Forethought Amulet MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact
Released	1994-06-01
Set symbol
Set name	Legends
Set code	LEG
Number	277
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Melissa A. Benson

Key Takeaways

Grants deck control and potential mana savings, enhancing strategic play with its card advantage.
Requires careful deck building due to specific mana needs and the strategic discard requirement.
Forethought Amulet is ideal for prediction-centered decks, boosting resilience in competitive settings.

Text of card

Pay o3 during your upkeep or Forethought Amulet is destroyed. If you receive more than 2 damage from a sorcery or instant source, that damage is reduced to 2.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Forethought Amulet offers strategic depth by allowing you to sift through your deck and prepare for future turns with greater control over your draws.

Resource Acceleration: This amulet can provide a boost by potentially reducing the cost of future spells, facilitating a quicker deployment of your threats or responses on the battlefield.

Instant Speed: The versatility of Forethought Amulet shines as it can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to react to your opponent’s moves and maximize your turns.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Forethought Amulet requires a player to discard a card when leveraging its ability, which can lead to a significant loss of hand advantage, especially detrimental during critical moments when card options are limited.

Specific Mana Cost: With a unique casting cost that demands both colorless and blue mana, the amulet may not seamlessly fit into decks that aren’t tailored to accommodate such specific mana requirements, potentially limiting its versatility across various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a total cost that might be considered steep for its effect, the amulet falls behind when compared to other cards in the same mana range that potentially provide immediate impact or more substantial long-term value to the player.

Reasons to Include Forethought Amulet in Your Collection

Versatility: Forethought Amulet offers a broad utility across various deck archetypes. It allows players to proactively protect their key spells, particularly in environments where counterspells and instant-speed interaction are prevalent.

Combo Potential: The Amulet is a linchpin in decks that hinge on resolving crucial spells. When combined with cards that allow searching for specific instants or sorceries, it secures game-winning combos against decks packed with disruption.

Meta-Relevance: In a competitive landscape dominated by control and combo decks, the Forethought Amulet’s capability to safeguard your essential plays is invaluable. It ensures that your strategy can unfold even in the face of persistent opposition.

How to Beat

Forethought Amulet stands out in the realm of reactive cards in Magic: The Gathering, demanding a strategic approach to overcome it. This artifact has the potential to shift the tide of battle by providing a layer of protection against high-cost spells. Its strength lies in the ability to counter any spell that targets you or a permanent you control unless its caster pays an extra cost equal to the spell’s mana value.

Combatting this card effectively requires a twofold strategy: maintaining a cache of low-cost spells in your deck as they’re less affected by the Amulet’s taxing effect, and stockpiling mana to afford the extra cost imposed on your more powerful spells. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant that can target and destroy artifacts also serve as direct and efficient solutions to dismantle the Amulet, paving the way for your high-impact spells to proceed unimpeded. Additionally, using spells with alternative casting costs or free spells can circumvent the additional mana requirement altogether, turning the tables on your opponent’s defense.

Tackling Forethought Amulet hinges on foresight and a well-prepared deck, making its defeat a rewarding demonstration of strategic acumen within the intricate gameplay of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Forethought Amulet

Forethought Amulet stands out as a unique piece in the realm of preemptive defense strategies within Magic: The Gathering. When assessing parallel mechanics, it’s akin to Mindbreak Trap, which provides a surprising countermeasure against multiple spells. While Mindbreak Trap exiles any number of spells if four or more are cast in a single turn, Forethought Amulet requires a forecast and rewards players who can predict their opponent’s moves precisely.

Leyline of Anticipation shares the aspect of strategizing ahead, granting the invaluable ability to cast spells as though they have flash. Revealing a card and delaying its effect sets Forethought Amulet in a different league, emphasizing knowledge over speed. Another similar artifact, Orbs of Warding, offers a blanket of protection, but rather than an anticipatory action, it delivers a constant static effect that reduces damage and negates targeting – a sturdier but less interactive means of safeguarding oneself.

While evaluating these options, Forethought Amulet carves its niche for players who are adept at predicting their opponent’s moves, offering a tailored shield against future threats. It’s this strategic prospect that renders Forethought Amulet a compelling choice for players aiming to outthink their adversaries at the game table.

Leyline of Anticipation - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Forethought Amulet by color, type and mana cost

The Deck of Many Things - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Forethought Amulet 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 Forethought Amulet and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Forethought Amulet has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Forethought Amulet card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.