Collective Defiance MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Escalate

Key Takeaways

  1. Adaptable to different game states, offering creature removal, hand refresh, or direct damage options.
  2. Can synergize with discard or red aggro strategies but requires careful timing and resource management.
  3. Remains a relevant choice for red-centric decks due to its utility across multiple MTG formats.

Text of card

Escalate (Pay this cost for each mode chosen beyond the first.) Choose one or more — • Target player discards all the cards in their hand, then draws that many cards. • Collective Defiance deals 4 damage to target creature. • Collective Defiance deals 3 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Collective Defiance offers a flexible approach to gaining a card upper hand. With its Escalate ability, you can discard your hand and draw that many cards, refreshing your options and potentially finding the resources you need to control the game.

Resource Acceleration: While not giving you tokens or lands, this card excels in its potential to swiftly remove an obstacle or apply direct pressure, thereby accelerating your tactical position and allowing you to maintain tempo.

Instant Speed: This sorcery’s sheer versatility compensates for not being an instant. By planning its use for your turn, you can select the optimal modes to disrupt opponents and advance your game plan significantly.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Collective Defiance necessitates that you or your opponent discard cards, potentially disrupting your hand if the timing isn’t right or benefiting your adversary in graveyard-centric strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Locked into a red mana cost, Collective Defiance demands a solid base of red resources, making it less flexible for multi-colored or colorless decks that may struggle to meet its casting requirements consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a starting cost of three mana, including two red, players might find other spells that provide similar damage output or strategic flexibility at a lower mana investment. This can make it a less tempting choice in decks where mana efficiency is key.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Collective Defiance offers a flexible spellcasting option that can cater to multiple scenarios. Its modes cater to creature removal, card advantage, or even direct player damage, making it a valuable addition to a variety of red deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: With the ability to force opponents to discard their hand, this card can synergize with strategies revolving around wheel effects. Moreover, it can reset your own hand if you’re searching for new answers or threats, potentially fitting into reanimation or madness-themed builds.

Meta-Relevance: As aggressive and control decks regularly appear in various metagames, Collective Defiance retains its relevance by offering a targeted solution for creatures, direct damage to finish off opponents, or disrupting the opponent’s hand. Its adaptability ensures it’s a card worthy of consideration in specific MTG formats where its impact can be maximized.


How to beat

Collective Defiance is a versatile card in MTG, offering players multiple modes of interaction. This red sorcery enables a caster to deal damage, force an opponent to discard and draw new cards, or a combination of both. Knowing when to deploy this card is pivotal, as its flexibility can disrupt the opponent’s strategy when used effectively. To counteract this card, it’s essential to anticipate when your opponent might be gearing up for a swing in momentum.

Consider saving counterspells or hand disruption tools to intervene before Collective Defiance hits the board. Efficient mana use and keeping a close watch on your opponent’s mana pool can provide you with cues. If no counters are available, optimizing your hand size to minimize the impact of forced discards can help. Playing around this card is a nuanced dance of prediction and resource management, so remember to keep your options open and respond adaptively to its threat.

Featuring versatility and the opportunity to alter the game in multiple ways, Collective Defiance stands out as a formidable card. Nonetheless, through thoughtful play and calculated risks, you can safeguard your strategy and maintain control of the game, even when facing the fervor of this powerful MTG card.


BurnMana Recommendations

As an MTG aficionado looking to refine your deck, understanding the strengths and flexibilities of cards like Collective Defiance can be a game-changer. It’s a potent addition to any red strategy, from controlling the board to replenishing your hand for that final push. Keep your game dynamic with this card’s ability to adapt to various situations, whether you’re facing creatures or need to reset your hand. Recognizing when to play it and how it can synergize with your deck’s theme is quintessential. Eager to grasp new combos and tactics? Dive deeper with us and make every match a showcase of your strategic prowess.


Cards like Collective Defiance

Collective Defiance is a versatile card that provides players with multiple modes to impact the game, somewhat akin to other modal spells in Magic: The Gathering. A card that comes to mind in relation to Collective Defiance is Charmbreaker Devils. While Charmbreaker lacks the direct damage capability, it compensates by recurring instant and sorcery cards from the graveyard to the hand, offering a repeating advantage each turn.

Comparing it further, we see Incendiary Command, which shares the diversity of choices, although it excels with its land destruction option that Collective Defiance does not provide. Incendiary Command also requires a larger mana investment but gives players more control over the board. Conversely, Collective Defiance’s ability to force a player to discard their hand is unique among red spells, making it especially potent in disrupting opponents’ plans.

Gauging the utility and strategic uses, Collective Defiance stands out for its flexibility in both player engagement and impact on the game state, solidifying its position as a card of choice for those seeking to blend direct damage with psychological tactics.

Charmbreaker Devils - MTG Card versions
Incendiary Command - MTG Card versions
Charmbreaker Devils - Innistrad (ISD)
Incendiary Command - Lorwyn (LRW)

Cards similar to Collective Defiance by color, type and mana cost

Stone Rain - MTG Card versions
Game of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Evaporate - MTG Card versions
Pillage - MTG Card versions
Goblin War Cry - MTG Card versions
Steam Blast - MTG Card versions
Goblin Offensive - MTG Card versions
Desert Sandstorm - MTG Card versions
Arc Lightning - MTG Card versions
Search for Survivors - MTG Card versions
Panic Attack - MTG Card versions
Searing Rays - MTG Card versions
Rupture - MTG Card versions
Tundra Fumarole - MTG Card versions
Browbeat - MTG Card versions
Anger of the Gods - MTG Card versions
Erratic Explosion - MTG Card versions
Threaten - MTG Card versions
Sizzle - MTG Card versions
Hammer of Bogardan - MTG Card versions
Stone Rain - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Game of Chaos - Ice Age (ICE)
Evaporate - Homelands (HML)
Pillage - Arena League 2000 (PAL00)
Goblin War Cry - Portal Second Age (P02)
Steam Blast - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Goblin Offensive - Urza's Saga (USG)
Desert Sandstorm - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Arc Lightning - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Search for Survivors - Prophecy (PCY)
Panic Attack - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Searing Rays - Invasion (INV)
Rupture - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Tundra Fumarole - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Browbeat - Masters 25 (A25)
Anger of the Gods - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Erratic Explosion - Planechase 2012 (PC2)
Threaten - Tenth Edition (10E)
Sizzle - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Hammer of Bogardan - Eighth Edition (8ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Collective Defiance MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon Promos and Eldritch Moon, 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 Collective Defiance and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Collective Defiance Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Kieran Yanner.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-07-22Eldritch Moon PromosPEMN 123s2015normalblackKieran Yanner
22016-07-22Eldritch MoonEMN 1232015normalblackKieran Yanner
32023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1482015normalblackKieran Yanner

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Collective Defiance has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Collective Defiance card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2016-07-13 Additional costs don’t affect a spell’s mana value.
2016-07-13 Effects that reduce the cost of spells reduce the total cost, including any escalate costs added.
2016-07-13 If an effect allows you to cast a spell that has escalate without paying its mana cost, you pay escalate costs for that spell if you choose more than one mode.
2016-07-13 If one target of an escalate spell becomes illegal, the other targets will still be affected. If all of the targets become illegal, the spell won’t resolve.
2016-07-13 If two of the chosen modes of an escalate spell target a creature, you may choose the same creature for each mode’s target, or choose different creatures. The same is true if the chosen modes target a player (or opponent).
2016-07-13 You can’t choose any one mode multiple times.
2016-07-13 You choose all of your modes at once. You can’t wait to perform one mode’s actions and then decide to choose more modes.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks