Hero's Resolve MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Enhances creature toughness significantly, making it harder to remove and saving resources for other plays.
  2. Operates at sorcery speed, yet the immediate toughening effect can unexpectedly shift the game’s dynamics.
  3. Requires discarding another card, which can be a setback, and its white mana exclusivity may limit versatility.

Text of card

Enchanted creature gets +1/+5.

"Destiny, chance, fate, fortune—they're all just ways of claiming your successes without claiming your failures." —Gerrard of the *Weatherlight*


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Hero’s Resolve doesn’t directly draw cards, it is a durable enchantment that remains on the battlefield. This can effectively contribute to card economy by making your creatures more difficult to remove and reducing the need for additional creature reinforcements.

Resource Acceleration: Hero’s Resolve doesn’t provide direct mana ramp or acceleration, however, it boosts a creature’s toughness for a single mana investment. This means that your forces can become more formidable without a heavy mana expenditure, freeing up resources for other strategic plays in a match.

Instant Speed: Hero’s Resolve operates at sorcery speed, but its impact on the board is instant in effect. Once applied, the significant +1/+5 boost is immediate, effectively turning a smaller, vulnerable creature into a formidable wall that can affect the field’s balance right away, often catching opponents off-guard.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Hero’s Resolve can provide a solid boost to a creature’s toughness, it requires you to part with another card in your hand. This cost can set you back in card advantage and might not always be desirable, especially in game situations where resources are scarce and each card in hand is crucial for maintaining board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: Tapping into white mana exclusively, Hero’s Resolve may not seamlessly fit into a deck’s mana base, particularly in multicolored decks that may prioritize other colors or have a more diverse mana requirement. This can sometimes result in the card being a dead draw at times when you can’t produce the necessary white mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For an enchantment that provides a toughness boost and nothing else, Hero’s Resolve has a mana cost that some players might consider steep. In the fast-paced environment of MTG, where tempo can dictate the outcome of a match, deploying three mana for an effect that doesn’t immediately influence the board state or provide card advantage might not be the most mana-efficient play.


Reasons to Include Hero’s Resolve in Your Collection

Versatility: Hero’s Resolve is a flexible enchantment that can be a great addition to decks that revolve around buffing creatures. Whether it’s used to strengthen a valued defender or to create a formidable attacker, this card proves its worth in a variety of situations on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: Boosting a creature’s toughness can be more than just a means to withstand damage. In combination with mechanics like enrage or with cards that trigger off of toughness, Hero’s Resolve can be a key component in a clever combo that turns defensive strength into offensive power.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-heavy strategies often dominating the play, a card that can make a creature tougher—and therefore more difficult to remove—can significantly alter the board’s dynamics. In metas where creatures are king, Hero’s Resolve may just give you the edge you need.


How to beat

Hero’s Resolve is an enchantment in Magic the Gathering that boosts a single creature’s toughness significantly, offering a type of resilience that can be challenging to overcome. A creature enchanted with Hero’s Resolve becomes a steadfast defender, but there are various strategies players can use to get around this enhancement.

One effective tactic is to use spells that bypass toughness altogether. Direct removal spells such as Murder, which can destroy a creature regardless of its toughness, can be a solution to a Hero’s Resolve-enchanted creature. Board wipes like Wrath of God also allow you to reset the battlefield, unaffected by any enchantments boosting a creature’s toughness.

Alternatively, control abilities that change ownership, such as Act of Treason, let you take control of the enchanted creature temporarily, which can turn the tables on your opponent. Counterspells are also valuable as they can prevent Hero’s Resolve from hitting the field in the first place. This variety of approaches ensures that while Hero’s Resolve can create a formidable opponent, it’s far from an insurmountable obstacle.


Cards like Hero's Resolve

The strategic use of buffs in MTG can turn the tide of a game, and that’s where Hero’s Resolve stands out. This enchantment resembles other classic cards like Holy Strength, which also provide a permanent boost to a creature’s power and toughness. What differentiates Hero’s Resolve is its specific advantage in bolstering defense with a significant toughness increase, ideal for deterring opponents’ attacks. Meanwhile, Holy Strength offers a more modest enhancement to both power and toughness.

Considering Knightly Valor, another card that grants a power and toughness increase, there’s an additional benefit of summoning a Knight creature with vigilance. While Knightly Valor brings more to the battlefield immediately, it comes at a higher mana cost, making Hero’s Resolve an attractive option for players seeking early game stamina without substantially tapping their mana reserves.

Each card serves a unique role within a player’s deck, but for those adopting a defensive strategy, Hero’s Resolve is often the enchantment of choice, providing steadfast protection with an efficient mana investment, ensuring your guardians stand firm against oncoming threats.

Holy Strength - MTG Card versions
Knightly Valor - MTG Card versions
Holy Strength - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Knightly Valor - Return to Ravnica (RTR)

Cards similar to Hero's Resolve by color, type and mana cost

Blessing - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: White - MTG Card versions
Island Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Crusade - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Blue - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Artifacts - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Red - MTG Card versions
Energy Storm - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Black - MTG Card versions
Ward of Lights - MTG Card versions
Gossamer Chains - MTG Card versions
I'm Rubber, You're Glue - MTG Card versions
Absolute Grace - MTG Card versions
Seal of Cleansing - MTG Card versions
Absolute Law - MTG Card versions
Sacred Ground - MTG Card versions
Pacifism - MTG Card versions
Hypochondria - MTG Card versions
Soulcatchers' Aerie - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Green - MTG Card versions
Blessing - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Circle of Protection: White - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Island Sanctuary - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Crusade - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Circle of Protection: Blue - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Circle of Protection: Artifacts - Renaissance (REN)
Circle of Protection: Red - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Energy Storm - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Circle of Protection: Black - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Ward of Lights - Mirage (MIR)
Gossamer Chains - Visions (VIS)
I'm Rubber, You're Glue - Unglued (UGL)
Absolute Grace - Urza's Saga (USG)
Seal of Cleansing - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Absolute Law - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Sacred Ground - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Pacifism - Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic (DDC)
Hypochondria - Torment (TOR)
Soulcatchers' Aerie - Judgment (JUD)
Circle of Protection: Green - Eighth Edition (8ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hero's Resolve MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and Classic Sixth Edition, 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 Hero's Resolve and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Hero's Resolve Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 1999-04-21. Illustrated by Pete Venters.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-10-14TempestTMP 231997normalblackPete Venters
21999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 241997normalwhitePete Venters

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hero's Resolve has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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