Spirit of Resistance MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Released | 2000-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Invasion |
| Set code | INV |
| Number | 38 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | normal |
| Border | black |
| Illustred by | John Avon |
Key Takeaways
- It provides defensive advantage by using life as a resource to outlast opponents and draw into win conditions.
- Enabling resource savings on defense, it allows a quicker execution of your strategic game plan.
- Its synergy with instant-speed play ensures board stability and a formidable multicolored defense.
Text of card
If you control a permanent of each color, prevent all damage that would be dealt to you.
"Our victory must come from all of Dominaria, or it will not come." —Urza
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Spirit of Resistance provides a unique kind of card advantage in the form of defense. While it doesn’t draw you more cards, it effectively lets you use your life total as a resource to leverage against your opponent, staying alive and in the game longer, increasing your chances to draw into your powerful spells and winning conditions.
Resource Acceleration: This enchantment doesn’t directly ramp up your mana, but by circumventing damage, it saves the resources you might otherwise have to spend on healing, removal, or other forms of damage prevention, allowing you to focus those resources on executing your game plan faster.
Instant Speed: While Spirit of Resistance is not an instant itself, its persistent effect on the battlefield has synergy with instant-speed play. This is because it allows players with multiple colors to hold up mana for instant-speed responses without worrying about their life total, thereby preserving board stability regardless of the opponent’s actions during their turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Playing the Spirit of Resistance card means meeting a specific discard requirement. For a player, having to let go of another valuable card from their hand can be counterintuitive, especially if your hand is sparse and filled with necessary tactics for upcoming turns.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a colorful mana pool to cast. If you’re running a multicolored deck, the specific mana cost could be an obstacle, limiting the card’s flexibility and potentially your strategy if your mana sources aren’t aligned.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a relatively steep mana cost to get Spirit of Resistance onto the battlefield, one must consider the trade-offs. Players might find other cards offering more impactful board presence or immediate effects for a similar or lesser investment, making the Spirit of Resistance a weighty choice in deck construction.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Spirit of Resistance is a unique enchantment that works well with multicolored decks. It offers protection for players by potentially preventing all damage that would be dealt to them, as long as they control a permanent of each color.
Combo Potential: This card can be the cornerstone of combos in decks designed to exploit the five colors. It pairs well with cards that manipulate colors or permanents, enhancing its defensive capabilities and turning it into a game-winning asset.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta diversified with multicolored decks, Spirit of Resistance shines by providing consistent damage mitigation. It excels in environments with varied threats, helping players stabilize against aggressive and combo-focused opponents.
How to beat
The Spirit of Resistance is a unique enchantment in MTG celebrated for protecting players with a shield of life preservation as long as they control a permanent of each color. To effectively navigate and dismantle this intricate defense, one needs to adopt a strategy that disrupts the color balance it relies on. Addressing the wide array of colors can be achieved by focusing your efforts on color-specific removals or employing colorless disruptions to bypass its protections.
Consider using targeted removal like Fragmentize or generically effective spells like Oblivion Ring to exile key colored permanents from the battlefield. It’s also worth considering the flexibility of board wipes that can reset the playfield entirely. Merciless Eviction or Planar Cleansing, among others, can clear away the variety of colors needed to sustain the Spirit’s resistance. However, if the permanent types are diversified, single-type removals won’t suffice.
Understanding the mechanics and identifying the Spirit of Resistance’s cornerstone – a carefully maintained balance of colored permanents – is critical in conquering this formidable enchantment. By disrupting the delicate color coalition or using colorless means to interact, the Spirit’s shield can be turned brittle, giving you a clear path to claim victory.
Cards like Spirit of Resistance
Spirit of Resistance is a unique enchantment within the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering an intriguing approach to defense. It draws comparison to cards like Glacial Chasm, which also provides protection from damage. Spirit of Resistance, however, requires one of each color among permanents you control to nullify damage, whereas Glacial Chasm prevents all damage at the cost of cumulative upkeep and being unable to attack.
Another parallel can be drawn with Solitary Confinement, a card that similarly offers personal safeguard but at the expense of skipping your draw step and discarding cards. Spirit of Resistance bypasses such trade-offs by relying solely on its color-based activation condition. Conversely, Novablast Wurm presents an offensive take on protection, wiping the board clean of creatures each turn which indirectly defends your life total.
Ultimately, Spirit of Resistance stands out in MTG’s spectrum of defensive cards. By fulfilling a multicolor presence, it assures a steadfast shield against damage without the typical continued costs or restrictions seen in some of its counterparts. This makes it a card worth considering for any deck that thrives on color diversity.
Cards similar to Spirit of Resistance by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Spirit of Resistance MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Spirit of Resistance and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Spirit of Resistance 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 Spirit of Resistance card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | A permanent which is of multiple colors counts as each of its colors. |
