Fraternal Exaltation MTG Card

Fraternal Exaltation - Celebration Cards

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	1996-08-15
Set symbol
Set name	Celebration Cards
Set code	PCEL
Number	5
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Susan Garfield

Key Takeaways

Fraternal Exaltation offers card advantage by summoning multiple creatures from a single spell.
Instant speed playability of the card grants players flexibility and powerful surprise tactics.
Mana cost specificity and discard requirements are notable limitations to its gameplay utility.

Text of card

Sneak into your parents' closet to get a deck. Your new brother is joining the game.

... and when you want to go explore, the number you should have is four. —Sandra Boynton

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Fraternal Exaltation shines when it comes to providing card advantage. With its ability to potentially summon multiple creatures, it helps to populate your side of the board. This, inherently, is a form of card advantage as it allows you to utilize a single card for numerous effects.

Resource Acceleration: Undoubtedly, resource acceleration is one of the key benefits of playing Fraternal Exaltation. The card’s mechanics may contribute to an increase in your mana pool through various creature abilities or indirectly by allowing you to maintain mana for other strategic plays.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Fraternal Exaltation at instant speed gives players significant flexibility during gameplay. This adaptability enables you to wait until just the right moment before end of turn or in response to an opponent’s action, thus maximizing the potential impact of your creatures entering the battlefield.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Fraternal Exaltation obliges players to discard another card, which could hinder strategies if your hand is already depleted or the discarded card is essential to your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana demands are quite particular, requiring a precise combination of one green and two colors of any type. This can seriously limit its inclusion only to decks heavily invested in green mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Charging four mana to reap the benefits of Fraternal Exaltation might seem steep, especially when considering alternative buffing spells or creature cards that come with built-in advantages at a lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Fraternal Exaltation is a unique addition to any MTG deck that values resilience and flexibility. Its ability to empower creatures and synergize with decks focused on creature-based strategies can be a game-changer in various formats, from Commander to casual playgroups.

Combo Potential: For players who love to explore ingenious combos, Fraternal Exaltation provides fertile ground. It can be paired with cards that benefit from bolstered creatures or with strategies designed around enhancing creature abilities, enabling intricate and powerful synergies that can dominate the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: As the MTG meta shifts, the relevance of certain cards can wax and wane, but cards that have the ability to affect multiple creatures positively, like Fraternal Exaltation, often maintain their importance. This card’s potential to sway the tide of a game by buffing an entire roster of creatures makes it a strong contender in various meta environments, always keeping your opponents on their toes.

How to beat

Fraternal Exaltation is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering that can catch many players off guard with its ability to gift exponential life points in multiplayer games. To counter this card, it is crucial to implement strategies that focus on reducing your opponents’ life totals in a swift and efficient manner, rendering the life gain a moot point. Cards with infect or ones that set life totals to a specific number, like “Magister Sphinx”, can bypass the massive life gain. Furthermore, implementing disruption tactics such as hand disruption, counterspells, or direct removal can nip the problem in the bud before the spell resolves. By maintaining board control and keeping pressure on your opponents, you ensure that the advantage gained from Fraternal Exaltation becomes less significant. Constant vigilance and swift reactions are key in staying ahead when this card hits the table.

Cards like Fraternal Exaltation

Exploring the landscape of life-boosting cards in MTG, Fraternal Exaltation emerges as a unique card from the Legends set. It’s akin to other life-gain spells like Beacon of Immortality, which also doubles a player’s life total. However, Fraternal Exaltation comes with a different twist, given that instead of focusing solely on the player, it is used to increase the opponent’s life. This card adeptly turns the tables in multiplayer scenarios, where politics and alliances shape the flow of the game.

Additionally, there’s Alabaster Potion, another card that can either heal or deal damage based on the amount of mana invested. While Alabaster Potion offers flexibility, Fraternal Exaltation’s mandatory life increment for the opponent is a rare effect, meant for niche strategies. Comparatively speaking, Reverse the Sands is a close relative in the sense that it reshuffles life totals within the game, yet does not match the straightforward life donation of Fraternal Exaltation.

Criticizing these cards closely, Fraternal Exaltation holds an intriguing position, especially in formats where leveraging an opponent’s high life total can be advantageous. Its distinctive dynamic sets it apart in the MTG multiverse, embodying the spirit of unconventional tactics.

Beacon of Immortality - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Fraternal Exaltation MTG card by a specific set like Celebration Cards, 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 Fraternal Exaltation and other MTG cards: