Cathedral of Serra MTG Card

Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Land
Released	1994-06-01
Set symbol
Set name	Legends
Set code	LEG
Number	301
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mark Poole

Key Takeaways

Vigilant white creatures from Cathedral of Serra can dominate offense and defense, enhancing board control.
The card’s strategic value in speeding up victories exemplifies a form of resource acceleration.
Encourages playstyles maximizing instant-speed spells with untapped, vigilant creatures.

Text of card

All your white legends gain bands with other legends.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Cathedral of Serra is a unique land card that potentially provides card advantage by boosting your white creatures’ abilities. Each time a white creature enters the battlefield under your control, their vigilance becomes a key factor in both offense and defense, allowing you to maintain board presence without sacrificing your ability to block.

Resource Acceleration: As a nonbasic land, the Cathedral doesn’t directly accelerate resources in the traditional sense of providing additional mana. However, its role in reinforcing your creatures can lead to faster victories, which is a form of strategic acceleration. With vigilant creatures, you’ll be able to put pressure on opponents without leaving yourself open to counterattacks. This translates into a faster pace in pursuing your win condition.

Instant Speed: Although the Cathedral of Serra itself does not operate at instant speed, it encourages a playstyle that takes advantage of instant-speed spells. Having vigilant creatures means you can attack without tapping and still have the option to cast spells or activate abilities during your opponent’s turn, leveraging both your land and your untapped creatures for maximum flexibility.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: A major drawback for players considering the inclusion of Cathedral of Serra in their deck is the inherent asset loss tied to its activation. Deploying its ability necessitates the sacrifice of another valuable card from your hand, thus potentially depleting your tactical reserves and undermining your board position.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s utility is somewhat hampered by its strict mana requirements. Requiring both white mana and additional generic mana can restrict its integration to decks aligned with white mana’s strategic profile, potentially excluding a swath of decks from utilizing this landmark effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When it comes down to resource investment, Cathedral of Serra demands a significant amount. The mana expenditure for its effects might outweigh the benefits when weighed against alternative cards with similar or even superior abilities at a lower mana threshold, leading players to consider other options for their deck construction.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cathedral of Serra offers a unique element to White decks, as it’s not just a land but also provides a static ability to bolster your white creatures in combat, potentially turning games in your favor.

Combo Potential: With the ability to give your white creatures bands with other creatures, this card can create advantageous battle scenarios when combined with creatures that have beneficial board effects upon attacking or when grouping them to bypass blockers.

Meta-Relevance: In a metagame with creature-heavy decks, Cathedral of Serra gives White decks an edge in combat, making it a strategic inclusion for players aiming to outmaneuver opponents in battles and maintain board presence.

How to beat Cathedral of Serra

The Cathedral of Serra is a unique land card in Magic: The Gathering, lending a distinct advantage to white decks with its ability to provide white mana without a mana cost and also grant all white legendary creatures the powerful ability of banding. Its presence on the battlefield can be quite influential, particularly in formats where legendary creatures play a key role.

To effectively counter this card, consider land destruction strategies or spells that can change the land’s type, stripping away the benefits it provides. Targeted removal like Ghost Quarter or Field of Ruin can take care of problematic lands, including the Cathedral. Another tactic is to utilize cards that limit the abilities of lands or negate them entirely, such as Blood Moon, which can transform nonbasic lands into basic Mountains, thereby neutralizing the Cathedral’s utility. Cards that prohibit players from using abilities of certain types of cards can also be effective in mitigating the advantage that Cathedral of Serra offers.

In summary, while the Cathedral of Serra may elevate a white deck’s capabilities, knowing how to dismantle its power can keep your opponent from capitalizing on that extra edge, thus maintaining balance in the duel.

Cards like Cathedral of Serra

Cathedral of Serra is an iconic land card from Magic: The Gathering that elicits memories of the game’s earlier sets. It bears a resemblance to a collection of lands known as the “Legends Lands,” each offering a specific advantage to creatures of a particular type. Similar to Cathedral of War, which grants exalted to creatures, Cathedral of Serra gives a unique gift to white creatures with the banding ability during your turn. Banding is less common in newer sets, making Cathedral of Serra a nostalgic nod to past mechanics.

In the same category, we find cards like Pendelhaven from the Legends set as well. This card boosts small creatures, granting a temporary power and toughness increase. While it doesn’t impact the battlefield as broadly as Cathedral of Serra, its targeted approach can be pivotal during combat. Moving to the more recent Unholy Grotto, this land card serves a similar tribal purpose by offering graveyard recursion to Zombie creatures, showcasing the diverse ways lands can assist specific creature types.

Assessing its place among these lands, Cathedral of Serra stands out with its ability to impact multiple creatures and the strategic depth it brings to combat through the banding mechanic. It reminds players how land cards can embody both power and complexity in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Cathedral of Serra by color, type and mana cost

Terramorphic Expanse - MTG Card versions

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

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