Sword of Hours MTG Card

Sword of Hours - Forgotten Realms Commander

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact — Equipment
Abilities	Equip
Released	2021-07-23
Set symbol
Set name	Forgotten Realms Commander
Set code	AFC
Number	61
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Brian Valeza

Key Takeaways

Elevate battlefield presence by repeatedly leveraging the Sword of Hours’ card advantage for sustained impact.
Its ability to boost creatures’ power offers a tactical edge, making it a potent force in combat.
Timing equip actions allows for adaptability, enabling dynamic responses during complex MTG matchups.

Text of card

Whenever equipped creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on it. Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage, roll a d12. If the result is greater than the damage dealt or the result is 12, double the number of +1/+1 counters on that creature. Equip (: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Wielding the Sword of Hours can be a powerful way to increase your potential plays through card advantage. As a piece of equipment, once it’s on the battlefield, it can be reused, providing consistent value over multiple turns without the need for additional cards.

Resource Acceleration: The Sword of Hours offers a unique form of resource acceleration. By enhancing your creature’s power, it indirectly accelerates your game plan, especially when it comes to achieving victory through combat damage. A well-timed equip can turn the tides of a game swiftly in your favor.

Instant Speed: Although Sword of Hours itself does not operate at instant speed, its presence can influence instant-speed interactions. Equip abilities can be activated at times that suit you, allowing you to respond to the ever-changing landscape of an MTG game with agility, enhancing the right creature at the optimal moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although the Sword of Hours can be a powerful addition to a deck, it does come with certain drawbacks. One notable downside is its potential to become a dead card in hand without the right support. While it doesn’t have an explicit discard requirement, it can indirectly prompt you to discard other cards if you’re optimizing your plays to build around it, putting a strain on your resources.

Specific Mana Cost: The equip cost of Sword of Hours is specific and relatively steep. It demands two colorless mana to cast and two more to equip, which can be restrictive in terms of mana allocation, especially in the early to mid-game. This specific mana cost requires careful planning, as it can compete with other crucial spells for those valuable mana resources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When looking at the total investment needed to get Sword of Hours operational, it’s clear that its comparatively high mana cost both to cast and to equip is a significant con. In a format where efficiency is key, the four mana total requirement weighs heavily against its potential benefits, and it could be costly in fast-paced games where tempo is crucial. Other equipment or spells may provide combat benefits or card advantage with less of a mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sword of Hours fits seamlessly into a wide array of deck types. Its ability to accumulate time counters means it can complement both aggressive builds looking to capitalize on its power-boosting effect and more controlling ones that appreciate incremental advantages over time.

Combo Potential: This card’s potential to exponentially increase a creature’s power creates numerous combo opportunities. Players can devise strategies around unblockable creatures or leverage cards that tap creatures for value proportionate to their power, thereby exploiting Sword of Hours’ unique mechanic.

Meta-Relevance: In metas dominated by creature-centric decks, Sword of Hours proves especially relevant. As it enhances creatures’ power and can lead to swift game closures, it’s a deck inclusion that can adapt to and capitalize on the prevalence of creature strategies in the current gaming landscape.

How to beat

The Sword of Hours is a potent Magic: The Gathering artifact that operates by accruing time counters, which in turn can substantially beef up a creature’s power and toughness. This dynamic can turn the tide in a player’s favor by propelling a modest creature into a colossal threat. To counter this, your strategy should encompass swift removal spells, artifact destruction, or counterspells to halt the Sword of Hours before it becomes an insurmountable force on the battlefield.

Effective cards to consider for your arsenal include Naturalize, which can directly destroy the artifact, or the versatile Disenchant, catering to the elimination of either an artifact or enchantment. For those preferring to operate proactively, a well-timed Counterspell or Negate as the Sword of Hours is cast can preemptively avoid its oncoming threat. Furthermore, don’t overlook instant-speed removal like Shatter or Abrade that can intervene before your opponent has the chance to attach the Sword to a creature, thereby maintaining your stronghold and keeping the opponent’s creatures within manageable bounds.

In conclusion, while the Sword of Hours could be the centerpiece of an explosive strategy, anticipating it with well-chosen disruption can efficiently neutralize its potential and keep you in a commanding position in your Magic: The Gathering matchups.

BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the depth of MTG gameplay with strategic cards like Sword of Hours adds a thrilling layer to your matches. The ability to tailor your deck to incorporate such dynamic equipment can set you apart at the table. Whether you’re seeking to optimize your plays, manage resources more effectively or enforce a robust strategy against diverse opponents, understanding the multifaceted nature of cards like Sword of Hours is crucial. Don’t let the possibilities end here; dive deeper into MTG lore, strategies, and deck-building tips. Enhance your collection and your mastery of the game with insightful discussions and expert advice by joining us to learn more.

Cards like Sword of Hours

Sword of Hours finds its niche in Magic: The Gathering as a unique artifact equipment. It bears comparison to cards like Fireshrieker, which also doubles the power of a creature during combat. However, Sword of Hours adds a twist with its ability to accumulate hour counters, potentially setting up for exponential growth in power across several turns. This is a feature Fireshrieker lacks, making Sword of Hours potentially more advantageous for long-term strategy.

In the realm of equipment that bolster creature capabilities, we also find Strata Scythe. Strata Scythe, like our themed card, enhances the power of a creature based on the game state – in this case, the number of lands sharing a type with the equipped creature’s controller’s. Although Strata Scythe doesn’t offer the same combo potential with counters, it’s a consistent power-up in land-heavy decks.

Evaluating Sword of Hours against these similar cards, it’s clear that it brings a different tactical approach. This card is a fitting choice for decks focusing on +1/+1 counter synergies and combat tricks, easily shining in situations where increasing a creature’s power can turn the tide of battle in your favor. Its unique counter mechanic sets it apart in the arsenal of MTG equipment.

Cards similar to Sword of Hours by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sword of Hours MTG card by a specific set like Forgotten Realms Commander, 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 Sword of Hours and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sword of Hours has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-07-23	An ability that tells you to roll a die will also specify what to do with the result of that roll. Most often, this is in the form of a “results table” in the card text.
2021-07-23	An effect that says “choose a target, then roll a d20” or similar still uses the normal process of putting an ability on the stack and resolving it. Choosing targets is part of putting the ability on the stack and rolling the d20 happens later, as the ability resolves.
2021-07-23	Dice are identified by the number of faces each one has. For example, a d20 is a twenty-sided die.
2021-07-23	Dice used must have equally likely outcomes and the roll must be fair. Although physical dice are recommended, digital substitutes are allowed, provided they have the same number of equally likely outcomes as specified in the original roll instruction.
2021-07-23	If the equipped creature takes lethal damage at the same time that it deals combat damage, it will die before the counters on it can be doubled. However, you will still roll a d12, which may cause abilities of other permanents to trigger.
2021-07-23	Some abilities, like that of Pixie Guide and Barbarian Class, replace rolling a die with rolling extra dice and ignoring the lowest roll. The ignored rolls are not considered for the effect that instructed you to roll a die, and do not cause abilities to trigger. For all intents and purposes, once you determine which dice count, any extra dice were never rolled.
2021-07-23	Some effects instruct you to roll again. This uses the same number and type of dice as the original roll, and that roll will use the same set of possible outcomes.
2021-07-23	Some effects may modify the result of a die roll. This may be part of the instruction to roll a die or it may come from other cards. Anything that references the “result” of a die roll is looking for the result after these modifications. Anything that is looking for the “natural result” is looking for the number shown on the face of the die before these modifications.
2021-07-23	The instruction to roll a die and the effect that occurs because of the result are all part of the same ability. Players do not get the chance to respond to the ability after knowing the result of the roll.
2021-07-23	To double the number of +1/+1 counters on a permanent, count the number of +1/+1 counters that are currently on that permanent and put that many more on it. Any replacement effects that change this number will apply accordingly.
2021-07-23	Tournament events have more specific rules regarding dice and die-rolling. For more information, please see the most recent version of the Magic Tournament Rules at https://wpn.wizards.com/en/document/magic-gathering-tournament-rules.
2021-07-23	While playing Planechase, rolling the planar die will cause any ability that triggers whenever a player rolls one or more dice to trigger. However, any effect that refers to a numerical result will ignore the rolling of the planar die.