Hot Springs MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	1995-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Ice Age
Set code	ICE
Number	248
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Nicola Leonard

Key Takeaways

Hot Springs excels in card advantage and mana acceleration, crucial for dominating the game.
Its instant speed action allows for tactical responses and unexpected plays.
The card requires careful deck construction due to its mana and discard demands.

Text of card

When Hot Springs comes into play, choose target land you control. : Tap land Hot Springs enchants to prevent 1 damage to any creature or player.

Warmth is life; heat is peace.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hot Springs is a gem for players looking to bolster their card access during gameplay. This seasoned performer allows a strategic replenishment of your hand, giving you more options and keeping the pressure on your opponents with a consistent flow of resources.

Resource Acceleration: For anyone aiming to outpace the competition, this card can be a game-changer. It grants players the ability to quickly bolster their mana pool, propelling them towards executing high-impact plays sooner than expected, and setting the pace of the match in their favor.

Instant Speed: Hot Springs possesses the tactical flexibility of instant speed, affording players the upper hand by responding to threats or opportunities in real time. The ability to act on the fly without interrupting your own turn keeps opponents guessing and allows for surprise maneuvers that can swing the game’s momentum.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Hot Springs card necessitates discarding a card from your hand, which can sometimes be a steep price to pay. Especially in situations where your hand is near depletion, losing another card can set you back and impede your momentum.

Specific Mana Cost: Hot Springs mandates a certain blend of mana to cast, including both red and green. This specificity can hinder its integration into multicolored decks or those that do not have a reliable mana base to support such requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that might be considered high for its effects, Hot Springs faces competition from other cards that can provide similar or better utility at a lower cost, making them more efficient choices in a game where resource management is key.

Reasons to Include Hot Springs in Your Collection

Versatility: Hot Springs stands out as a unique enchant land card, capable of turning any land into a renewable source of life. Its ability to repeatedly provide life gain makes it a utility player in decks that prioritize sustainability and defense.

Combo Potential: This card opens the door to combinations with cards that thrive on life triggers or need a consistent source of life gain for activation. The incremental life it provides can also fuel various life-dependent abilities across different strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where aggro decks prevail, Hot Springs can offer a form of steady life gain, mitigating damage over time. Its low casting cost and potential for continuous life output make it a tactical addition against burn and beatdown opponents.

How to beat

Hot Springs may seem like an unassuming enchantment in MTG, but underestimating its potential for consistent life gain could be a fatal error in your strategy. This aura, when latched onto a land, steadily replenishes a player’s health reserves, potentially changing the tide in protracted battles. To overcome the resilience Hot Springs provides, efficient enchantment removal becomes paramount. Cards like Disenchant, Naturalize or Back to Nature are crucial, as they can remove not just the immediate threat of Hot Springs but also clear away any additional enchantments bogging down the game.

Aggressive play styles also serve as an effective counter. Overwhelming the Hot Springs user before they can establish their life-gain foothold can nullify the card’s impact. For those aiming to interrupt the Hot Springs game plan, faster, low-cost creatures and spells that prioritize damage over board control will apply the necessary pressure. Pacing is key – sprinting ahead of the incremental life gain can ensure that the health buffer provided by Hot Springs never becomes insurmountable.

Ultimately, recognizing and preemptively responding to Hot Springs can mitigate its effectiveness and secure your victory. With the right tools and strategy, this enchanting challenge can be decisively overcome.

Cards like Hot Springs

Hot Springs from Legends stands out in the enchant land category within Magic: The Gathering. It shares similarities with other mana-generating auras, such as Utopia Sprawl and Wild Growth, in that they all aim to ramp up your mana production. Hot Springs, however, offers a unique twist by allowing the enchanted land to prevent damage with the generated mana as opposed to simply ramping. This defensive function adds a layer of strategy, setting it apart from the straightforward ramp potential of its counterparts.

Mana generation is a key element in MTG, and explorations like Overgrowth and Market Festival take the enchant land concept further by providing even more mana of any color. While they don’t have the damage prevention capability of Hot Springs, they do offer superior mana boosting. This makes them an attractive alternative for players looking to accelerate their play rather than reinforce their defenses. On a related note, Fertile Ground presents a balanced mix, creating additional mana of any color while maintaining a low casting cost, ideal for a variety of decks emphasizing speed and versatility.

Considering the diversity among enchant land cards, Hot Springs can be seen as a niche choice for decks that prioritize longevity and tactical playstyle, standing out for its unique blend of mana production and damage mitigation within the enchant land suite in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Hot Springs by color, type and mana cost

Survival of the Fittest - MTG Card versions

Shigeki, Jukai Visionary - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hot Springs MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age, 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 Hot Springs and other MTG cards: