Resolute Survivors MTG Card


Resolute Survivors - Hour of Devastation
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Warrior
Abilities Exert
Released2017-07-14
Set symbol
Set nameHour of Devastation
Set codeHOU
Power 3
Toughness 3
Number142
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDavid Palumbo

Key Takeaways

  1. Resolute Survivors offers sustained value by gaining life and dealing damage when exerted, aiding in longer matchups.
  2. The card’s mana cost and absence of discard synergy can limit its use in certain MTG deck types.
  3. Amidst aggressive MTG strategies, Resolute Survivors emerges as a competitive and versatile creature.

Text of card

You may exert Resolute Survivors as it attacks. (It won't untap during your next untap step.) Whenever you exert a creature, Resolute Survivors deals 1 damage to each opponent and you gain 1 life.

"We are crops no longer. Reap elsewhere."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Resolute Survivors provides incremental advantage each cycle you activate, potentially drawing out more value from each card played.

Resource Acceleration: By dealing damage through its exert ability, it can speed up your win condition, being especially effective when combined with other energy cards or exert mechanics for a more robust battlefield presence.

Instant Speed: While Resolute Survivors itself isn’t an instant, its exert feature can be triggered during the combat phase, which allows for strategic interplay alongside instant speed spells in your hand, maximizing the turn’s potential.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks for enthusiastic MTG players when considering adding Resolute Survivors to their deck is the lack of a discard requirement. Given that some strategies rely on discarding cards for various benefits, Resolute Survivors’ absence of this feature can be seen as a missed tactical opportunity.

Specific Mana Cost: The Resolute Survivors card demands a specific mana combination to cast, which includes both white and red mana. This mana cost can be a stumbling block for players running multicolor decks that might not always have the necessary mana readily available, limiting the inclusion of Resolute Survivors in diverse deck architectures.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that sits at three mana, including one white and one red, the Resolute Survivors may be considered to have a somewhat high mana cost. In a game where tempo is crucial, its mana cost might deter players from including it in faster, more aggressive decks that favor lower-cost creatures for a swifter board presence.


Reasons to Include Resolute Survivors in Your Collection

Versatility: Resolute Survivors is an adaptable card that can bolster decks designed for long-haul matches. Its ability to chip away at an opponent’s life total while providing you with a life cushion fits various strategies.

Combo Potential: With its exert mechanic, it synergizes well with cards that untap creatures or effects that trigger upon dealing damage, making it a key piece in intricate combo chains.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where aggressive strategies predominate, Resolute Survivors can swing races in your favor, making it a practical choice for players looking to gain an edge in the current competitive scene.


How to Beat Resolute Survivors

Resolute Survivors is a card that thrives in cycling or aggro decks within Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to chip away at an opponent’s life total while fortifying your own. The key to overcoming this tenacious dual-color creature lies in recognizing its dependency on exertion and cycling synergies. Counter strategies can involve preventing the Survivor’s activation by utilizing cards that restrict abilities or by increasing your own life total at a rate that outpaces the damage Resolute Survivors can inflict.

Spot removal spells are particularly effective – consider options that can take it out before the exert ability is used, such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile. Alternatively, if you’re facing a deck that heavily relies on cycling cards to trigger Resolute Survivors, graveyard disruption or hand attack strategies could dismantle your opponent’s game plan. Cards like Leyline of the Void and Thoughtseize hinder your opponent’s ability to initiate their cycling sequence, therefore suppressing the Resolute Survivors’ advantage. Timing and smart choices in terms of removal will be your allies in this battle.

A comprehensive approach, strategic plays, and the right removal spells are paramount in securing victories against decks featuring Resolute Survivors. By anticipating and interrupting your opponent’s strategy, maintaining board control becomes much more feasible, leading to a well-earned triumph over this persistent adversary.


Cards like Resolute Survivors

Resolute Survivors stands out in the pantheon of damage-dealing cards in Magic The Gathering. This card draws a parallel with cards such as Boros Reckoner for its direct damage potential. However, Resolute Survivors offers a unique edge by rewarding players for exerting creatures, which not only causes damage but also provides a life gain curve. Unlike Boros Reckoner, which reacts to being damaged, Resolute Survivors encourages a proactive combat strategy to capitalize on its abilities.

In comparison, we can look at Ahn-Crop Crasher, which emphasizes exerting as a tactical advantage, ensuring that creatures cannot block. While it doesn’t offer the direct life gain or damage punch of Resolute Survivors, it paves the way for a clear attack. Then there’s Truefire Captain, which mirrors the damage redirection aspect of Boros Reckoner and can potentially deal more damage under the right circumstances, though without the consistent life gain or exert synergy found in Resolute Survivors.

Thus, within the context of MTG, Resolute Survivors showcases its worth through an engaging combination of life gain and damage, along with the incentive to engage in combat more aggressively by exerting creatures for a strategic advantage.

Boros Reckoner - MTG Card versions
Ahn-Crop Crasher - MTG Card versions
Truefire Captain - MTG Card versions
Boros Reckoner - Gatecrash (GTC)
Ahn-Crop Crasher - Amonkhet (AKH)
Truefire Captain - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)

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Queen Kayla bin-Kroog - MTG Card versions
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Boros Reckoner - MTG Card versions
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Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer - MTG Card versions
Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute - MTG Card versions
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Queen Kayla bin-Kroog - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Duergar Hedge-Mage - Planechase (HOP)
Plargg, Dean of Chaos // Augusta, Dean of Order - From Cute to Brute (PCTB)
Skyknight Legionnaire - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Hearthfire Hobgoblin - Modern Masters 2015 (MM2)
Depala, Pilot Exemplar - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Tajic, Legion's Edge - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Feather, the Redeemed - War of the Spark Promos (PWAR)
Lavabelly Sliver - Commander Masters (CMM)
Vikya, Scorching Stalwart - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Zirda, the Dawnwaker - Multiverse Legends (MUL)
Akiri, Fearless Voyager - Commander Masters (CMM)
Kargan Warleader - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Boros Reckoner - The List (PLST)
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Venerable Warsinger - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Stonebound Mentor - Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX)
Rem Karolus, Stalwart Slayer - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Resolute Survivors MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation, 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 Resolute Survivors and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Resolute Survivors has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-04-18 All cards in the Amonkhet set that let you exert a creature let you do so as you declare it as an attacking creature, as do some of the cards in the Hour of Devastation set. You can’t do so later in combat, and creatures put onto the battlefield attacking can’t be exerted. Any abilities that trigger on exerting an attacking creature will resolve before blockers are declared.
2017-04-18 If an exerted creature is already untapped during your next untap step (most likely because it had vigilance or an effect untapped it), exert’s effect preventing it from untapping expires without having done anything.
2017-04-18 If you gain control of another player’s creature until end of turn and exert it, it will untap during that player’s untap step.
2017-04-18 Some cards have abilities that trigger whenever you exert any creature. These abilities trigger when you exert that creature or any other creature you control.
2017-04-18 You can’t exert a creature unless an effect allows you to do so. Similar effects that “tap and freeze” a creature (such as that of Decision Paralysis) don’t exert that creature.
2017-07-14 In a Two-Headed Giant game, Resolute Survivors’s last ability causes it to deal a total of 2 damage to the opposing team and you gain 1 life.

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