War Room MTG Card
2020-11-20 - Number 361
2020-11-20 - Number 716
2022-06-10 - Number 929
2023-08-04 - Number 1054
2023-10-13 - Number 533
2023-10-13 - Number 1124
2023-10-13 - Number 921
2023-10-13 - Number 330
2024-02-09 - Number 310
2024-03-08 - Number 1068
2002-06-24 - Number 86032
2020-09-26 - Number CMR-361
| Card sets | Released in 12 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land |
Key Takeaways
- Provides crucial late-game card advantage by converting spare mana into new cards.
- Instant speed activation lets players adapt and potentially find critical responses.
- Transforms mana surplus into decisive power plays, especially beneficial in commander.
Text of card
: Add . , , Pay life equal to the number of colors in your commanders' color identity: Draw a card.
A figure is moved on a map, and the tide of war changes.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: War Room offers an invaluable opportunity to maintain an upper edge in the late game. With its ability to draw you an extra card each turn, you have a better shot at pulling precisely what you need whether it’s a game-changing creature, a decisive spell, or the land you need to keep the pressure on your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: While War Room does not directly produce mana, the card ensures that your lands are always working for you, especially when you’re flush with mana but thirsting for action. It’s about turning surplus resources into potential power, providing the fuel for your deck’s engine when it matters most.
Instant Speed: The beauty of War Room lies in its ability to be activated at instant speed. This allows you to keep your mana options open throughout your opponent’s turn, adapt to their moves, and only then decide to draw a new card at a moment’s notice, perhaps finding the answer to their latest threat or the means to claim victory on your next turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While War Room doesn’t necessitate discarding directly, players must be conscious that activating its ability requires sacrificing other potential plays or development within the same turn due to manpower allocation.
Specific Mana Cost: War Room’s utility is linked to its requirement of generic mana, making it slightly less palatable for multicolored decks seeking to maintain a lean and efficient mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: In a game where tempo can be crucial, the cumulative cost to both play and utilize War Room can be steep, particularly as there are alternative options for card advantage that cost less or offer additional benefits.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: The War Room card proves to be a flexible addition to any commander deck, offering a reliable source of card draw regardless of the color identity. This makes it a powerful utility land in formats where drawing cards and keeping hand size up are critical to success.
Combo Potential: For decks that capitalize on life as a resource or have means to increase their life total, War Room’s ability can be part of an advantageous loop, sustaining card advantage without depleting resources significantly.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where the late game can determine the victor, War Room’s capacity to provide ongoing card advantage can be a game-changer. It ensures that players can maintain pressure and resource flow during protracted battles, making it a smart pick for decks focusing on endurance.
How to beat the War Room MTG Card
The War Room card presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering. It offers its controller a sustainable form of card advantage, which can be a nuisance to handle during longer games. To disrupt this strategy, consider using land destruction or denial tactics. Cards like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can directly target War Room, eliminating the recurring benefit. Additionally, effects that punish drawing extra cards, such as Underworld Dreams or Notion Thief, can deter players from activating War Room’s ability.
Another approach is to expedite the game. Fast-paced aggro or combo decks can outpace the slow value War Room provides by putting pressure on the opponent and reducing the window in which War Room can impact the game. Be mindful of the life payment required for War Room’s ability. Strategies that can lower your opponent’s life total or use cards like Harsh Mentor to punish activations can make utilizing War Room a risky proposition.
In essence, to effectively counter War Room, you need to assess the context of your battle and employ disruption, pace, or deterrents tailored to your opponent’s strategy. Whether it’s through direct interaction or applying pressure through your deck’s strategy, you’ll find ways to mitigate the advantages War Room provides in your matches.
Cards like War Room
War Room is a distinct land card in Magic: The Gathering that taps for colorless mana or pays a price to draw a card. It shares similarities with another useful land, Arch of Orazca. Both cards offer card-drawing abilities at the cost of mana and life, but War Room requires life payment based on your commander’s color identity, potentially being less costly for mono-color commanders. However, Arch of Orazca’s Ascend requirement can sometimes be easier to meet for decks designed to flood the board with permanents, and it doesn’t scale with the commander’s colors.
Comparing War Room with Mikokoro, Center of the Sea reveals that Mikokoro doesn’t discriminate, allowing each player to draw a card. While this equal opportunity can be leveraged against an empty-handed opponent, War Room’s offer of solitary card advantage makes it a preferable choice for players seeking to not help their opponents. Conversely, Mikokoro can be used in any deck, not just those led by a commander, giving it broader utility across various formats.
Finally, Geier Reach Sanitarium allows players to draw and discard a card, albeit at a lower cost, providing selective advantage while preventing potential mana excess in later stages of the game. Nonetheless, War Room’s pure card draw is invaluable for securing the right resources in crucial moments without compromise.
Cards similar to War Room by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase War Room MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and The List, 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 War Room 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 MTG Products
Printings
The War Room Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2020-11-20 and 2024-03-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 86032 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | ||
| 2 | The List | PLST | CMR-361 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | ||
| 3 | 2020-11-20 | Commander Legends | CMR | 361 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | |
| 4 | 2020-11-20 | Commander Legends | CMR | 716 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | |
| 5 | 2022-06-10 | Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate | CLB | 929 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | |
| 6 | 2023-08-04 | Commander Masters | CMM | 1054 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | |
| 7 | 2023-10-13 | Doctor Who | WHO | 533 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Rocha | |
| 8 | 2023-10-13 | Doctor Who | WHO | 1124 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Rocha | |
| 9 | 2023-10-13 | Doctor Who | WHO | 921 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Rocha | |
| 10 | 2023-10-13 | Doctor Who | WHO | 330 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Andreas Rocha | |
| 11 | 2024-02-09 | Murders at Karlov Manor Commander | MKC | 310 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Milivoj Ćeran | |
| 12 | 2024-03-08 | Fallout | PIP | 1068 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Desmuncubic |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where War Room has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering War Room card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-11-10 | Color identity is set before the game begins and doesn't change during the game, even if your commander is in a hidden zone (like the hand or library) or an effect changes your commander's color. |
| 2020-11-10 | If you don't have a commander, you can't activate War Room's last ability at all. |
| 2020-11-10 | If your commander has no colors in its color identity, you pay no life to activate War Room's last ability. |
