Boltbender MTG Card
Key Takeaways
- Boltbender shines by redirecting spells, offering strategic advantages and unexpected battlefield control at instant speed.
- Despite its versatility, Boltbender’s discard requirement, mana specificity, and higher cost pose deck-building challenges.
- Effective counterplay against Boltbender includes non-targeted spells and timing strategy to minimize its disruptive potential.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Boltbender MTG card by a specific set like Murders at Karlov Manor Commander and Murders at Karlov Manor Commander, 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 Boltbender and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Text of card
Disguise (You may cast this card face down for as a 2/2 creature with ward . Turn it face up any time for its disguise cost.) When Boltbender is turned face up, you may choose new targets for any number of other spells and/or abilities.
"You should really work on your aim."
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Boltbender not only alters the landscape of the battlefield but can also put you in a favorable position by redirecting key spells or abilities, effectively nullifying your opponent’s plans and potentially providing you with unexpected benefits.
Resource Acceleration: While the Boltbender itself doesn’t directly provide mana or tokens, its ability to divert detrimental effects away from your critical resources can indirectly preserve your acceleration tools, ensuring your mana base stays intact for pivotal turns.
Instant Speed: The ability to activate Boltbender’s effect at instant speed gives you the flexibility to adapt to your opponent’s actions on the fly. This can be a game-changer, as you can wait to see the most advantageous moment to turn the tides with its ability, potentially disrupting your opponent’s carefully laid plans and maintaining the element of surprise.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Boltbender’s added utility comes at the price of discarding another card from your hand. In a game where each card in hand matters, this requirement can be restrictive and potentially put you at a disadvantage, especially if your hand size is already diminished.
Specific Mana Cost: This card has a color-specific mana cost, requiring both blue and red mana. This specificity can complicate its integration into multi-colored decks and potentially slow you down if you’re struggling to draw the right lands or mana sources.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that sits on the higher side, Boltbender may not be the most efficient choice for your deck. Its mana cost can impact your ability to play other spells in the same turn, and there might be alternative spells that offer similar or better effects with a lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Boltbender offers flexibility to any deck, fitting nicely into multiple strategies. Its ability to redirect spells or abilities can be a game-changer in both casual and competitive play, helping you turn the tide in your favor at crucial moments.
Combo Potential: This card’s redirection effect can be used in conjunction with cards that target your own permanents, allowing you to manipulate outcomes for optimal effect. This can be particularly powerful in decks that revolve around targeted abilities, making Boltbender a key piece in intricate combo setups.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment heavy with targeted removal or key spells, Boltbender’s presence ensures your key pieces are safer and can give you an edge against decks relying on precise target-based interaction. It’s a smart addition to stay one step ahead in a constantly evolving meta.
How to beat
The Boltbender card introduces an interesting dynamic to Magic: The Gathering battles, allowing for clever redirection of spells or abilities that target only a single player or permanent. It shines in moments where a pivotal spell or an ability can be turned against an opponent or used to protect your key assets. To play effectively against Boltbender, awareness and timing are crucial. Just like instant speed interaction can make all the difference.
Consider adding spells to your deck that affect multiple targets or don’t target at all, to sidestep Boltbender’s ability. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Pyroclasm can be effective as they don’t target and therefore cannot be redirected. Similarly, forcible sacrifice effects, which require your opponent to choose targets, are excellent for ensuring your opponent can’t use Boltbender’s power against you. Examples include Diabolic Edict or Innocent Blood. Another strategy is to bait out the Boltbender with less consequential spells before casting your game-changers, carefully managing the timing and sequencing of your spells to minimize the impact
Ultimately, while Boltbender can certainly turn the tide in MTG, a strategic approach that prioritizes non-targeted effects or baiting strategies can effectively neutralize its advantages, solidifying your path to victory and maintaining control over the battlefield.
Printings
The Boltbender Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2024-02-09 and 2024-02-09. Illustrated by Lars Grant-West.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 30 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lars Grant-West | |
| 2 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 340 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Lars Grant-West |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Boltbender has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Boltbender card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2024-02-02 | A disguise ability lets you cast a card face down by paying and announcing that you are using a disguise ability. Any time you have priority, you can turn a face-down permanent with disguise face up by paying its disguise cost. |
| 2024-02-02 | A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent and Auras and Equipment that were attached to that permanent aren’t affected unless the new characteristics of the object change the legality of those targets or attachments. |
| 2024-02-02 | Any time you have priority, you may turn the face-down creature face up by revealing what its disguise cost is and paying that cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. Only a face-down permanent can be turned face up this way; a face-down spell cannot. |
| 2024-02-02 | At any time, you can look at a face-down spell or permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents or spells you don’t control unless an effect instructs or allows you to do so. |
| 2024-02-02 | Because face-down creatures don’t have a name, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2024-02-02 | Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger. |
| 2024-02-02 | If a face-down creature loses its abilities, it can’t be turned face up with a disguise ability because it will no longer have a disguise ability (or a disguise cost) once face up. |
| 2024-02-02 | If a face-down spell leaves the stack and goes to any zone other than the battlefield (if it was countered, for example), you must reveal it. Similarly, if a face-down permanent leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or the game ends. |
| 2024-02-02 | If a spell or ability has a variable number of targets, you can’t change how many targets it has. |
| 2024-02-02 | If a spell or ability has damage divided, the division can’t be changed, although the targets receiving that damage still can. The same is true of spells and abilities that distribute counters. |
| 2024-02-02 | If you choose new targets for a spell or ability, those new targets must be legal. |
| 2024-02-02 | The creature spell is a 2/2 creature spell with ward that has no name, mana cost, or creature types. The resulting creature is a 2/2 creature with ward that has no name, mana cost, or creature types. Both the spell and the resulting creature are colorless and have a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the spell or creature can still grant it any characteristics it doesn’t have or change the characteristics it does have. |
| 2024-02-02 | The face-down spell has no mana cost and a mana value of 0. When you cast a face-down spell, put it on the stack face down so no other player knows what it is, and pay to cast it. This is an alternative cost. |
| 2024-02-02 | Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped. |
| 2024-02-02 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield to confuse other players. The order in which they entered the battlefield should remain clear, as well as what ability caused them to be face down. (This includes disguise, cloak, and in games involving older cards, morph and manifest, as well as a few other effects that turn cards face down.) Common methods for doing this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. |