Haazda Shield Mate MTG Card


Haazda Shield Mate - Dissension
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Human Soldier
Released2006-05-05
Set symbol
Set nameDissension
Set codeDIS
Power 1
Toughness 1
Number12
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byRon Spears

Key Takeaways

  1. Haazda Shield Mate offers card advantage by protecting crucial creatures and preserving hand resources.
  2. Instant speed indestructibility enhances tactical play and board state maintenance during key moments.
  3. Inclusion in decks hinges on its defensive value against metagame threats and deck synergy.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Haazda Shield Mate unless you pay . : The next time a source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage.

The Haazda shield is broad, protecting both the free and the guilded.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Haazda Shield Mate can be a catalyst for card advantage in your deck. By protecting key creatures on the board, it ensures that you maintain a strong presence, avoiding the need to replace lost creatures and effectively saving the cards in your hand for other strategic plays.

Resource Acceleration: While Haazda Shield Mate itself does not directly provide resource acceleration, its ability to safeguard your valuable creatures can result in saved resources. By keeping your creatures on the battlefield longer, you can potentially accelerate your strategy without the need to redeploy resources.

Instant Speed: The ability of Haazda Shield Mate to become Indestructible at instant speed provides a significant tactical advantage. This defensive maneuver can be activated in response to threats, ensuring that your creature survives potential destruction, thus maintaining your board state and momentum during critical turns.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One aspect of Haazda Shield Mate that may deter players is its requirement to discard a card to activate its protection ability. This can deplete valuable hand resources, especially in a tight game where every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: With a cost that demands white mana, Haazda Shield Mate demands a firm commitment to white mana-producing lands or sources. This can be restrictive and makes it less versatile when building decks that require a flexible mana base or wish to operate in multiple colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Coming in with a mana cost that’s on the higher end for its effect, Haazda Shield Mate may not always be the most cost-effective choice for a deck. Other creatures or spells offer similar protection at a lower mana cost, potentially making them more appealing for a deck builder looking for efficient options.


Reasons to Include Haazda Shield Mate in Your Collection

Versatility: Haazda Shield Mate is not only a dependable creature in terms of defense but also offers a robust support role. It can be integrated into decks that prioritize protecting key creatures or planeswalkers, thereby bolstering your defensive strategies.

Combo Potential: With its ability to offer indestructibility to other creatures, Haazda Shield Mate harmonizes well with strategies that require keeping vital combo pieces on the board, thus enhancing your deck’s resilience against removal spells.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment teeming with sweepers and targeted removal, Haazda Shield Mate proves its worth by safeguarding your most valued creatures. Its relevance grows as it allows you to maintain a presence on the board against the wide variety of threats present in diverse MTG metagames.


How to beat

Haazda Shield Mate presents an interesting challenge on the battlefield. This defensive creature boasts a powerful ability to protect other permanents, making it a tough nut to crack in creature-heavy strategies. To effectively overcome Haazda Shield Mate, your strategy should focus on bypassing its protective shield. Consider using spells that don’t target, such as board wipes or global effects that do not single out individual creatures. Cards like Supreme Verdict or Wrath of God, which destroy all creatures regardless of any protective abilities, can clear the way for you to push through your opponent’s defenses.

Furthermore, you can also take advantage of the fact that Haazda Shield Mate itself is not indestructible. Efficient removal spells that deal with creatures without targeting can also be key, as cards like Doom Blade or Go for the Throat won’t work due to Haazda’s abilities. Using non-targeting removal such as Toxic Deluge or Damnation can ensure that Haazda Shield Mate and any potent threats it aims to cover are all taken care of at once. By anticipating the presence of this card and including versatile removal in your deck, you can prepare yourself for any surprises and maintain control of the game.


Cards like Haazda Shield Mate

Haazda Shield Mate joins the ranks of protective creatures in Magic: The Gathering. It bears resemblance to other cards like Selfless Spirit, which offers a similar one-time protection by sacrificing itself to make your creatures indestructible. Conversely, Haazda Shield Mate stands its ground, requiring a counter to activate its shielding effect. This gives it an ongoing potential to safeguard your most valuable creatures turn after turn.

Comparably, Teyo, the Shieldmage provides a different type of protection with its emblem, which prevents you from being the target of your opponent’s spells and abilities. Unlike Haazda Shield Mate, Teyo doesn’t directly protect creatures but offers a significant defensive advantage. Dauntless Bodyguard is another card in this vein, allowing you to select a creature upon its entry and sacrifice Dauntless Bodyguard to save that chosen creature later in the game.

Hence, when evaluating their capacities for protection, Haazda Shield Mate is unique for its repetitive defense mechanism in MTG. It leverages both the flexibility to shield multiple creatures and the strategy of deciding when to use its protective counter, standing out among its counterparts as a guardian on the battlefield.

Selfless Spirit - MTG Card versions
Teyo, the Shieldmage - MTG Card versions
Dauntless Bodyguard - MTG Card versions
Selfless Spirit - Eldritch Moon (EMN)
Teyo, the Shieldmage - War of the Spark (WAR)
Dauntless Bodyguard - Dominaria (DOM)

Cards similar to Haazda Shield Mate by color, type and mana cost

Argivian Blacksmith - MTG Card versions
Jamuraan Lion - MTG Card versions
Snow Hound - MTG Card versions
Elvish Healer - MTG Card versions
Femeref Knight - MTG Card versions
Border Guard - MTG Card versions
Stern Marshal - MTG Card versions
Benalish Knight - MTG Card versions
Regal Unicorn - MTG Card versions
Wild Griffin - MTG Card versions
Pianna, Nomad Captain - MTG Card versions
Dogged Hunter - MTG Card versions
Diving Griffin - MTG Card versions
Faithful Squire // Kaiso, Memory of Loyalty - MTG Card versions
Kitsune Palliator - MTG Card versions
Freewind Equenaut - MTG Card versions
Sanctum Guardian - MTG Card versions
Field Marshal - MTG Card versions
Kithkin Healer - MTG Card versions
Kor Hookmaster - MTG Card versions
Argivian Blacksmith - Antiquities (ATQ)
Jamuraan Lion - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Snow Hound - Ice Age (ICE)
Elvish Healer - Ice Age (ICE)
Femeref Knight - Mirage (MIR)
Border Guard - Portal (POR)
Stern Marshal - Portal (POR)
Benalish Knight - Anthologies (ATH)
Regal Unicorn - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Wild Griffin - Starter 2000 (S00)
Pianna, Nomad Captain - Odyssey (ODY)
Dogged Hunter - Odyssey (ODY)
Diving Griffin - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Faithful Squire // Kaiso, Memory of Loyalty - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Kitsune Palliator - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Freewind Equenaut - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Sanctum Guardian - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Field Marshal - Coldsnap (CSP)
Kithkin Healer - Lorwyn (LRW)
Kor Hookmaster - Zendikar (ZEN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Haazda Shield Mate MTG card by a specific set like Dissension, 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 Haazda Shield Mate and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Haazda Shield Mate has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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