Pollen Lullaby MTG Card

Lorwyn (LRW)
2007-10-12 - Number 36

Commander 2011 (CMD)
2011-06-17 - Number 26

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Clash

Key Takeaways

Pollen Lullaby allows control of combat phases, providing a strategic edge in maintaining creature presence.
The card’s instant speed allows players to adapt to opponents’ combat moves, preserving critical game resources.
Though it challenges resource management, its clash ability offers potential for top-deck synergy in decks.

Text of card

Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn. Clash with an opponent. If you win, creatures that player controls don't untap during the player's next untap step. (Each clashing player reveals the top card of his or her library, then puts that card on the top or bottom. A player wins if his or her card had a higher converted mana cost.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pollen Lullaby offers a unique edge in card advantage. By effectively skipping your opponent’s combat phase with its Chance ability, you retain your creatures as valuable resources for future turns without expending additional cards.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting resource acceleration, Pollen Lullaby can indirectly pressure your opponent’s resources. By negating an entire attack phase, you force your opponent to commit more to the board, which can set them back when you follow up with board-clearing spells or powerful plays.

Instant Speed: Pollen Lullaby’s instant speed provides significant strategic flexibility. You can disrupt your opponent’s combat strategies mid-battle, preserving your life total and maintaining board control without preemptively tapping out, keeping your options open for reactionary plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Pollen Lullaby doesn’t explicitly require you to discard, its position in a deck often necessitates careful hand management. As a reactive card, holding onto it for the right moment may mean sacrificing the development of your own board or discarding other valuable options in the process.

Specific Mana Cost: Pollen Lullaby’s casting cost requires white mana, making it relatively restrictive in its deck placement. Players not running a white-based or a deck featuring versatile mana sources might find it difficult to integrate this card effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a 1W (one generic and one white mana) cost, Pollen Lullaby might seem affordable, but in non-creature-centric or fast-paced matchups, its mana could potentially be allocated to more impactful plays. Especially considering it’s a one-time use card, some may argue that its cost to benefit ratio is not always favorable.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Pollen Lullaby is a flexible answer to a range of threats. This instant not only disrupts combat by preventing all damage that would be dealt but also has the potential to keep an opponent’s creatures from untapping during their next untap step with its clash mechanic. This flexibility can surprise aggressive opponents and save you from a lethal attack.

Combo Potential: The card’s clash ability can manipulate the top of the deck, an aspect that combo decks can synergize with. In a deck designed around deck manipulation or top-deck control, Pollen Lullaby can be a tactical component that not only stalls the battlefield but also sets up future plays.

Meta-Relevance: For metagames dominated by creature-heavy decks, Pollen Lullaby becomes a key tool to halt the onslaught and gain crucial breathing room. It acts as a safety valve against swarm strategies, buying time for control or combo decks to stabilize and enact their game plan.

How to beat Pollen Lullaby

Pollen Lullaby represents a unique charm within the Magic: The Gathering universe, creating a sense of pause on the battlefield that can throw off an opponent’s momentum. It’s a card that begs the question – how do you bypass its sleep-inducing effects to maintain your strategy? Understanding the card’s strengths is key to formulating a counter.

At its core, Pollen Lullaby can force a situation where your attacking creatures become neutralized without a chance to deal damage. To navigate this, it’s important to have creatures with vigilance so that they remain untapped even if Lullaby resolves. Additionally, including instant-speed removal or counterspells can disrupt this lulling play or at least minimize its impact by selecting the right timing to play your crucial spells.

In essence, Pollen Lullaby can be a hurdle, but with a deck built around vigilance, strategic spell casting, and a proactive approach, you can effectively keep your tempo and render this magical slumber less potent.

Cards like Pollen Lullaby

Pollen Lullaby stands as a unique instant in the world of Magic: The Gathering, offering a blend of creature control and chance. It’s often held against cards like Holy Day or Fog, which are staples in the arena of combat prevention. Both Fog and Holy Day act similarly by negating all combat damage for a turn but without Pollen Lullaby’s coin flip condition that can potentially skip the opponent’s next combat phase.

Further examining this theme leads us to Ethereal Haze, which like its predecessors, prevents combat damage but extends its capabilities to creatures with all abilities. And then there’s Dawn Charm, an instant not only capable of preventing damage but also versatile enough to regenerate a creature or counter a spell that targets you. Even with this flexibility, Dawn Charm doesn’t offer the same potential lockdown effect that makes Pollen Lullaby intriguing to deck builders.

Assessing the strategic benefits and unique functionality, Pollen Lullaby holds its ground as a card that can surprise opponents and control the pace of the game. Its dual utility and the extra layer of luck help it stand out in its category within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Pollen Lullaby by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pollen Lullaby MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn and Commander 2011, 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 Pollen Lullaby and other MTG cards: