Armadillo Cloak MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Improves creatures with sustainable power and life gain, acting as a pseudo-card advantage.
  2. Grants flexibility and combo potential, maintaining usefulness across various metas.
  3. While powerful, the specific mana cost and competition with equivalent-cost cards are drawbacks.

Text of card

Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has trample. Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain that much life.

"Don't laugh. It works." —Yavimaya ranger


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Armadillo Cloak doesn’t directly let you draw cards, it’s a form of indirect card advantage by making your creatures harder to deal with efficiently. It combines lifelink and trample, equipping your creatures with bulk and sustainability, effectively giving you more resources from a single card without having to deplete your hand further.

Resource Acceleration: The pseudo-lifelink provided by Armadillo Cloak effectively accelerates your in-game resources – not in terms of mana, but rather life points. Each hit not only damages your opponent but also bolsters your life total, giving you a better cushion to deploy more aggressive strategies without the usual risks.

Instant Speed: Although Armadillo Cloak is an enchantment that must be cast at sorcery speed, its impact on the board can be sudden and surprising, akin to instant-speed effects. By transforming a benign creature into a significant threat in one turn cycle, it shifts the game’s dynamics instantly, forcing opponents to reconsider their strategy and resources on the fly.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Despite its beneficial effects, Armadillo Cloak demands two specific mana types which could lead to discarding other valuable cards in a tight mana situation just to meet its casting cost.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana cost of Armadillo Cloak includes both green and white, which makes it less flexible for decks that don’t operate on a Selesnya (green and white) mana base or multicolored decks that might struggle with this specific color requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including restrictive colors, some players may find Armadillo Cloak to be a costly investment. It competes with other three-cost enchantments and creatures that could potentially offer immediate board presence or lower-cost auras that are easier to fit into a turn’s mana curve.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Armadillo Cloak is a multi-purpose enchantment that can enhance various creature-based strategies. Its ability to grant trample and lifelink-like effects makes it an excellent choice for both aggressive and defensive decks, improving your creatures’ survivability and impact on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: The way Armadillo Cloak’s life-gain ability stacks with actual lifelink creates opportunities for interesting synergies. It can be paired with cards that profit from life gain or large swings in life totals, opening up avenues for combo plays that can swing games in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: With the continuous evolution of the meta, having a card that remains resilient against various removal spells can be invaluable. Armadillo Cloak ensures you gain life even if the creature it’s attached to is destroyed in combat, keeping you in a stable position against aggressive decks that dominate the current environment.


How to beat

Armadillo Cloak has earned its place as a resilient enchantment in the world of Magic: The Gathering, providing both lifelink and trample to a creature. This combination turns any creature into a significant threat, enabling players to gain life equal to the damage dealt each time it swings. Unlike true lifelink, the life gain from the cloak happens even if the creature is blocked and the damage doesn’t get through to the player.

To dismantle this advantage, consider removal spells to destroy the enchanted creature before the life benefit becomes overwhelming. Instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Doom Blade during your opponent’s turn can be pivotal. If the creature has already become a formidable force, lean towards board wipes like Wrath of God, which aren’t deterred by the trample ability. Enchantment removal is also key; something as straightforward as Disenchant will strip the creature of its cloak, leaving it vulnerable once more. Furthermore, countering this spell upon casting can preemptively prevent its effects, using spells like Counterspell.

Ultimately, success against Armadillo Cloak hinges on timely removal and disrupting the synergies before your opponent’s life total climbs too high. Quick and decisive action will keep the scales of the game balanced in your favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

Armadillo Cloak remains a staple for MTG enthusiasts seeking to enhance their creature’s survivability while posing a dual threat of damage and life gain. If you admire this enchantment’s potential for turning the tide in your favor, our exploratory content dives deeper. There, you’ll uncover impactful strategies, identify synergistic card pairings, and learn the best practices to outmaneuver your opponents. Delve beyond the surface and harness the true power of Armadillo Cloak, along with other game-changing cards, in our focused and engaging guides. Elevate your gameplay—embrace the journey to becoming an adept MTG tactician with us.


Cards like Armadillo Cloak

Armadillo Cloak stands out in the realm of creature enhancement spells in Magic: The Gathering. This enchantment shares similarities with cards like Unflinching Courage, which also provides a creature with a boost in power and toughness along with lifelink. Armadillo Cloak’s unique feature is its ability to grant the controller life even if the creature does not deal damage directly to a player, unlike the lifelink mechanic which is dependent on actual damage dealt.

Another card akin to Armadillo Cloak is Behemoth Sledge. This artifact equipment confers similar benefits as the Cloak, yet, it does come with an equip cost, which could be seen as a downside compared to the immediacy of aura-based buffs. On the upside, Behemoth Sledge can be reused on different creatures. This aspect offers flexibility that Armadillo Cloak lacks since the latter is locked to the enchanted creature unless bounced or removed.

When juxtaposing these enhancements, Armadillo Cloak emerges as a worthy option, especially for strategies keen on gaining life and strengthening creatures while avoiding stringent conditions like lifelink. This balance makes it a compelling choice for decks looking to outlast opponents through both offense and resilience.

Unflinching Courage - MTG Card versions
Behemoth Sledge - MTG Card versions
Unflinching Courage - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Behemoth Sledge - Alara Reborn (ARB)

Cards similar to Armadillo Cloak by color, type and mana cost

Wellspring - MTG Card versions
Dueling Grounds - MTG Card versions
Aura Shards - MTG Card versions
Shield of the Oversoul - MTG Card versions
Sigil of the Nayan Gods - MTG Card versions
Unflinching Courage - MTG Card versions
Battle for Bretagard - MTG Card versions
Fall of the Impostor - MTG Card versions
Captured by Lagacs - MTG Card versions
Calix, Guided by Fate - MTG Card versions
Wellspring - Mirage (MIR)
Dueling Grounds - Invasion (INV)
Aura Shards - The List (PLST)
Shield of the Oversoul - The List (PLST)
Sigil of the Nayan Gods - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Unflinching Courage - The List (PLST)
Battle for Bretagard - Commander Masters (CMM)
Fall of the Impostor - Kaldheim (KHM)
Captured by Lagacs - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Calix, Guided by Fate - March of the Machine: The Aftermath (MAT)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Armadillo Cloak MTG card by a specific set like Invasion and Magic Online Promos, 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 Armadillo Cloak and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Armadillo Cloak Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2000-10-02 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12000-10-02InvasionINV 2291997normalblackPaolo Parente
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 314552003normalblackPaolo Parente
32010-03-19Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the CoalitionDDE 582003normalblackWayne Reynolds
42010-06-18ArchenemyARC 782003normalblackPaolo Parente
52010-11-08Magic Online Theme DecksTD0 A941997normalblackPaolo Parente
62014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 2422015normalblackWayne Reynolds
72016-06-10Eternal MastersEMA 1952015normalblackWayne Reynolds
82019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 13882015normalblackWayne Reynolds
92020-09-26The ListPLST EMA-1952015normalblackWayne Reynolds

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Armadillo Cloak has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-06-08 If Armadillo Cloak enchants a creature you don’t control, you’ll gain life when it deals damage, as long as that damage hasn’t already caused you to lose the game.
2016-06-08 While Armadillo Cloak’s last ability is similar to lifelink, it isn’t lifelink—it’s a normal triggered ability. If a creature you control with lifelink wears an Armadillo Cloak and deals damage, first you’ll gain that much life for lifelink, and then Armadillo Cloak’s triggered ability is put onto the stack. This also means that multiple instances of Armadillo Cloak’s triggered ability do trigger separately.

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