Godless Shrine MTG Card
2006-02-03 - Number 157
2013-02-01 - Number 242
2015-10-02 - Number 11
2019-01-25 - Number 248p
2019-01-25 - Number 248
2022-10-07 - Number 282
2022-10-07 - Number 533
2024-01-12 - Number 401
2024-01-12 - Number 277
2024-01-12 - Number 294
2024-01-12 - Number 401z
2024-02-23 - Number 276
2002-06-24 - Number 72305
2019-12-02 - Number 128
| Card sets | Released in 14 setsSee all |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Land — Plains Swamp |
Text of card
(: Add or to your mana pool.) As Godless Shrine comes into play, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, Godless Shrine comes into play tapped instead.
Cards like Godless Shrine
Godless Shrine is an influential land card offering both convenience and strategic advantages in Magic: The Gathering. It stands alongside other “shock lands” such as Watery Grave and Blood Crypt, which also come into play tapped unless paying 2 life, enabling immediate mana utility. Godless Shrine distinctively taps for both white and black mana, crucial for Orzhov decks requiring a stable mana base without delay.
Comparable as well to fast lands like Concealed Courtyard, Godless Shrine offers more long-term value as it doesn’t enter the battlefield tapped later in the game. However, the pain land, Caves of Koilos, is another similar card that provides immediate colored mana with the trade-off of minor life loss when tapping for colored mana and no life loss for colorless.
Assessing these cards in the context of competitive play, Godless Shrine often outperforms due to its flexibility and synergy with multiple strategies, especially in formats that allow for life trading as a resource. Its presence in a deck signifies a player’s commitment to strategic depth and efficient mana management.
Cards similar to Godless Shrine by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Godless Shrine. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Abzan Amalia Combo | Pioneer | Abzan Amalia Combo | Pioneer Preliminary 2024-04-23 |
 | Abzan Greasefang | Pioneer | Abzan Greasefang | Pioneer League 2024-04-24 |
 | Niv to Light | Pioneer | Niv to Light | Pioneer Preliminary 2024-04-23 (1) |
 | Esper Scam | Modern | Esper Scam | Modern Preliminary 2024-04-24 |
 | Esper Reanimator | Modern | Esper Reanimator | Modern League 2024-04-24 |
 | Mardu Midrange | Modern | Mardu Midrange | Modern League 2024-04-24 |
 | Living End | Modern | Living End | Modern League 2024-04-24 |
 | Goryo's Vengeance | Modern | Goryo's Vengeance | Modern Challenge 32 2024-04-23 |
 | Domain Zoo | Modern | Domain Zoo | Modern Challenge 32 2024-04-23 |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Godless Shrine provides access to two essential colors, black and white, which can significantly broaden your deck’s capabilities and strategies. This dual land can easily fit into your game plan, allowing you to smoothly cast spells requiring one or both colors without missing a beat.
Resource Acceleration: Entering the battlefield untapped if you choose to pay 2 life, Godless Shrine offers immediate resource acceleration. This small life payment can be a strategic move, especially in formats like Modern where the tempo of having access to your colors right away can turn the tide of the game.
Instant Speed: While Godless Shrine itself isn’t played at instant speed, it enables you to utilize other powerful instant speed spells in your repertoire without hindering your mana base. Its presence assures you the necessary resources to react during your opponent’s turn or at the end of their turn, keeping your plays flexible and dynamic.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Godless Shrine doesn’t directly require a discard to be utilized, it can indirectly contribute to a card disadvantage. Entering the battlefield tapped unless you pay 2 life can slow down your game, effectively causing a tempo loss that’s similar to a discard in terms of resource allocation.
Specific Mana Cost: Godless Shrine taps for either white or black mana, which are only two of Magic’s five colors. This means that while it provides excellent mana fixing for Orzhov decks (those that are white and black), it lacks versatility in multicolored decks that require mana outside of its color identity.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite being a land card with no mana cost to play, the optional 2 life payment to have Godless Shrine enter untapped can be considered a high cost, especially in the early game. This is relative to other land cards that either enter untapped without cost or provide additional benefits beyond mana generation.
Reasons to Include Godless Shrine in Your Collection
Versatility: Godless Shrine is a dual land capable of tapping for both black and white mana, making it an essential piece in any deck that runs these colors. It allows for smooth mana fixing and can be searched with land-type-specific cards like fetch lands, ensuring consistency.
Combo Potential: As a shock land, it can be utilized in combination with cards that synergize with land types, such as those that allow you to untap lands or benefit from having a specific land type enter the battlefield. This turns Godless Shrine into a multifaceted tool within various combo strategies.
Meta-Relevance: In formats like Modern, where Orzhov decks are prevalent, Godless Shrine maintains its importance due to its ability to quickly fix mana without losing momentum. It is a must-have for its consistent performance in competitive play, adapting well to evolving metagames with Orzhov strategies.
How to Beat
Godless Shrine enters the battlefield of Magic: The Gathering as a crucial land card for any player employing black or white mana in their deck composition. Similar to the other shock lands in the game, Godless Shrine has the distinct ability to produce either black or white mana at the expense of entering the battlefield tapped unless you pay 2 life. While this versatility is a significant advantage, there are strategies to mitigate its impact on the game.
To efficiently contest a deck with Godless Shrine, consider the inclusion of land destruction cards or abilities that can remove Godless Shrine from the battlefield. Pacing your game to benefit from your opponent’s tempo loss when they choose to have it enter tapped is also a valuable strategy. Alternatively, anticipating the life loss your opponent chooses to incur for immediate mana access can set up opportunities for aggressive plays, taking advantage of their reduced life total. Engaging with Godless Shrine decks requires strategic forethought and a keen understanding of the ebb and flow of the game’s resources.
By exploiting these subtle yet significant moments, a player can navigate the challenge posed by Godless Shrine, maintaining control over the game’s progression and steering towards victory against decks that rely on the mana flexibility it provides.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Godless Shrine MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Guildpact, 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 Godless Shrine and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Godless Shrine Magic the Gathering card was released in 10 different sets between 2006-02-03 and 2024-02-23. Illustrated by 7 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 72305 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | ||
| 2 | 2006-02-03 | Guildpact | GPT | 157 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 3 | 2013-02-01 | Gatecrash | GTC | 242 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Cliff Childs | |
| 4 | 2015-10-02 | Zendikar Expeditions | EXP | 11 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Noah Bradley | |
| 5 | 2019-01-25 | Ravnica Allegiance Promos | PRNA | 248p | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ravenna Tran | |
| 6 | 2019-01-25 | Ravnica Allegiance | RNA | 248 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Ravenna Tran | |
| 7 | Secret Lair Drop | SLD | 128 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Alayna Danner | ||
| 8 | 2022-10-07 | Unfinity | UNF | 282 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Bruce Brenneise | |
| 9 | 2022-10-07 | Unfinity | UNF | 533 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Bruce Brenneise | |
| 10 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 401 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 11 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 277 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 12 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 294 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Cliff Childs | |
| 13 | 2024-01-12 | Ravnica Remastered | RVR | 401z | 2015 | Normal | Black | Rob Alexander | |
| 14 | 2024-02-23 | Ravnica: Clue Edition | CLU | 276 | 2015 | Normal | Borderless | Piotr Dura |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Godless Shrine has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Godless Shrine card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-10-05 | If an effect puts this land onto the battlefield tapped, you may pay 2 life, but it still enters tapped. |
| 2018-10-05 | Unlike most dual lands, this land has two basic land types. It's not basic, so cards such as District Guide can't find it, but it does have the appropriate land types for effects such as that of Drowned Catacomb (from the Ixalan set). |