Join Shields MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Join Shields stands out by offering the ability to protect multiple creatures or even your entire board with a single card, effectively negating multiple threats from your opponent and maintaining your presence on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly accelerating resources, Join Shields saves resources by preventing the need to cast multiple protection spells. This consolidation of power into one card frees up mana and cards for subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The instant nature of Join Shields means you can surprise your opponent, turning their attacks or board wipe attempts into opportunities to fortify your position. This strategic flexibility can swing the game in your favor when timed correctly.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must be wary with Join Shields as it does not directly require discarding cards, but being a reactive card, maintaining a hand with this card until the right moment can indirectly impact hand resource management.

Specific Mana Cost: Join Shields demands both green and white mana to cast, which can be restrictive. Decks that do not run these colors or have a less stable mana base may not be able to utilize this card effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a five-mana investment required to cast Join Shields, players might find the cost steep for its combat trick capabilities. This could be detrimental in faster-paced games where lower-costing spells may offer a quicker advantage.

Reasons to Include Join Shields in Your Collection

Versatility: Join Shields offers flexible defensive options that can be advantageous in many game scenarios. This card can turn the tide during your opponent’s turn by unexpectedly bolstering your creatures’ defenses.

Combo Potential: By granting your creatures indestructible and untapping them, Join Shields opens the door for combos with cards that capitalize on creatures being untapped, or those that benefit from survive ability.

Meta-Relevance: In a gameplay environment that’s heavy on board wipes and combat tricks, having Join Shields in your arsenal can provide a critical edge, allowing your creatures to withstand challenges and swing back with force.

How to beat Join Shields

Overcoming the Join Shields card can be quite the challenge. Known for its ability to surprise opponents and turn the tides of a game, Join Shields effectively endows your creatures with indestructible and hexproof until end of turn while untapping them. This can be a game-changer during your opponent’s combat phase or when someone is relying on targeted removal to disrupt your board.

However, to navigate around Join Shields, you should consider employing board wipes that don’t target, like Wrath of God or Damnation, as these are unaffected by hexproof. You might also try forcing a discard before your opponent has the opportunity to cast Join Shields, using cards such as Thoughtseize to strip it from their hand preemptively. Additionally, countering it with spells like Negate can stop it before its effects come into play.

It’s essential to stay aware of your opponent’s mana and potential plays. Preparing your counter strategies when they have five mana open, especially in colors representing doing it, could mean the difference between victory and defeat. In this way, by being proactive and strategically developing your deck with tools to address such surprises, you can efficiently work around the prominence of Join Shields in the combat metagame.

BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the strategic world of MTG with insights and plays that could transform your approach to the game. Join Shields is a versatile card that could reshape your deck’s dynamic and catch opponents off-guard with clever timing. Understanding its strengths and weaknesses is just the beginning. There’s a universe of combinations and plays that can capitalize on its potent defensive capabilities. If you’re ready to optimize your deck and make each match a showcase of skill and strategy, discover more with us and propel your MTG expertise to new heights. Your next victorious playthrough starts here.