Bold Defense MTG Card

Bolster your entire field temporarily, making your creatures tougher and deterring enemy attacks or blocks. Despite having to discard, it saves you mana on future turns by keeping your creatures alive longer. Tactical flexibility is key—act at instant speed to surprise opponents and gain advantage during combat.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Kicker
Released	2009-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar
Set code	ZEN
Number	3
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Scott Chou

Text of card

Kicker (You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.) Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. If Bold Defense was kicked, instead creatures you control get +2/+2 and gain first strike until end of turn.

Cards like Bold Defense

Bold Defense stands out as a unique protective strategy in the realm of MTG. Much like the renowned card Giant Growth, which also boosts a creature’s power and toughness, Bold Defense offers a very comparable effect. However, Bold Defense elevates the playing field with the additional ability to bolster multiple creatures, making it a potentially game-turning play in situations where a player has a significant creature presence on the board.

Another close relative in this category is Inspired Charge. While it too affects multiple creatures, Bold Defense shines by strictly focusing on the defensive aspect, giving your creatures a sizeable toughness boost during your opponent’s turn. This can provide an unexpected wall, potentially foiling an adversary’s attack strategy. Fortify is also a strong contender, allowing a choice between offense or defense, but Bold Defense ensures that your defensive capabilities aren’t merely an option – they’re amped up and ready to turn the tide of combat in your favor.

By examining the strengths and situational benefits of Bold Defense against its counterparts, it holds a substantial position for players who seek to create an indomitable line of defense in their game, ensuring their forces remain standing after the dust of battle settles.

Cards similar to Bold Defense by color, type and mana cost

Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bold Defense enables a player to bolster their battlefield presence by giving all creatures they control a significant toughness boost until end of turn. This can deter opponents from attacking or blocking, thereby maintaining your board state and potentially preventing the loss of vital cards on the field.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly a resource acceleration card, Bold Defense can serve a similar role by effectively saving mana in future turns. With increased toughness, your creatures are more likely to survive combat or removal spells, saving you the mana you would have otherwise spent to replace them.

Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of Bold Defense offers tactical flexibility during gameplay. It allows players to surprise an opponent during combat, turning what might seem like unfavorable blocks into advantageous ones, or turning an aggressive swing into an untenable assault for the opponent. Being able to react in real-time to threats without committing resources beforehand plays into a strategic advantage over the opponent.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bold Defense puts you in a position where you need to discard another card in order to play it. This can be particularly challenging when your hand is already depleted, forcing you to make difficult decisions about resource management.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring a particular mana combination to cast, Bold Defense may not seamlessly fit into every deck. Decks that don’t run the required colors will find it impossible to utilize this card, potentially limiting its overall versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost being on the higher side for its effects, players might hesitate to include Bold Defense in their decks. There are alternative cards that could provide similar defensive capabilities at a lower mana investment, making them more appealing choices during deck-building.

Reasons to Include Bold Defense in Your Collection

Versatility: Bold Defense is an instant-speed spell that can easily slip into various deck archetypes. It excels in decks that are designed to protect valuable creatures or to surprise opponents during combat.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in defensive setups, working in tandem with cards that benefit from surviving combat or thwarting enemy removal attempts, amplifying its tactical advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where aggressive decks are prevalent, Bold Defense shines by bolstering your creatures’ toughness, often turning the tide of battle in your favor and keeping your most important threats on the board.

How to Beat

Bold Defense is known in the MTG community for its ability to turn the tide during combat phases, specifically in limited formats or casual play. This card can create unexpected walls by boosting your creature’s toughness, potentially negating the effects of direct damage spells or combat tricks favored by your opponents. At first glance, it may seem like an obstacle that’s difficult to overcome.

To effectively counter Bold Defense, prioritizing removal spells that can bypass the increased toughness is key. For instance, considering cards that say “destroy target creature” can be a surefire way to remove a creature regardless of how high its toughness has been bolstered. Another strategy is to employ counter spells to stop Bold Defense before it even takes effect, which preserves the creature’s vulnerabilities. Additionally, using evasion abilities such as flying or trample can help circumvent the ‘wall’ created by Bold Defense, allowing you to reach the opponent directly. Understanding the mechanics of Bold Defense is crucial, and integrating versatile removal or evasion tactics will equip you with the tools to overcome it.

In summary, overcoming Bold Defense requires a combination of timely removal, strategic countering, and skills to navigate around its temporary fortifications. Mastering these aspects will significantly reduce the card’s impact on the game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bold Defense MTG card by a specific set like 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 Bold Defense and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bold Defense has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2009-10-01	If a creature doesn’t have first strike, granting it first strike after combat damage has been dealt in the first combat damage step won’t prevent it from dealing combat damage. It will still assign and deal its combat damage in the second combat damage step.
2009-10-01	Only creatures you control as Bold Defense resolves are affected.