Mystic Barrier MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Released | 2013-11-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Commander 2013 |
| Set code | C13 |
| Number | 18 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | Matt Stewart |
Key Takeaways
- Mystic Barrier creates tactical advantages in multiplayer by restricting combat focus to a single opponent.
- Conserving resources becomes easier, yet the specific mana cost and potential hand disruption pose challenges.
- Its control over combat makes it a meta-relevant addition to any player’s MTG card collection.
Text of card
When Mystic Barrier enters the battlefield or at the beginning of your upkeep, choose left or right. Each player may attack only the opponent seated nearest him or her in the last chosen direction and planeswalkers controlled by that player.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Mystic Barrier focuses gameplay on just one opponent in multiplayer scenarios, effectively streamlining your defense and potentially reducing the number of threats. This selective approach can lead to indirect card advantage by limiting the number of attackers you have to address.
Resource Acceleration: While Mystic Barrier doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it does help in conserving them. This card allows you to focus your resources on one front, ensuring you don’t spread your defenses too thin. This strategic conservation can be just as crucial as acceleration in the right deck.
Instant Speed: Although Mystic Barrier itself is not an instant, it influences the tempo of the game. It can be played right before your turn ends, setting up a situation where opponents need to adapt instantly to the new one-way combat direction, often catching them off guard and disrupting their plans.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Despite Mystic Barrier’s ability to control combat directions, its disadvantage comes from its potential to disrupt your hand. The card does not inherently require a discard, but any strategy involving it may necessitate discarding other cards for balance, which can be a negative trade-off when your hand size is a key component to your game plan.
Specific Mana Cost: Mystic Barrier requires a precise mana investment of three generic and two white mana. This stipulation can be restrictive for multicolored decks that may not consistently generate the necessary white mana, thereby limiting the card’s versatility across various formats and strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of five mana, Mystic Barrier carries a hefty price tag for its unique effect. Considering other cards in the meta that offer more immediate board impact or card advantage, the investment into Mystic Barrier can be seen as inefficient. Players might find better uses for five mana that align more closely with their deck’s win condition.
Reasons to Include Mystic Barrier in Your Collection
Versatility: Mystic Barrier affords players the unique ability to control combat dynamics across the table. This card can be slotted into various Commander decks that aim to steer clear of direct confrontation or that manipulate the direction of combat to influence the game.
Combo Potential: With cards that dictate the flow of combat or benefit from asymmetrical defense tactics, Mystic Barrier can be a linchpin in cunning combinations. It pairs exceptionally well with strategies that might capitalize on opponents being unable to attack you due to its directional restrictions.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where player-to-player combat is dominant, Mystic Barrier emerges as a powerful tool. It can single-handedly alter the course of multiplayer games by restricting attacks and can be especially relevant if the current meta favors aggressive, combat-centric playstyles.
How to beat
Overcoming Mystic Barrier in Magic: The Gathering relies heavily on understanding the card’s mechanics. This unique enchantment defines combat rules, limiting attacks to only the player on your left or right, depending on the chosen direction. To turn the tide, consider cards that don’t rely on combat. Direct damage spells, abilities that cause life loss regardless of combat, and cards that allow creatures to bypass traditional combat steps offer strategic alternatives.
Targeting Mystic Barrier itself is another effective strategy. Cards that allow enchantment destruction or counterspells to prevent it from hitting the board are essential. This means including versatile answers in your deck that can handle a range of threats. When playing against Mystic Barrier, patience is also key; the card can only influence combat but doesn’t protect the player from other angles of attack. Managing resources and timing attacks efficiently when the direction of combat shifts could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Assessing your deck’s flexibility and including non-combat options might just be the strategy needed to dismantle Mystic Barrier’s influence. This not only prepares you for this particular card but enhances your deck’s resilience against a variety of other control strategies you may encounter.
Cards like Mystic Barrier
The card Mystic Barrier presents a unique strategic element in Magic: The Gathering by shaping the flow of combat. In essence, it aligns with the concept of cards like Propaganda and Ghostly Prison, which also manipulate the tactics of battles, albeit through taxing opponents for each attacking creature. Mystic Barrier, however, distinctly redirects combat towards a singular opponent each turn, significantly altering the multiplayer dynamic.
Reflecting on other cards such as Silent Arbiter, we see a restriction on the number of creatures that can attack. While Silent Arbiter focuses on limiting combatants, Mystic Barrier’s approach is more about guiding the direction rather than the quantity. In multiplayer formats, these cards can often work in tandem, strategically narrowing opponents’ options and fortifying one’s own defense.Another card to consider is Meishin, the Mind Cage, which can severely weaken an opponent’s offense. Although the impact on combat is more indirect compared to Mystic Barrier’s explicit targeting directive, Meishin’s influence on the potency of attackers is a critical aspect of its control mechanism.
To conclude, Mystic Barrier shines by carving a unique niche among cards that dictate the tempo and orientation of battles in Magic: The Gathering. It’s the ability to direct the chaos of multiplayer skirmishes that underscores its value on the battlefield.
Cards similar to Mystic Barrier by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Mystic Barrier MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2013, 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 Mystic Barrier and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- 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 Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Mystic Barrier has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Mystic Barrier card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-10-17 | If two Mystic Barriers are on the battlefield with two different chosen directions, you may not attack a player or planeswalker unless that player or the controller of that planeswalker is the opponent seated nearest you in both directions. (This happens most often in two-player games.) |
| 2013-10-17 | In some formats, you may need to disregard teammates sitting between you and the opponent seated nearest you in the chosen direction. In formats like Emperor, other rules may prohibit you from attacking that player. |
| 2013-10-17 | Mystic Barrier affects only what players and planeswalkers each player may attack with creatures they control. It doesn’t affect what players may be targeted by spells or abilities or other interactions. |
| 2013-10-17 | Mystic Barrier doesn’t affect creatures that enter the battlefield attacking. |
