Circle of Protection: Artifacts MTG Card
1994-03-04 - Number 4
1995-04-01 - Number 13
1995-04-01 - Number 13
1995-08-01 - Number 7
1995-08-01 - Number 5
1997-03-24 - Number 16
2004-06-04 - Number 8
| Card sets | Released in 7 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Enchantment |
Text of card
: Prevents all damage against you from any one artifact source. If a source does damage to you more than once in a turn, you must pay each time you want to prevent the damage.
Cards like Circle of Protection: Artifacts
In the world of Magic: The Gathering, cards like Circle of Protection: Artifacts offer unique defensive capabilities. It’s akin to Circle of Protection: Red and its siblings in the Circle of Protection series, which shield players from specific types of damage. While each card in this series focuses on different colors or types of cards, Circle of Protection: Artifacts stands out by specifically targeting artifact-sourced damage.
Another card worth comparing is Energy Flux, which addresses artifacts in a different manner by imposing a maintenance cost on them. This can be far more punishing to players relying heavily on artifacts, whereas Circle of Protection: Artifacts provides a more targeted defense mechanism. Then there’s Stony Silence, a powerful card that incapacitates artifacts altogether by preventing their activated abilities, offering a blanket solution against a wide array of threats originating from artifacts.
Among these options, Circle of Protection: Artifacts carves out its niche by providing continuous, targeted protection that can be activated at any time. It efficiently thwarts damage from commonly used artifacts, ensuring that your health total remains secure as you navigate through the rich and complex matches of Magic: The Gathering.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Enhances your defensive capabilities without compromising your hand since it prevents damage from all artifacts for a single white mana as long as it’s untapped. This stalwart defense can be the difference in maintaining your board state against artifact-heavy opponents.
Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly accelerating resources, the cost-efficiency of protecting your life total from multiple sources with just one card can indirectly lead to an advantage. By saving mana on creature or damage prevention spells, you allocate more resources for pivotal plays.
Instant Speed: The ability to activate Circle of Protection: Artifacts at instant speed provides flexibility, allowing for strategic shields throughout the course of a turn, especially during the combat phase or in response to unanticipated artifact threats.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Circle of Protection: Artifacts requires a specific card to be discarded to activate its effect. This can be a significant downside when your hand is already depleted, or the card economy is crucial to your game plan.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s activation not only demands white mana but it’s also color-intensive, making it less flexible for multi-colored decks. Decks lacking an abundant supply of white mana will find it hard to utilize this card effectively.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Its casting cost, in addition to the activation cost, is on the higher side when compared to other protective spells. Players may opt for more cost-efficient alternatives for defense, thereby relegating Circle of Protection: Artifacts to a niche role within their arsenal.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Circle of Protection: Artifacts is a unique sideboard card that provides game-swinging benefits in games where artifacts are prevalent. It can protect you from a swath of attacks and damage sources when facing artifact-heavy strategies.
Combo Potential: This card has synergy with decks that manipulate protection effects or are constructed to capitalize on opponents’ reliance on artifacts. Integrate it with cards that allow you to circumvent its strict color requirement or to reset its activation.
Meta-Relevance: In metas dominated by artifact strategies, this card’s ability to shield you can be indispensable. It is especially useful in Commander or other formats where artifact decks are common, ensuring that you have a card up your sleeve against key threats.
How to beat
In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Circle of Protection: Artifacts is a specialized defense card tailored to provide immunity against artifact-based damage. What sets this card apart is its specificity, as it does not shield you from all types of harm but rather zeroes in on artifacts. To counteract this circle’s defense, players need to diversify their strategies beyond artifact-focused attacks. A balanced deck that can deal damage through creature combat, non-artifact sources, or direct spells targeting the player rather than the artifacts themselves can effectively circumvent this protection.
This approach to versatility is reminiscent of the myriad paths one can employ to challenge an opponent. For example, employing a combination of creature buffs or enchantments like Aura effects, or using spells that force a player to sacrifice enchantments can directly address the challenge posed by Circle of Protection: Artifacts. Devising a balanced strategy akin to the adaptability of a card like Oblivion Ring, which removes any non-land permanent from the game, is key to overcoming protection cards that might otherwise seem insurmountable. The essence lies in anticipation, versatility, and keeping your opponent guessing, ensuring that your offensive arsenal can adapt to any shield they might raise.
Ultimately, to tactically dismantle the defenses of Circle of Protection: Artifacts, players must craft a judicious blend of direct and indirect methods of inflicting damage, always staying one step ahead in the strategic dance that defines the complexity and appeal of Magic: The Gathering.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Circle of Protection: Artifacts MTG card by a specific set like Antiquities and Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border, 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 Circle of Protection: Artifacts and other MTG cards:
BUY NOW BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer
- eBay
- 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
Printings
The Circle of Protection: Artifacts Magic the Gathering card was released in 7 different sets between 1994-03-04 and 2004-06-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994-03-04 | Antiquities | ATQ | 4 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Pete Venters | |
| 2 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border | 4BB | 13 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Pete Venters | |
| 3 | 1995-04-01 | Fourth Edition | 4ED | 13 | 1993 | Normal | White | Pete Venters | |
| 4 | 1995-08-01 | Renaissance | REN | 7 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Pete Venters | |
| 5 | 1995-08-01 | Rinascimento | RIN | 5 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Pete Venters | |
| 6 | 1997-03-24 | Fifth Edition | 5ED | 16 | 1997 | Normal | White | Pete Venters | |
| 7 | 2004-06-04 | Fifth Dawn | 5DN | 8 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Terese Nielsen |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Circle of Protection: Artifacts has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Oldschool | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |