Expose to Daylight MTG Card

The card provides strategic advantage by potentially dismantling opponent’s gameplay through targeted removal. Instant speed allows flexible play, interrupting opponents during their turn without sacrificing own strategy. Despite its higher mana cost, the card’s versality and meta relevance make it a solid inclusion.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Scry

Text of card

Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Scry 1.

"Lies cannot long withstand the harsh light of day." —Lavinia

Cards like Expose to Daylight

Expose to Daylight is a notable card in the realm of enchantment and artifact removal in Magic: The Gathering. Paring it beside Disenchant, a classic and commonly used removal spell, we see similarities in their core function – the destruction of artifacts or enchantments. Yet what sets Expose to Daylight apart is its added ability to investigate, allowing you to draw a card later on. Disenchant, while being cheaper and instant speed, doesn’t provide this card advantage.

Analyzing Naturalize, it mirrors the straightforward removal ability at instant speed and for fewer resources, but again, it lacks card drawing mechanics. Appetite for the Unnatural stands as another peer in this segment. It costs an additional green mana, though it compensates with life gain on top of the destruction effect. This can be pivotal in games where life totals are pressure points.

Taking into account these alternatives, Expose to Daylight has its unique place, especially for players who favor incremental advantages over raw speed or efficiency. The ability to investigate and draw gives it a slight edge in formats where pacing and resources are fundamental to victory.

Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Naturalize - MTG Card versions
Appetite for the Unnatural - MTG Card versions
Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Naturalize - MTG Card versions
Appetite for the Unnatural - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Expose to Daylight offers the strategic edge of removing key enchantments or artifacts from the battlefield, potentially dismantling your opponent’s game plan. By doing so, this disrupts the balance of resources in your favor, especially if the targeted permanent was integral to your adversary’s strategy.

Resource Acceleration: While Expose to Daylight doesn’t directly accelerate resources in terms of mana or cards, the indirect benefit comes from the potential to save mana that may otherwise be spent on dealing with threats created by the removed artifact or enchantment. This saved mana can then be allocated to furthering board development or countering other threats.

Instant Speed: The fact that Expose to Daylight can be cast at instant speed provides flexibility in gameplay. It allows players to respond to opponents’ spells or abilities, waiting for the perfect moment to neutralize a threat without having to pause their own offensive or defensive strategies during their turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike many instant removal spells, Expose to Daylight does not ask for a card to be discarded. However, this can be less beneficial for strategies aiming to leverage graveyard mechanics or those that utilize discard synergies to their advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Expose to Daylight’s cost requires two generic and one white mana, which might constrain its integration into multicolor decks that are not heavily invested in white. Decks focusing on color combinations without a strong white mana base might find it difficult to reliably cast this spell when needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The three-mana cost for Expose to Daylight is relatively high when compared to other artifact and enchantment removal options available. While it provides the option to destroy either an artifact or an enchantment, players may find more mana-efficient cards for dealing with these types of permanents, allowing them to manage their resources more effectively within a game.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Expose to Daylight has the capacity to disrupt opponents across a multitude of deck styles. Able to target artifacts and enchantments, it’s a handy tool for clearing the way of potential threats or pesky utility pieces that could stand between you and victory.

Combo Potential: Often decks revolve around synergies between cards. Expose to Daylight could serve as a key piece in interrupting these combos, effectively dismantling an opponent’s strategy and swinging the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where strategies frequently evolve, being prepared is crucial. Expose to Daylight shines in a metagame rich with crucial artifacts and enchantments, providing a cost-effective answer to otherwise game-changing cards.

How to beat

Expose to Daylight is a key piece of disruption in Magic: The Gathering, specifically tailored for addressing enchantments and artifacts. Its instantaneous nature allows players to react in real-time to their opponent’s strategies, dissolving potential threats with its targeted exile ability. Unlike permanent-specific removals that may linger in hand, waiting for the right target, Expose to Daylight offers a broader scope, making it a versatile addition to a deck’s arsenal.

In terms of contesting Expose to Daylight, one can resort to traditional counter spells to negate its effect, thus protecting one’s crucial artifacts and enchantments from its light. Additionally, playing redundancy in one’s own deck strategy by including similar key enchantments and artifacts can dilute the impact of Expose to Daylight, ensuring that the removal of one vital piece does not cripple your game plan.

Moreover, baiting out Expose to Daylight with less critical permanents can pave the way for more significant threats to successfully land and influence the battlefield. Finally, keeping in mind the three mana cost opens strategic play by pressuring the opponent to reserve mana, potentially slowing them down and disrupting their tempo. Therefore, a combination of foresight and strategic baiting can effectively neutralize Expose to Daylight’s influence within a match.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Expose to Daylight MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance 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 Expose to Daylight and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Expose to Daylight Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-01-25 and 2019-01-25. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-01-25Ravnica AllegianceRNA 82015NormalBlackDaniel Ljunggren
22020-09-26The ListPLST RNA-82015NormalBlackDaniel Ljunggren

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Expose to Daylight has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2019-01-25 If the chosen target becomes an illegal target for Expose to Daylight, the spell doesn’t resolve. You don’t scry 1. If the target is legal but not destroyed (most likely because it has indestructible), you do scry 1.