Ertai's Familiar MTG Card

Enhances hand quality through library sifting, elevating chances to draw into key cards for victory. Accelerates resource availability, allowing for earlier casting of significant game-altering spells. Operates at instant speed, providing strategic adaptability and keeping opponents on their toes.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Illusion
Abilities	Mill,Phasing
Released	1997-06-09
Set symbol
Set name	Weatherlight
Set code	WTH
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	38
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Kipling West

Text of card

Phasing If Ertai's Familiar leaves play, put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard. oo U Ertai's Familiar cannot phase out until the beginning of your next upkeep.

Cards like Ertai's Familiar

Ertai’s Familiar is an intriguing artifact creature card blending flexibility and resilience in MTG. Its closest relatives in terms of functionality include cards like Aether Spellbomb and Phyrexian Furnace, which also offer the opportunity to cycle themselves out of the battlefield. Ertai’s Familiar differentiates itself with its phoenix-like ability to return from the graveyard to your hand, ensuring a persistent presence throughout the game.

Another peer is Salvaging Station, which can repeatedly bring back one-cost artifacts like Ertai’s Familiar after they’ve been sacrificed, maximizing the value of such recyclable assets. While Salvaging Station requires more setup and is dependent on other cards to function, Ertai’s Familiar autonomously churns through your deck, encapsulating the principal of self-sufficient card advantage.

To weigh these comparisons, it’s apparent that Ertai’s Familiar holds its ground in decks that cherish recurring card interactions. Its blend of self-rebinding capability and deck manipulation cements it as a versatile choice, particularly for archetypes keen on exploiting artifact synergies and graveyard strategies.

Cards similar to Ertai's Familiar by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ertai’s Familiar offers the ability to sift through your library, ensuring continuous access to necessary spells or creatures. This can lead to an enhanced hand quality and ultimately, increased chances of drawing into your game-winning cards.

Resource Acceleration: By potentially untapping lands or artifacts, Ertai’s Familiar aids in ramping up your resources. This acceleration could result in casting more impactful spells sooner than your opponent expects, potentially tipping the scales in your favor.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of using Ertai’s Familiar at instant speed ensures you can adapt to in-game situations on the fly. This keeps your opponents guessing and allows for responses to threats or opportunities at the most strategic times.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ertai’s Familiar necessitates players to discard a card to utilize its abilities. This could deplete your hand quickly, and can be particularly disadvantageous when card advantage is crucial during a match.

Specific Mana Cost: This card commands a unique combination of mana colors, which could be challenging to generate if your deck isn’t specifically designed to accommodate such costs, thus limiting its versatility across different deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Ertai’s Familiar comes with a mana value that might be considered steep for its effects. There are alternatives in the game that could potentially offer similar or better functionality without such a hefty mana investment, providing a more economical option for deck construction.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ertai’s Familiar offers a wide array of options in gameplay, seamlessly fitting into decks that leverage graveyard mechanics or benefit from self-mill strategies. It’s a multifaceted tool in any deck-builder’s arsenal.

Combo Potential: This card thrives in combo-centric builds, capable of synergizing with reanimator themes or acting as a piece in intricate loops that can lead to game-ending sequences.

Meta-Relevance: With its adaptability, Ertai’s Familiar can hold its own within shifting meta environments. Its ability to recur from the graveyard can give players an edge in prolonged matches, making it a resilient choice against a variety of opponent strategies.

How to beat

Ertai’s Familiar holds its own as an innovative MTG card with flexibility that intrigues many players. This card, reminiscent of Phyrexian mechanics, has the ability to phase out, skirting past the nuisances of board wipes and removals. Despite this elusive trait, players can outmaneuver Ertai’s Familiar with clever strategies.

To circumvent its phasing ability, timing is key. Disrupting the player’s rhythm with instant speed spells that target Ertai’s Familiar when it phases in is a solid tactic. Additionally, employing graveyard disruption tools can be effective, as Ertai’s Familiar relies on the graveyard to optimize its potential. Cards that exile or shuffle graveyards into libraries can neuter its influence. Lastly, making Ertai’s Familiar’s abilities moot with uncounterable spells or abilities that don’t target it directly, such as global enchantments or creatures with broad effects, can also tilt the match in your favor.

Strategizing to ensure your world of spells and creatures remains unfettered by Ertai’s Familiar is possible with a well-tuned deck and attentive gameplay. Shedding light on its weaknesses transforms it from an imposing threat to a manageable element of the game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ertai's Familiar MTG card by a specific set like Weatherlight, 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 Ertai's Familiar and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ertai's Familiar has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-04-01	Activating the activated ability will prevent Ertai’s Familiar from phasing out for any reason, not just due to its own phasing ability.