Blinding Flare MTG Card

Enables strategic combat plays by selectively preventing opponent’s creatures from blocking. Instant speed casting adds flexibility, fitting well within various tempo-driven strategies. Integrates with decks focusing on combat success and synergizes with tapped creature mechanics.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Strive
Released	2014-05-02
Set symbol
Set name	Journey into Nyx
Set code	JOU
Number	91
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Evan Shipard

Text of card

Strive — Blinding Flare costs more to cast for each target beyond the first. Any number of target creatures can't block this turn.

Cards like Blinding Flare

Blinding Flare is an intriguing red spell in the MTG universe known for its strategic flexibility on the battleground. Comparable to it is the card Break Through the Line, which offers a similar effect allowing creatures to become unblockable. The key distinction, though, lies in Blinding Flare’s single-use nature that demands a strategic outlook for that pivotal turn. Break Through the Line, conversely, requires a set-up for multiple turns, providing a more prolonged advantage at the cost of being more susceptible to removal.

Sidetrack to Crowd’s Favor, another card that momentarily enhances a creature’s battlefield prowess. While Blinding Flare focuses on a mass unblockable strategy, Crowd’s Favor concentrates on a single creature, flipping the script from evasion to outright power. Like Crowd’s Favor, Blinding Flare offers the benefit of flexibility, being able to cast it with the Strive mechanic to affect multiple targets, though at an escalating mana cost.

To sum up, Blinding Flare’s role as a versatile combat trick makes it a worthy contender within the arsenal of red combat spells. Offering a unique mixture of utility in enabling a crucial alpha strike, the card secures its place for players looking to advance their battlefield tactics in MTG.

Break Through the Line - MTG Card versions

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

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Blinding Flare doesn’t directly provide card advantage, yet it can skew the board state in your favor significantly. By forcing opponents to struggle with unfavorable blocks, it indirectly sets you up for advantageous trades that could lead to drawing cards if synergized with certain deck mechanics.

Resource Acceleration: This card on its own may not accelerate your resources, but it can pave the way for smoother plays. By potentially removing blockers through its targeted effect, Blinding Flare could enable your creatures to connect and trigger effects that ramp up your resources or allow for faster deck deployment.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Blinding Flare at instant speed provides strategic flexibility. This gives you the upper hand during combat phases as you can foil your opponent’s plans by selectively removing their ability to block when they least expect it, often securing you a turn of unimpeded attack and helping maintain a phenomenon known as ‘tempo advantage’.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Blinding Flare doesn’t require you to discard, it does demand a specific action that can be seen as a downside. In order to fully utilize its potential, you must tap your creatures, which could leave you vulnerable to counterattacks.

Specific Mana Cost: Blinding Flare requires red mana to be cast. This specific mana requirement means that it’s primarily suited for mono-red or red-inclusive decks, potentially restricting its versatility across the broader spectrum of MTG decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that necessitates a significant investment, players might find its ability to only prevent creatures from blocking a bit unbalanced when compared to other cards at a similar or lower cost structure, offering more impactful effects.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Blinding Flare is a card that offers strategic flexibility in a variety of decks. With its ability to render multiple creatures unable to block, it can serve as a game-changer in both aggressive red builds and more controlling strategies where timing attacks are crucial.

Combo Potential: The card works exceptionally well in concert with effects that benefit from tapped creatures or require combat success. Additionally, its inclusion could be pivotal in decks that capitalize on combat tricks or need to clear a path for a decisive strike.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the often creature-heavy environment of many competitive scenes, Blinding Flare provides an answer to studded board states and can be the key to breaking through stalemates, making it a relevant choice for those seeking an edge in their local or broader meta-game.

How to beat

Blinding Flare is a red sorcery card from the Magic: The Gathering universe that can catch players off guard with its ability to allow creatures to bypass blockers using the Strive mechanic. Its power grows when you play against a wide strategy, as it can effectively neutralize a number of potential blockers. To gain an upper hand against Blinding Flare, resilience is key.

Firstly, consider incorporating instant-speed removals in your deck that can destroy or exile targeted creatures before the spell resolves. This shrinks the number of creatures that can be affected by the Strive ability. Additionally, countermagic can be essential; having spells that can counter a sorcery prevents Blinding Flare from ever hitting the battlefield. You also want to diversify your defensive line-up. Don’t rely solely on creatures to block; enchantments or artifacts that create tokens at instant speed can supply unexpected blockers and outmaneuver your opponent’s strategy.

Ultimately, maintaining a flexible game plan, being prepared with the right countermeasures, and adapting to your opponent’s tactics will significantly weaken Blinding Flare’s impact during gameplay. Keeping a cool head and playing smart will guide you to victory against this flash of disruption.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Blinding Flare MTG card by a specific set like Journey into Nyx, 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 Flare and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Blinding Flare has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Blinding Flare card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2014-04-26	Blinding Flare can target any creature, including those you control.
2014-04-26	If a spell or ability allows you to cast a strive spell without paying its mana cost, you must pay the additional costs for any targets beyond the first.
2014-04-26	If all of the spell's targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. If one or more of its targets are legal when it tries to resolve, the spell will resolve and affect only those legal targets. It will have no effect on any illegal targets.
2014-04-26	If such a spell is copied, and the effect that copies the spell allows a player to choose new targets for the copy, the number of targets can't be changed. The player may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. If, for one of the targets, the player can't choose a new legal target, then it remains unchanged (even if the current target is illegal).
2014-04-26	The mana cost and mana value of strive spells don't change no matter how many targets they have. Strive abilities affect only what you pay.
2014-04-26	You choose how many targets each spell with a strive ability has and what those targets are as you cast it. It's legal to cast such a spell with no targets, although this is rarely a good idea. You can't choose the same target more than once for a single strive spell.