Ephara's Radiance MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2014-02-07
Set symbol
Set name	Born of the Gods
Set code	BNG
Number	9
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	James Ryman

Key Takeaways

Ephara’s Radiance generates card advantage through consistent life gain, crucial in enchantment-centric strategies.
Its effectiveness hinges on white devotion and the presence of enchantment creatures in the deck.
Consider including Ephara’s Radiance for its versatility in life-gain and enchantment-triggered decks.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has ", : You gain 3 life."

"Civilization is the sum of Ephara's gifts." —Olexa of the Twelve

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ephara’s Radiance can fortify your strategy by progressively increasing card advantage. Attaching it to a creature with Inspired ability ensures you receive extra benefits each time the creature becomes untapped.

Resource Acceleration: Ephara’s Radiance aids in resource acceleration by providing a consistent stream of life gain. This incremental advantage can be pivotal in outlasting opponents, particularly in life-based strategies or in decks that capitalize on life as a resource.

Instant Speed: While Ephara’s Radiance itself isn’t played at instant speed, it synergizes with creatures that untap during each player’s untap step. This enables the enchantment’s activated ability to be used at instant speed, allowing for strategic timing and immediate responses to your opponent’s actions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While playing Ephara’s Radiance, players must note that it necessitates an enchantment creature to be effective. This can be a downside if your hand lacks such creatures, potentially stalling your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Ephara’s Radiance requires a specific blend of mana — one white and one generic. For most decks, this isn’t an issue, but in multi-colored or color-heavy strategies, it might not always fit seamlessly into your mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an activation cost of one white mana, some might deem it inefficient. Given that its impact, gaining life equal to your devotion to white, relies entirely on having a strong white presence, it might not consistently yield high returns, especially when compared to other cards that can bolster your life total with less stipulation.

Reasons to Include Ephara’s Radiance in Your Collection

Versatility: Ephara’s Radiance attaches to any creature, providing a flexible way for enchantment-focused decks to gain life each turn. It’s well suited for decks that work with a variety of creatures and strategies.

Combo Potential: In decks that aim to benefit from life gain or enchantment triggers, Ephara’s Radiance can be a key piece. It works seamlessly with cards that reward you for gaining life or for casting enchantments.

Meta-Relevance: Should the game environment lean towards aggressive strategies, having a consistent life gain mechanism can be crucial. Ephara’s Radiance helps to stabilize your life total against such fast-paced threats.

How to beat

Ephara’s Radiance attaches to creatures and offers a unique benefit in the form of consistent life gain, bolstering your defenses each turn in Magic: The Gathering. To undermine this advantage, players should prioritize removal spells that can target either the enchantment directly or the enchanted creature. Considering Ephara’s Radiance requires tapping the enchanted creature for activation, any ability negators or tapping prevention techniques can effectively neutralize this life gain strategy.

Cards like Disenchant that specifically target enchantments can operate as clean answers to Ephara’s Radiance, liberating your opponent’s creature from its influence. Alternatively, creature-centric removal such as Doom Blade or Path to Exile can eradicate the threat entirely, rendering the enchantment useless without a host. Players should also consider instant-speed interaction, staying poised to disrupt the activation of Ephara’s Radiance’s ability, maintaining tempo and diminishing its impact within the game. Employing these tactics ensures that the steady life gain offered by Ephara’s Radiance does not escalate into a game-defining concern.

In essence, staying equipped with versatile removal or disruption that align with your strategy will secure your board against the incremental but actionable benefits Ephara’s Radiance provides to your opponents in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Ephara's Radiance

Ephara’s Radiance is an intriguing enchantment aura in Magic: The Gathering. It closely relates to cards that enable players to gain a stream of incremental life points, much like Sun’s Bounty. While Sun’s Bounty gives immediate life gain, Ephara’s Radiance requires the enchanted creature to tap, offering a renewable source of life over time. This sets the stage for recurring benefits in a match, provided the enchanted creature remains untapped at a player’s disposal.

Viewing a broader spectrum, we can draw parallels with cards like Soul’s Attendant. This creature card rewards its controller with life whenever another creature enters the battlefield — a passive yet potent ability that doesn’t depend on tapping specific creatures but rather on the general pace of creature play. However, it lacks the restraint of Ephara’s Radiance, which necessitates keeping the enchanted creature free from engagement to exploit its full potential.

Analyzing these cards against each other, Ephara’s Radiance offers a unique approach to life gain in Magic: The Gathering. Its ambiance fits well within strategies looking to leverage untapped creatures, whereas other cards provide more passive or immediate life-gaining alternatives.

Cards similar to Ephara's Radiance by color, type and mana cost

Mask of Law and Grace - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ephara's Radiance MTG card by a specific set like Born of the Gods, 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 Ephara's Radiance and other MTG cards: