life points.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Looming Spires does not impose a discard requirement on the player. This feature is not applicable to the evaluation of this card’s disadvantages.

Specific Mana Cost: Although this land enters the battlefield tapped which can slow down your game tempo, it doesn’t require a specific mana cost. Thus, this characteristic is not a valid con for Looming Spires.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: As a land card, Looming Spires doesn’t have a mana cost to cast, rendering the comparison of mana costs irrelevant in assessing its downsides.


Reasons to Include Looming Spires in Your Collection

Versatility: Looming Spires serves a dual role in your deck, functioning as both a land and a temporary power booster. Its ability to give a creature +1/+1 upon entering the battlefield can turn the tide of combat in your favor, making it a flexible choice for a variety of red-based decks.

Combo Potential: The land’s power-boosting effect can be essential for maximizing the damage of creatures with abilities triggered by dealing combat damage, or for simply pushing extra points of damage to secure a game. Its synergistic value could enhance strategies that revolve around aggressive playstyles and creature-oriented tactics.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where tempo and board presence are key, Looming Spires can be a smart inclusion. Its relevance in the meta depends on whether aggressive decks are flourishing. If so, that extra power boost can often represent the difference between an opponent’s creature surviving a battle or tipping the scales in your favor.


How to beat

Looming Spires can catch many players off guard in MTG, providing a sudden boost to a creature’s power and giving it the ability to turn the tide of combat unexpectedly. A land that offers such a combat trick needs to be approached with caution. To counteract this, employing control elements like instant-speed removal can neutralize the threat before the land’s ability impacts the game. Countering the creature that Looming Spires targets with a spell or an ability before it becomes an issue will prevent that temporary boost from having a lasting effect.

Playing around Looming Spires involves careful planning, especially during the combat phase. Being mindful of open mana and potential unplayed land cards is crucial. It’s best to hold back on potentially profitable blocks if it means avoiding lethal damage from an unexpected source. In decks that allow for land destruction or effects that strip away abilities, such as those that return lands to a player’s hand, the impact of Looming Spires can be mitigated. Overall, maintaining battlefield control and reacting swiftly to emerging threats will diminish Looming Spires’ influence on the game’s outcome.


Cards like Looming Spires

Looming Spires stands out in the landscape of land cards in Magic: The Gathering. With its capability to give a creature +1/+1 and first strike until end of turn upon entering the battlefield tapped, it brings a tactical edge. Similar to this mechanic, we have cards like Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion which also give a creature an advantage in combat. While Sunhome boosts a creature with double strike, it requires a steeper mana investment compared to the one-time entry effect of Looming Spires.

In terms of entry effects from lands, we also notice parallels with Swiftwater Cliffs. Both lands enter the battlefield tapped, but Swiftwater Cliffs offers a life gain rather than a combat buff. This subtle difference stresses Looming Spires’ role in aggressive strategies versus the life stabilization benefits that lands like Swiftwater Cliffs can provide.

Summing up, Looming Spires has its unique place among utility lands in MTG, catering to decks that seek to fortify their creatures during pivotal turns. The card’s utility in enhancing offensive capabilities narrowly carves its niche in a broad realm of land card functions.

Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - MTG Card versions
Swiftwater Cliffs - MTG Card versions
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Swiftwater Cliffs - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)

Cards similar to Looming Spires by color, type and mana cost

Mountain - MTG Card versions
Dwarven Ruins - MTG Card versions
Dormant Volcano - MTG Card versions
Sandstone Needle - MTG Card versions
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle - MTG Card versions
Ghitu Encampment - MTG Card versions
Vivid Crag - MTG Card versions
Snow-Covered Mountain - MTG Card versions
Forgotten Cave - MTG Card versions
Castle Embereth - MTG Card versions
Desert of the Fervent - MTG Card versions
Kazuul's Fury // Kazuul's Cliffs - MTG Card versions
Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge - MTG Card versions
Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave - MTG Card versions
Shivan Gorge - MTG Card versions
Flamekin Village - MTG Card versions
Goblin Burrows - MTG Card versions
Den of the Bugbear - MTG Card versions
Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance - MTG Card versions
Smoldering Crater - MTG Card versions
Mountain - Bloomburrow (BLB)
Dwarven Ruins - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Dormant Volcano - Visions (VIS)
Sandstone Needle - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Ghitu Encampment - Tenth Edition (10E)
Vivid Crag - Commander 2013 (C13)
Snow-Covered Mountain - MTG Arena Promos (PANA)
Forgotten Cave - Modern Horizons (MH1)
Castle Embereth - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Desert of the Fervent - Commander 2020 (C20)
Kazuul's Fury // Kazuul's Cliffs - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Shivan Gorge - The List (PLST)
Flamekin Village - The List (PLST)
Goblin Burrows - The List (PLST)
Den of the Bugbear - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (AFR)
Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Promos (PNEO)
Smoldering Crater - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Looming Spires MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar, 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 Looming Spires and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Looming Spires has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

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