Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch MTG Card
2016-04-08 - Number 119
2023-03-21 - Number 107
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human |
| Abilities | Delirium,Transform |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Text of card
Delirium — : Transform Kindly Stranger. Activate this ability only if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.
"I'm not afraid out here, for I know that a higher power protects me."
Cards like Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch
Kindly Stranger offers players a double-faced card dynamic that can pivot a game on its axis. Reminiscent of the transformative power seen in Delver of Secrets, which flips into the formidable Insectile Aberration, Kindly Stranger becomes the aggressive Demon-Possessed Witch once its delirium condition is met. While Delver of Secrets relies on spell density to transform, Kindly Stranger demands a variety of card types in your graveyard, catering to a different deck-building strategy.
Then there’s Accursed Witch, another card with the dual-face feature, which after demise, transmogrifies into an enchantment that harasses your opponent. Unlike Kindly Stranger, the Accursed Witch doesn’t provide a creature on its flip-side but instead offers a persistent, detrimental effect on the opponent’s strategy by increasing their spell costs. Both cards share the mechanic where the environment after transformation becomes more hostile for the opponent, but in diverging ways – one through direct creature power and the other through economic control.
Ultimately, Kindly Stranger and its demonic alter ego ride the crest of versatility and surprise that double-faced cards in MTG introduce, providing a unique toolbox for players who value flexibility and conditions-based power swings in their gameplay.
Cards similar to Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The transformative nature of Kindly Stranger into Demon-Possessed Witch can swing the tide of a game. When flipped, it eliminates an opponent’s creature, effectively providing a two-for-one advantage. This removal combined with a creature presents a powerful shift in board presence.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana or resources, the card offers strategic advantage while on standby. By leveraging its Delirium ability, you can potentially accelerate your game plan by removing key threats and paving the way for a clearer attack strategy, ultimately leading to resource advantage.
Instant Speed: The flip ability can be activated at instant speed, allowing for reactive gameplay that can disrupt opponents’ strategies. This gives players the flexibility to decide the most advantageous moment to unleash the Witch, be it during combat, end of turn, or in response to an opponent’s actions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: To unleash the true power of Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch, you must have Delirium — typically, four or more different card types in your graveyard. This can be particularly taxing since it requires you to manage your graveyard meticulously, often forcing you to discard valuable cards earlier on.
Specific Mana Cost: While Kindly Stranger’s front side requires a manageable three mana of any type, flipping it into Demon-Possessed Witch demands two black mana specifically. This can restrains its playability, limiting it primarily to mono-black or dual-color decks where black mana is abundant.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Entering the battlefield for three mana seems reasonable, but the cost to transform to its more powerful side is also three mana. Six mana across two turns for its full potential can be pretty steep, especially when you are trying to maintain tempo against decks with more straightforward and immediate threats.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch offers a double-faced card mechanic that allows for flexibility in gameplay. One side provides a decent creature that can evolve into a powerful threat, adept at fitting into different deck archetypes that capitalize on creature-based strategies and transformations.
Combo Potential: This card has the potential to significantly impact the board state with its flip ability. Once transformed, it can serve as a removal tool that pairs well with decks focusing on sacrificing creatures or graveyard synergies, allowing for diverse combo opportunities.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, having a transformable threat that can also act as removal helps to stay adaptable. The ability to switch roles from a bystander to a predator keeps opponents guessing and can shift the tide of the game.
How to beat
The Kindly Stranger card presents a unique challenge in MTG due to its two distinct forms. Initially, it enters the game as a rather mild threat, but given the right conditions, it transforms into the far more formidable Demon-Possessed Witch. Overcoming this threat requires a strategy that disrupts this transformative capability.
Dealing with the Kindly Stranger requires board control and removal spells. Since the transformation hinges on Delirium, cards that can manage graveyard composition, such as Scavenging Ooze, become invaluable. They allow you to maintain command over the situation by ensuring that the conditions for Delirium are not met. Additionally, instant speed removal such as Path to Exile can be advantageous, allowing you to respond effectively to the transformation trigger, should it happen.
Direct intervention is also key; thus, creature-focused control cards like Swords to Plowshares or Declaration in Stone could remove the threat before the Witch has a chance to wreak havoc. Recognizing potential threats and maintaining answers in hand will ensure that the Kindly Stranger doesn’t become your demise.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Shadows over Innistrad Remastered, 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 Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Ryan Pancoast.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-04-08 | Shadows over Innistrad | SOI | 119 | 2015 | Transform | Black | Ryan Pancoast | |
| 2 | 2023-03-21 | Shadows over Innistrad Remastered | SIR | 107 | 2015 | Transform | Black | Ryan Pancoast |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Kindly Stranger // Demon-Possessed Witch card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2016-04-08 | Activating Kindly Stranger’s ability twice won’t cause it to transform back into Kindly Stranger once it has already transformed into Demon-Possessed Witch. |
| 2016-04-08 | Because you consider only the characteristics of a double-faced card’s front face while it’s not on the battlefield, the types of its back face won’t be counted for delirium. |
| 2016-04-08 | In some rare cases, you can have a token or a copy of a spell in your graveyard at the moment that an object’s delirium ability counts the card types among cards in your graveyard, before that token or copy ceases to exist. Because tokens and copies of spells are not cards, even if they are copies of cards, their types will never be counted. |
| 2016-04-08 | Some delirium abilities are activated abilities of permanents. To activate such an ability, there must be four or more card types among cards in your graveyard. The number of card types is not rechecked as the ability resolves. |
| 2016-04-08 | The card types in Magic are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, sorcery, and tribal (a card type that appears on some older cards). Supertypes (such as legendary and basic) and subtypes (such as Human and Equipment) are not counted. |
| 2016-04-08 | The number of card types matters, not the number of cards. For example, Wicker Witch (an artifact creature) along with Catalog (an instant) and Chaplain’s Blessing (a sorcery) will enable delirium. |
| 2016-07-13 | For more information on double-faced cards, see the Shadows over Innistrad mechanics article (http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/shadows-over-innistrad-mechanics). |