Melee MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	1995-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Ice Age
Set code	ICE
Number	200
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Dameon Willich

Key Takeaways

Melee offers card advantage by enhancing combat with multiple creatures, improving board presence.
Instant speed adds flexibility, allowing dynamic response to threats and maximizing combat phases.
The card’s drawbacks include a discard requirement and a specific, sometimes restrictive, mana cost.

Text of card

Cast only on your turn during combat before defense is chosen. Choose how attacking creatures you control are blocked; all defense must be legal. After declaring blocking, untap any unblocked attacking creature. Treat those creatures as though they had not attacked.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Melee ensures that each time you engage in combat with multiple creatures, you’re likely coming out ahead in the exchange. This can consistently pressure your opponent by widening your battlefield presence, leading to eventual card superiority.

Resource Acceleration: By encouraging an aggressive play style with numerous creatures, Melee indirectly accelerates your resources. It compliments strategies that benefit from turning creatures sideways, making each attack more potent and potentially overwhelming your adversary with synergistic effects.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Melee at instant speed means you can adjust your tactics on the fly. It empowers you to make informed decisions in the heat of battle, responding to opponents’ moves or maximizing your combat phase without telegraphing your intentions too early.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Melee requires you to discard a card before it can unleash its effect. This could pose a problem when your hand is already dwindling, forcing tough decisions about resource management.

Specific Mana Cost: Locked into a strict mana combination, Melee demands both red and other colors to cast. This inflexibility can hamper its inclusion in decks that aren’t heavily invested in red mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The cost to bring Melee into play isn’t insignificant. For the mana investment, players often expect a more immediate and powerful impact on the game, making it a potentially cumbersome choice when faster or more potent alternatives are available.

Reasons to Include Melee in Your Collection

Versatility: Melee is a powerhouse in decks that thrive on attacking with multiple creatures. It can turn a simple combat phase into a game-changing event, offering more damage the more creatures you have engaged in battle.

Combo Potential: With its ability to scale damage based on the number of attacking creatures and opponents, Melee can be the linchpin in strategies aiming to exploit such synergies. It fits well in decks that focus on tokens or those that can rapidly deploy a wide array of creatures.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games are decided through creature combat, Melee offers significant advantage. It serves as both a form of removal and a means to inflict substantial damage, keeping your gameplay aligned with the demands of an ever-evolving meta.

How to beat

Melee is a standout card that rewards players for engaging in combat with multiple creatures. This can turn the tides during a battle, incentivizing wide-ranging attacks. To effectively counter this card, it’s essential to adapt your strategy by controlling the battlefield. Using removal spells before attackers are declared can reduce the number of creatures your opponent has, thereby minimizing the impact of Melee.

Another approach is to employ cards with deathtouch or cards that can deal damage to multiple creatures, which dissuade your opponent from attacking with a large army. Having instant-speed interaction allows you to react to the casting of Melee and limit its benefits. Prioritizing creatures with high toughness can also be a deterrent, as it makes it harder for your opponent’s creatures to survive the combats required to get Melee’s full advantage.

Owning answers to combat-based strategies is key. Whether it’s through spot removal, board wipes, or creatures with suitable defensive abilities, maintaining control and preventing your opponent from gaining the upper hand with Melee ensures that you stay out of reach of its potent combat incentives.

Cards like Melee

Melee is a unique combat trick often seen in red decks within Magic the Gathering. Its ability to force creatures to block and the added bonus of tapping those creatures can be compared to cards like Master Warcraft. Master Warcraft gives players control over how creatures attack and block for a turn, but Melee offers the additional advantage of tapping the creatures, potentially leaving an opponent unprotected next turn.

Comparatively, we have Goad, a mechanic that incentivizes creatures to attack and not just block. While it pushes aggressive gameplay, Melee ensures creatures are also not available to defend afterward. Moreover, considering Incite War, which can tap multiple creatures but doesn’t require them, to block, Melee guarantees that key creatures of your opponents are engaged and unable to evade combat.

Evaluating these strategies, it’s clear that Melee holds a pivotal role in red combat mechanisms in Magic the Gathering. Its capacity to manipulate combat, paired with its tactical advantage of incapacitating potential threats, positions it as a card of choice for those looking to master the art of red deck control.

Cards similar to Melee by color, type and mana cost

Beacon of Destruction - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Melee 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 Melee and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Melee has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-04-15	An ability that triggers when something “attacks and isn’t blocked” triggers in the declare blockers step after blockers are declared if (1) that creature is attacking and (2) no creatures are declared to block it. It will trigger even if that creature was put onto the battlefield attacking rather than having been declared as an attacker in the declare attackers step.
2013-09-20	If a turn has multiple combat phases, this spell can be cast during any of them as long as it’s before the beginning of that phase’s Declare Blockers Step.