False Orders MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. False Orders can skew combat by removing blockers, changing the flow of the game in your favor.
  2. The card demands a discard and red mana, making it a strategic choice for certain deck types.
  3. Despite its limitations, False Orders maintains its value through versatility and combo potential.

Text of card

You decide whether and how one defending creature blocks, though you can't make a choice the defender couldn't legally make. Play after defender has chosen defense but before damage is dealt.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While False Orders may not draw you additional cards directly, it can disrupt your opponent’s strategy, causing them to potentially lose card advantage. By temporarily removing a blocker, you could ensure a key creature’s attack hits its mark, which might allow for decisive draw spells or effects to be activated.

Resource Acceleration: False Orders shines in its tactical flexibility rather than traditional resource acceleration. It’s about gaining a tempo advantage by manipulating combat to your favor, potentially allowing you to win trades or push through additional damage—a different kind of resource leverage.

Instant Speed: The true power of False Orders lies in its instant speed, enabling you to make pivotal decisions at the perfect moment. This surprise factor can turn the tide of combat or save your creatures from unfavorable blocks, keeping your board presence strong and your strategy on track.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must discard a card in addition to its casting cost. This can deplete your hand, especially if you’re strategizing for a longer game where resource maintenance is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: False Orders requires red mana to be played. This requirement makes it less flexible, restricting it to red-inclusive decks and potentially causing color mana issues in multi-color builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For what it accomplishes, False Orders has a relatively high mana cost. Strategically, there may be lower-cost cards with similar or better effects available to players looking to optimize their deck’s mana curve and efficiency.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: False Orders offers a unique tactical maneuver that can throw opponents off balance in a wide variety of situations. The ability to force an unexpected block or remove a key blocker can be integrated into an array of deck strategies, making it a flexible tool in both casual and competitive play.

Combo Potential: This card can facilitate surprising combos by clearing the way for other creatures to get through or by setting up favorable trades. In decks that thrive on battlefield shenanigans, False Orders can be a linchpin in executing intricate and devastating plays.

Meta-Relevance: As game environments evolve, understanding and exploiting the current deck archetypes becomes crucial. False Orders can capitalize on popular creature-based strategies, turning the tides of battle when timed correctly, thereby maintaining its relevance in a shifting meta.


How to beat

False Orders is a classic card with a unique ability to disrupt combat by removing an attacking creature from combat and forcing it back to its owner’s hand. This card presents a strategic challenge to deal with, particularly when you’re anticipating a straightforward combat phase. Understanding the timing to counter this move is key to keeping the battlefield in your favor.

The trick to overcoming False Orders involves maintaining a watchful eye on mana availability and anticipating your opponent’s potential plays. Having an instant-speed response that can either counteract the spell or protect your creature can effectively neutralize this disruption. Cards like Blossoming Defense that provide hexproof or Negate which outright counters the spell, work well in safeguarding your strategy against such surprises.

Maintaining card advantage is also crucial when playing against tricks like False Orders. Cards that allow you to draw or spells that can replace themselves in your hand keep your resources high, ensuring you’re ready for whatever your opponent throws your way, including a sneaky False Orders. Ultimately, it’s about being reactive and flexible while preserving your advantage on the field.


Cards like False Orders

False Orders is a unique card in the realm of combat manipulation within Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to suddenly pull a creature out of combat, False Orders can be a game-changing card much like the similar, yet distinctly different, Entrancing Melody. Where False Orders excels in surprising an opponent by removing blockers or attackers, Entrancing Melody takes a more permanent approach by enabling you to gain control of a target creature with its own brand of battlefield trickery.

Another card worth mentioning in this context is Reconnaissance. While it shares the ability to pull creatures from combat, it offers additional versatility, allowing creatures to untap, potentially using abilities multiple times per turn. Beyond this, Act of Treason provides a different angle on battlefield control by giving you temporary control of an opponent’s creature, enabling an attack that could turn the tide of a match. Although False Orders doesn’t grant you control of the creature, its instant speed and low cost make it ideal for unexpected plays.

Evaluating this array of cards, False Orders stands out in situations that demand instant, cost-effective solutions to combat scenarios, defining its niche in strategic play and deck construction in Magic: The Gathering.

Entrancing Melody - MTG Card versions
Reconnaissance - MTG Card versions
Act of Treason - MTG Card versions
Entrancing Melody - Ixalan (XLN)
Reconnaissance - Exodus (EXO)
Act of Treason - Magic 2010 (M10)

Cards similar to False Orders by color, type and mana cost

Chaoslace - MTG Card versions
Red Elemental Blast - MTG Card versions
Tunnel - MTG Card versions
Artifact Blast - MTG Card versions
Lightning Bolt - MTG Card versions
Active Volcano - MTG Card versions
Shock - MTG Card versions
Panic - MTG Card versions
Vertigo - MTG Card versions
Telim'Tor's Edict - MTG Card versions
Hearth Charm - MTG Card versions
Pyroblast - MTG Card versions
Fighting Chance - MTG Card versions
Shower of Sparks - MTG Card versions
Heat Ray - MTG Card versions
Overload - MTG Card versions
Engulfing Flames - MTG Card versions
Sonic Seizure - MTG Card versions
March of Reckless Joy - MTG Card versions
Burst Lightning - MTG Card versions
Chaoslace - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Red Elemental Blast - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Tunnel - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Artifact Blast - Antiquities (ATQ)
Lightning Bolt - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Active Volcano - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Shock - The List (PLST)
Panic - Ice Age (ICE)
Vertigo - Ice Age (ICE)
Telim'Tor's Edict - Mirage (MIR)
Hearth Charm - Visions (VIS)
Pyroblast - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Fighting Chance - Exodus (EXO)
Shower of Sparks - Duel Decks: Heroes vs. Monsters (DDL)
Heat Ray - Iconic Masters (IMA)
Overload - Invasion (INV)
Engulfing Flames - Odyssey (ODY)
Sonic Seizure - Torment (TOR)
March of Reckless Joy - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Burst Lightning - Zendikar (ZEN)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase False Orders MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 False Orders and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The False Orders Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by Anson Maddocks.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 1471993normalblackAnson Maddocks
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 1481993normalblackAnson Maddocks
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 1481993normalwhiteAnson Maddocks
41993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 1481993normalblackAnson Maddocks
51993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 1481993normalblackAnson Maddocks
62022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 1432015normalblackAnson Maddocks
72022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 4401997normalblackAnson Maddocks

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where False Orders has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 If a creature is removed from being a blocker of a given attacker, any triggered abilities that would have happened because it was declared as a blocker still happen.

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