Kjeldoran Home Guard MTG Card
1996-06-10 - Number 8
2006-07-21 - Number 8
2008-09-22 - Number 22
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Soldier |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 6 |
Text of card
At the end of any combat in which Kjeldoran Home Guard attacked or blocked, put a -0/-1 counter on Kjeldoran Home Guard and put a Deserter token into play. Treat this token as a 0/1 white creature.
Cards like Kjeldoran Home Guard
The Kjeldoran Home Guard stands out in the realm of incremental advantage creatures within Magic: The Gathering. This card reminds us of a sleeper hit like the Loyal Praetorian, which also accrues value over time. However, the Kjeldoran Home Guard’s mechanic is a bit different because it generates tokens to replace itself after depleting its own counters, providing potentially endless blockers over the duration of a game.
Another card that echoes this enduring spirit is the Custodi Squire. Even though it is a one-time effect compared to the repeatable nature of Kjeldoran Home Guard, Custodi Squire can bring significant value by recovering a key artifact, enchantment, or creature from the graveyard upon entering the battlefield.
Comparatively, cards like Kjeldoran Home Guard are invaluable in decks that favor long-term strategies and utilize a gradually building presence on the battlefield. With smart plays, Kjeldoran Home Guard can be a pivotal card, offering a nuanced strategy for securing the board one step at a time.
Cards similar to Kjeldoran Home Guard by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Kjeldoran Home Guard provides a unique form of card advantage. As it takes damage, it generates Deserter tokens, bolstering your board presence without depleting your hand.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting mana resources, these tokens can effectively multiply your forces, leading to increased pressure and potential for resource acceleration through other synergistic cards.
Instant Speed: While the Kjeldoran Home Guard itself does not operate at instant speed, it synergizes well with instant-speed spells that can alter combat math, protect it from removal, or spawn Deserter tokens at opportune moments during your opponent’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Kjeldoran Home Guard asks for significant investment in terms of card commitment, which may not align with strategies that aim to maintain card advantage or those that leverage numerous cards in hand.
Specific Mana Cost: Necessitating not just one, but two white mana to cast, the card presents a restriction that might not smoothly fit into all deck archetypes, especially multicolored decks that juggle various mana needs.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an initial casting cost of four mana, including the previously mentioned color specificity, this card might fall behind in the curve when pitted against alternatives offering quicker board presence or more immediate impact on the game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Kjeldoran Home Guard’s endurance in long-drawn-out battles makes it a steadfast inclusion for decks that capitalize on defensive strategies. Its ability to strengthen over time offers a reliable blocker that can evolve into a formidable force.
Combo Potential: As it accumulates damage, Kjeldoran Home Guard has the unique potential to generate Deserter tokens, which can be synergized with effects that capitalize on creature generation or sacrifice mechanics, creating opportunities for intricate and powerful combinations.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where attrition wars are common, this card’s value grows as the game progresses. It can be a resilient addition to a meta where the board state tends to stall and decks aim to win through incremental advantages.
How to beat
Kjeldoran Home Guard stands as a unique creature in the universe of Magic: The Gathering with its defensive capabilities that grow over time. With each attack, it accumulates a “Deserter” token which essentially weakens it but also creates a separate entity that can be used strategically. Defeating this card hinges on negating its ability to generate these tokens. Swift removal spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can dispatch this creature before it becomes a threat by accumulating too many tokens.
Another approach is to use cards that prevent the Home Guard from attacking, such as Pacifism or the versatile Frost Lynx which taps a creature when it enters the battlefield, effectively stalling the Home Guard’s plan. As its power is contingent upon successfully attacking, denying those attacks keeps its power in check. Lastly, employing strategies that capitalize on its diminishing toughness—as tokens are created its toughness decreases—can be effective. Burn spells or cards that deal damage according to a creature’s toughness, like Dismember, can eliminate the Home Guard as its resilience wanes.
Understanding these interactions is crucial to conquer Kjeldoran Home Guard and maintain control of the battlefield, ensuring that your opponent’s defensive strategies don’t snowball out of control.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Kjeldoran Home Guard MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Coldsnap Theme Decks, 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 Kjeldoran Home Guard and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
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Printings
The Kjeldoran Home Guard Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Andi Rusu.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996-06-10 | Alliances | ALL | 8 | 1993 | Normal | Black | Andi Rusu | |
| 2 | 2006-07-21 | Coldsnap Theme Decks | CST | 8 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Andi Rusu | |
| 3 | 2008-09-22 | Masters Edition II | ME2 | 22 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Andi Rusu |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Kjeldoran Home Guard has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Kjeldoran Home Guard card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-10-01 | The ability will trigger only if Kjeldoran Home Guard is still on the battlefield at end of combat. If it’s been dealt lethal combat damage and destroyed during that combat (or has left the battlefield during that combat by any other means), its ability won’t trigger and you won’t get a token. |
| 2008-10-01 | You put the Deserter token onto the battlefield even if you can’t put a -0/-1 counter on Kjeldoran Home Guard (because it left the battlefield after its ability triggered but before it resolved, for example). |