Johan MTG Card

Johan maximizes combat tactics, offering card advantage through favorable trades and battlefield presence. It speeds up your game by facilitating mana base management and enabling quicker spell casting. In spite of its power, Johan’s high casting cost and specific mana needs could constrain deck building.

Legends (LEG)
1994-06-01 - Number 236

Chronicles (CHR)
1995-07-01 - Number 77

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Legendary Creature — Human Wizard
Power	5
Toughness	4

Text of card

If Johan does not attack and is not tapped, any of your creatures may attack without tapping.

Cards like Johan

Johan is a distinct character in the realm of Magic: The Gathering with its unique capabilities. When drawing parallels with other cards, you may consider something like Uril, the Miststalker. While both offer powerful benefits to creature-heavy decks, Johan provides creatures with the ability to attack without tapping, allowing for both offense and defense in the same turn. Uril, on the other hand, enjoys a boost in power with aura enchantments and also has built-in hexproof, making it more elusive to targeted spells.

Looking at another card, Rith, the Awakener stands as a proud comparison. While Rith requires a direct attack to trigger its ability to create Saproling tokens, Johan excels by freeing creatures from the tap restriction, promoting a more aggressive strategy. The absence of tap means creatures remain untapped after attacking, ready to block and deter opponents’ attacks, thus reshaping the battlefield strategies in your favor.

Ultimately, Johan’s unique ability to keep creatures at the ready places it in a favorable position among commanders that enhance combat capabilities, striking a fine balance between advancing your offensive line while maintaining a stalwart defense.

Uril, the Miststalker - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Johan by color, type and mana cost

Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner - MTG Card versions

Phabine, Boss's Confidant - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Johan provides a significant edge by enabling you to manipulate combat in your favor, often resulting in beneficial trades or evasion of unfavorable ones – a strategic way to maintain superiority over your opponents’ resources.

Resource Acceleration: As a tri-colored creature, Johan offers a dynamic presence on the battlefield, supporting a multicolored deck’s mana base and potentially expediting the deployment of high-cost spells, thus accelerating your strategic options and resource utilization.

Instant Speed: While Johan himself does not operate at instant speed, the deck’s agility is improved as he complements strategies that capitalize on instant speed spells. His presence allows for confident plays, knowing you have a robust creature to back up your instant speed interactions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Johan demands players to remove cards from their hand, which might be a strategic setback when options are needed on the battlefield.

Specific Mana Cost: This card necessitates a specific combination of mana colors that could hamper deck flexibility, especially for those not running a primarily red, white, and green theme.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card’s casting cost is substantial, which could slow down your game plan as there are more resource-efficient creatures that could be included in your deck for faster gameplay impacts.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Johan brings a unique set of abilities to the table, providing substantial support to creature-based strategies, which can adapt to various gameplay styles. This three-colored card opens up a range of deck-building options and synergies, making it a flexible addition to any collection.

Combo Potential: As a commander, Johan can enable intricate combos by untapping your creatures during each of your turns. This allows for repeated use of tap abilities and could easily turn the tide of a multiplayer game with the right setup.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capability to fit into a multitude of deck archetypes that focus on creature-based tactics, Johan maintains relevance within the meta. This can be particularly potent in environments where maintaining board presence and activating creature abilities multiple times is crucial.

How to beat

Johan is a legendary creature known for giving your team a tactical advantage with his unique abilities in Magic: The Gathering gameplay. One effective strategy to counter Johan is to prioritize the removal of this formidable creature. Spells like Path to Exile and Assassin’s Trophy offer a solution, by exiling or destroying him outright, mitigating the momentum he grants. It’s also worth considering the timing of such removal spells; playing them in response to Johan being declared an attacker can prevent your opponent from capitalizing on his ability to allow creatures to attack without tapping on that turn.

Another approach is to limit Johan’s impact is by using board control spells—such as Wrath of God or Damnation. These spells level the playing field by clearing all creatures from the board, including Johan, before his abilities can sway the game. It’s crucial to manage Johan’s threat by either preemptively keeping creature removal at hand or countering him upon casting with spells like Counterspell or Mana Leak. This ensures Johan doesn’t have the chance to enable an onslaught from an untapped, ready-to-attack army.

In essence, maintaining control with timely removal and leveraging counterspells offers a solid defense against Johan, ensuring that this legendary creature doesn’t dominate the battlefield. Key to success is being prepared and responsive, keeping his ability to energize an army in check.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Johan MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Chronicles, 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 Johan and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Johan Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-06-01 and 1995-07-01. Illustrated by Mark Tedin.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1994-06-01	Legends	LEG		236	1993	Normal	Black	Mark Tedin
2	1995-07-01	Chronicles	CHR		77	1993	Normal	White	Mark Tedin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Johan has restrictions

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