Forebear's Blade MTG Card
2018-04-27 - Number 214p
2018-04-27 - Number 214s
2018-04-27 - Number 214
2023-08-04 - Number 384
2020-09-26 - Number DOM-214
| Card sets | Released in 5 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Artifact — Equipment |
| Abilities | Equip |
Key Takeaways
- The Blade’s self-equipping offers a continuous edge, keeping threats on board without added cost.
- It accelerates victory through stat boosts but comes with mana and battlefield commitments.
- When wielded skillfully, its versatility makes it a valuable addition to creature-focused decks.
Guide to Vigilance card ability
In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.
Text of card
Equipped creature gets +3/+0 and has vigilance and trample. Whenever equipped creature dies, attach Forebear's Blade to target creature you control. Equip
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Forebear’s Blade confers a substantial edge in the form of equipping another creature upon the death of its wielder. This automatic reattachment ensures continuous utility, avoiding tempo loss and retaining pressure on the opponent without spending additional mana or turns to re-equip it to another creature.
Resource Acceleration: By boosting a creature’s power and toughness with Forebear’s Blade, players can potentially shorten the game, leading to a quicker victory. It acts as a form of acceleration by enabling faster damage infliction, which can be key in outpacing an adversary.
Instant Speed: Although Forebear’s Blade doesn’t operate at instant speed, its triggered ability has a similar strategic advantage. Being automatic, it can shift the tides instantaneously during the combat phase, potentially disrupting an opponent’s calculations and creating unexpected blockers or attackers after combat has commenced.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Equipping Forebear’s Blade entails a non-mana cost of having a creature on the battlefield to attach it to. Losing the equipped creature can often leave the player with a need to invest further resources to maintain the blade’s benefits.
Specific Mana Cost: Forebear’s Blade requires both generic and white mana to play, which can be restrictive if your mana base is not well-tuned to include sufficient sources of white mana, or if your deck strategy limits the inclusion of white-producing lands.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana and an equip cost of three mana, Forebear’s Blade is an investment, particularly in faster-paced games where efficiency and speed can dictate the winner. There are less expensive alternatives available that could potentially be a better fit in more aggressive or mana-conscious decks.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Forebear’s Blade is a flexible equipment card that can seamlessly adapt to various deck archetypes. Whether you are commanding aggressive creatures or need a value-added asset for your more defense-minded units, its ability to grant +3/+0 and vigilance makes it a boon for any creature-heavy strategy.
Combo Potential: Its unique ability to automatically attach to another creature when the equipped creature dies creates opportunities for uninterrupted aggression. This constant presence on the battlefield can enable synergies with cards that benefit from equipment or react to artifact dynamics.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame that prizes creatures and combat, Forebear’s Blade’s stat boost and the built-in resilience against creature removal can give decks a persistent edge. This relevance ensures that having it as part of your arsenal could pivot the tide of battle in creature-centric match-ups.
How to beat Forebear’s Blade
Forebear’s Blade is a potent artifact in Magic: The Gathering, boasting an ability to significantly strengthen your creatures and pass on valuable traits upon death. Its true power lies in the buff it provides – granting your equipped creature a hefty boost in attack, vigilance, and trample. However, its strength can be its downfall if you’re on the opposing side seeking to disarm this threat.
To effectively neutralize Forebear’s Blade, focus on removal spells or abilities that can handle artifacts, such as Naturalize or Disenchant, which directly target and destroy artifacts. Disrupting the player’s mana base to delay or prevent Forebear’s Blade’s deployment can be key; cards like Stone Rain or Ghost Quarter can serve this purpose. Alternatively, creature control spells like Pacifism can render the equipped creature harmless, thereby neutralizing the threat without directly dealing with the blade itself.
Strategically speaking, prioritizing the removal of the artifact or minimizing the impact of equipped creatures can make Forebear’s Blade a more manageable element in the game. It’s a balance of timing your responses and having the right counters within your deck to ensure that this powerful equipment doesn’t turn the tide against you.
Cards like Forebear's Blade
Forebear’s Blade is a unique artifact equipment in Magic: The Gathering, offering not only a robust boost with +3/+0 to the equipped creature but also vigilance and trample. When you compare it to other equipment cards such as Fireshrieker, which only doubles the creature’s combat damage without the additional power bonus, Forebear’s Blade seems to hold an upper hand in versatility.
Another card worth comparing is Loxodon Warhammer. Like Forebear’s Blade, it grants trample to your creature, but it also provides a life gain on damage, offering a different kind of tactical advantage. While Loxodon Warhammer gives a smaller boost of +3/+0, it compensates with this impactful life-gain ability.
In the realm of granting multiple abilities, Sword of the Animist stands out as well, although it favors ramping up your land count rather than boosting combat prowess directly. It lacks the immediate offensive impact of Forebear’s Blade but excels in a strategy focused on land acceleration.
Considering these comparisons, Forebear’s Blade is a formidable choice for players seeking an all-in-one solution to make their creatures more threatening on the battlefield, proving its worth in MTG decks focusing on combat enhancement and resilience.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Forebear's Blade MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria Promos and Dominaria Promos, 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 Forebear's Blade 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 Forebear's Blade Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2018-04-27 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Scott Murphy.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2018-04-27 | Dominaria Promos | PDOM | 214p | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy | |
| 2 | 2018-04-27 | Dominaria Promos | PDOM | 214s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy | |
| 3 | 2018-04-27 | Dominaria | DOM | 214 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy | |
| 4 | The List | PLST | DOM-214 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy | ||
| 5 | 2023-08-04 | Commander Masters | CMM | 384 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Forebear's Blade has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Forebear's Blade card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-04-27 | If there’s no target for the triggered ability of Forebear’s Blade, or if the ability’s target becomes illegal, Forebear’s Blade remains on the battlefield unattached. |
