Break Through the Line MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	2015-01-23
Set symbol
Set name	Fate Reforged
Set code	FRF
Number	94
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Clint Cearley

Key Takeaways

Grants unblockability to small creatures, turning them into significant threats in combat.
Instant speed allows for flexible and surprise tactics during gameplay.
Demands card discard, necessitating mindful hand management for optimal use.

Text of card

: Target creature with power 2 or less gains haste until end of turn and can't be blocked this turn.

"If the Mardu were more in tune with their beasts, they would not scare so easily." —Jilaya, Temur whisperer

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Break Through the Line is designed to maximize your strategies by giving smaller creatures unblockable status until end of turn. This optimizes the cards already on your board, turning them into invaluable assets for direct attacks.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your mana pool, Break Through the Line promotes a swift tempo, enabling a quicker victory and indirectly saving mana resources that would have been used on larger, less efficient creatures.

Instant Speed: The capability to activate Break Through the Line at instant speed grants incredible flexibility. By waiting until the most opportune moment, you maintain a reactive stance that can catch an opponent off guard, effectively bypassing their defenses when they least expect it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One limiting aspect is that Break Through the Line demands that you have another card in hand to discard, which can be a hindrance, especially when your hand is nearly empty. This requirement can slow down your momentum, making it less reliable in fast-paced games where maintaining card advantage is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: This card specifically requires red mana, which can restrict its integration into decks. Those running multiple colors might find it challenging to generate the necessary mana at the exact moment they need to activate its ability. This can reduce the card’s versatility and impact in the game, as it best fits mono-red builds or ones with heavy red mana availability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of two red including an activation cost for each creature you want to grant unblockability, Break Through the Line can be mana-intensive. Considering you need to spend mana for both casting the card and activating its ability, it can compete with other critical plays during your turn, making it less favorable compared to other lower-cost options that could serve a similar purpose.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Break Through the Line offers a unique ability to give creatures with power 2 or less unblockable. This can seamlessly integrate into weenie or aggro decks that emphasize on swinging in with numerous small creatures.

Combo Potential: This card can turn any small creature into a potent threat by bypassing blockers, working well with creatures that have on-hit effects or when combined with damage amplifiers, potentially creating swift victories.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment dense with control decks, Break Through the Line provides a consistent way to land attacks and chip away at the opponent’s life total, maintaining relevance in a variety of competitive scenes.

How to beat

Break Through the Line is a unique magical tool from Magic: The Gathering that grants your smaller creatures the power to become unblockable for a turn. This can turn the tide of a game by allowing precision attacks that can bypass an opponent’s defenses. To counter this strategy, effective measures include removing the enchantment before it can be activated or ensuring that you have a significant number of creatures to block potential attackers that are larger than the card’s power threshold.

Utilizing instant-speed removal spells like Naturalize or Return to Nature can disrupt your opponent’s plans by targeting and destroying Break Through the Line. Another strategy is to control the battlefield with cards that limit the ability to attack, such as Ensnaring Bridge or Propaganda, effectively nullifying the benefits that Break Through the Line provides.

Anticipating this maneuver and preparing your deck with answers to nullify its effect ensures that your opponents’ attempts to slip through your defenses are futile. By understanding and preparing for this card, you can maintain the upper hand and prevent your opponents from leveraging its power against you.

Cards like Break Through the Line

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Break Through the Line offers unique tactical advantages akin to other utility spells. Much like Goblin War Drums, this enchantment gives creatures an edge, though Break Through the Line focuses on making individual creatures unblockable as opposed to granting menace to all creatures you control. It’s a more targeted approach, allowing for precision in gameplay.

Key to the City serves as another parallel card, also enabling a creature to become unblockable. However, it doesn’t offer the haste component that Break Through the Line does, which can be crucial for a swift offense. On the flip side, Key to the City provides a card draw opportunity upon untapping. Furthermore, Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner could be considered a cousin in functionality, possessing an ability that grants unblockability to creatures with power 2 or less, and similarly, it comes with an added benefit of card draw potential.

These cards each have their strategic uses, yet when focusing on agile and fine-tuned control of combat dynamics, Break Through the Line stands out. Its cost efficiency and the hastened aspect it grants to creatures can be a game-changer for players looking to bypass blockers and deliver decisive strikes in MTG.

Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Break Through the Line by color, type and mana cost

Emblem of the Warmind - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Break Through the Line MTG card by a specific set like Fate Reforged, 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 Break Through the Line and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Break Through the Line has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2014-11-24	If the creature’s power is greater than 2 as the activated ability tries to resolve, the ability won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen. However, if the creature’s power is raised above 2 after the ability resolves, it will still have haste and can’t be blocked that turn.