Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom MTG Card
2023-04-21 - Number 230s
2023-04-21 - Number 230
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Battle — Siege |
Text of card
When Invasion of Alara enters the battlefield, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile two nonland cards with mana value 4 or less. You may cast one of those two cards without paying its mana cost. Put one of them into your hand. Then put the other cards exiled this way on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Cards like Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom
The Invasion of Alara is a unique card in the landscape of MTG, as it shares similarities with a number of multi-colored enchantments designed to influence the battlefield. It can be likened to cards such as Maelstrom Nexus, which also gives players the advantage of cascading every first spell they cast each turn. However, the Invasion of Alara is distinct in how it focuses on multicolored spells to provide its beneficial effects, intensifying the value of playing a diverse deck.
Another comparison can be drawn with Last Stand, which similarly benefits from a variety of mana sources. Yet, Invasion of Alara differs by passively boosting your field, instead of demanding a large one-time mana investment. The incremental advantage offered by Invasion of Alara can quickly snowball, making it a favorable option for gradual power build-up.
Examining the broader context of MTG, Invasion of Alara carves its niche by rewarding strategic deck construction and offering sustained bonuses, highlighting it as a favorable choice for players who enjoy a gradual but assured path to victory with their multicolored collections.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When deploying Invasion of Alara, the potential to cascade into other powerful spells offers a significant edge by essentially playing multiple cards from your deck for the cost of one. This can abruptly tip the scales in your favor, keeping your hand full while developing your board presence.
Resource Acceleration: Not only does Invasion of Alara provide a pathway to playing additional spells, but it also can lead to ramping up your resources. By hitting ramp spells in the cascade, it sets the stage for playing high-cost, impactful cards earlier than usual, accelerating your game plan.
Instant Speed: The ability to cast Invasion of Alara at instant speed provides flexibility and the element of surprise. It allows you to wait until the end of your opponent’s turn before deciding the best course of action, potentially disrupting their plans and maximizing the impact of your cascade.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of the Invasion of Alara card is its discard condition. Players must discard a card in addition to paying its mana cost, which can be particularly taxing when you’re already struggling to maintain a strong hand.
Specific Mana Cost: Invasion of Alara demands a specific set of mana colors to cast. This can be challenging for decks that don’t consistently generate the exact mana combination, making it less versatile and more of a niche pick in multicolored decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating its efficiency, Invasion of Alara’s mana cost is on the higher side. This cost can be a significant investment, especially early in the game, and may not always justify the effect provided when compared to other cards with lower and more flexible mana requirements.
Reasons to Include Invasion of Alara in Your Collection
Versatility: Invasion of Alara is a card that offers flexible play options, fitting seamlessly into a variety of decks focused on multicolored spells or strategies that capitalize on landfall mechanics.
Combo Potential: This card’s ability to manipulate both the battlefield and your mana pool opens up numerous combo possibilities, allowing you to swiftly deploy powerful creatures or activate abilities that require a diverse mana base.
Meta-Relevance: With a game state that emphasizes multicolor decks or those that benefit from land-based synergies, Invasion of Alara can serve as a linchpin in asserting dominance over the board and engaging effectively with current meta strategies.
How to Beat
Invasion of Alara is an impactful card in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to potentially flood the battlefield with creatures from your library taps into the very essence of what makes the Alara block’s multicolored focus so powerful. However, like all cards, it’s not without its vulnerabilities. Interacting effectively with it requires a strategic approach to counteract its potential advantage.
Firstly, counterspells are your straightforward solution. Denying Invasion of Alara on the stack prevents its ability from triggering altogether. This preemptive strategy maintains the status quo and stops your opponent’s plans in their tracks. Secondly, graveyard manipulation strategies can limit the utility of Invasion of Alara. By exiling key creatures from the opponent’s graveyard, you disrupt the synergy and reduce the card’s effectiveness. Lastly, with an emphasis on exile and mass removal spells, you can effectively clear any creatures that were summoned to the battlefield, mitigating the advantage gained and resetting the playing field.
Understanding the dynamics of tempo and resource management plays a vital role when facing cards like Invasion of Alara. By preparing with the right answers and executing them at opportune moments, this formidable card can be overcome, showcasing the depth of strategy inherent in Magic: The Gathering.
BurnMana Recommendations
If you’re looking to harness the chaotic magic of multicolor cascading spells, then understanding the nuances of the Invasion of Alara card is key. Whether amplifying your board presence through card advantage or accelerating your resources, this card’s strength lies in its versatility and combo potential. Remember that adapting to its specific mana needs and managing the discard requirement are part of the mastery. Dive deeper with us as you refine your deck and align it to the current MTG meta. The world of Alara awaits—embrace its power and let your strategy unfold. Let’s explore the potential of Invasion of Alara together.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom MTG card by a specific set like March of the Machine Promos and March of the Machine, 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 Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2023-04-21 and 2023-04-21. Illustrated by Mathias Kollros.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023-04-21 | March of the Machine Promos | PMOM | 230s | 2015 | Transform | Black | Mathias Kollros | |
| 2 | 2023-04-21 | March of the Machine | MOM | 230 | 2015 | Transform | Black | Mathias Kollros |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Invasion of Alara // Awaken the Maelstrom card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-04-14 | A Siege’s controller can’t be its protector. If a Siege’s protector ever gains control of it, they choose a new player to be its protector. This is a state-based action. |
| 2023-04-14 | A battle can be attacked by all players other than its protector. Notably, this means a Siege’s controller can attack it. |
| 2023-04-14 | A battle can be dealt damage and be target of spells and/or abilities that target “any target.” |
| 2023-04-14 | A battle’s “defense” is displayed in the bottom right corner of the card. A battle enters the battlefield with that number of defense counters. If another permanent enters the battlefield as a copy of a battle, it also enters with that number of defense counters. |
| 2023-04-14 | Any enters-the-battlefield abilities of the copied permanent will trigger when the token enters the battlefield. Any “as -his permanent] enters the battlefield” or “ -his permanent] enters the battlefield with” abilities of the copied permanent will also work. |
| 2023-04-14 | As a Siege enters the battlefield, its controller chooses an opponent to be its protector. |
| 2023-04-14 | Awaken the Maelstrom has two targets: the player who will draw cards and the permanent an opponent controls that will be destroyed. You must choose legal targets for both to cast Awaken the Maelstrom. All other choices are made on resolution. Specifically, this means you can create a token that’s a copy of the artifact you just put onto the battlefield (which perhaps you just drew) and then put +1/+1 counters on it if it’s also a creature. |
| 2023-04-14 | Battles can’t attack or block, even if one also becomes a creature. If an attacking or blocking creature somehow becomes a battle in addition to being a creature, it is removed from combat. |
| 2023-04-14 | Damage dealt to a battle causes that many defense counters to be removed from it. |
| 2023-04-14 | For Invasion of Alara’s triggered ability, if you exile two nonland cards with mana value 4 or less, but you don’t cast one of them, the one you don’t put into your hand will remain in exile. It won’t be put on the bottom of your library. |
| 2023-04-14 | If a Siege never had defense counters on it (perhaps because a permanent became a copy of one), it can’t have its last defense counter removed. It will be put into its owner’s graveyard. You won’t exile it or cast the other face. |
| 2023-04-14 | If a battle has no defense counters, and it isn’t the source of a triggered ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack, that battle is put into its owner’s graveyard. This is a state-based action. This doesn’t cause a Siege’s intrinsic triggered ability to trigger. |
| 2023-04-14 | If a battle that’s being attacked somehow stops being a battle, it is removed from combat. Similarly, if its controller changes in the middle of combat, it is removed from combat. |
| 2023-04-14 | If a non-battle permanent that is already on the battlefield become a copy of a Siege, its controller chooses one of their opponents to be that battle’s protector. However, it will most likely be put into its owner’s graveyard because it has no defense counters (see below). |
| 2023-04-14 | If a permanent that is represented by a transforming double-faced card becomes a copy of a Siege, it will be exiled as that Siege’s triggered ability resolves, then it will be cast transformed. Note that this applies only to transforming double-faced cards, not to modal double-faced cards that can normally be played using either face. |
| 2023-04-14 | If a token or a card that isn’t represented by a transforming double-faced card becomes a copy of a Siege, it can’t be cast as its triggered ability resolves. It will remain in exile. If it’s a token, it will cease to exist the next time state-based actions are performed. |
| 2023-04-14 | If the copied permanent has in its mana cost, X is 0. |
| 2023-04-14 | If the copied permanent is a token, the token that’s created copies the original characteristics of that token as stated by the effect that created that token. |
| 2023-04-14 | If the copied permanent is copying something else, then the token enters the battlefield as whatever that permanent copied. |
| 2023-04-14 | If the spell has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost. |
| 2023-04-14 | If you cast a spell without paying its mana cost, you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay any additional costs. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those. |
| 2023-04-14 | If you exile only one nonland card with mana value 4 or less, you’ll have the option to cast it. If you don’t, you’ll put it into your hand. |
| 2023-04-14 | In a multiplayer game, if the protector of a battle leaves the game and that battle is not currently being attacked, its controller chooses a new protector for it as a state-based action. If it is being attacked, its controller chooses a new protector for it once no creatures are attacking it. This means that it continues to be attacked and can be dealt combat damage as normal. |
| 2023-04-14 | Only creatures controlled by a battle’s protector can block creatures that are attacking that battle. This means a Siege’s controller can never assign creatures to block for it. |
| 2023-04-14 | Sieges each have an intrinsic triggered ability. That ability is “When the last defense counter is removed from this permanent, exile it, then you may cast it transformed without paying its mana cost.” |
| 2023-04-14 | The token copies exactly what was printed on the original permanent and nothing else (unless that permanent is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn’t copy whether that permanent is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, and so on. |