Lord of the Unreal MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Lord of the Unreal boosts the potency of your Illusion creatures, effectively giving you more value from each card by making them harder to target and remove from the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: By protecting your Illusions, Lord of the Unreal ensures that your mana invested into these creatures is safeguarded, thereby preserving your resources for further board development and maintaining a strong presence.

Instant Speed: Although Lord of the Unreal itself does not operate at instant speed, its static ability continuously shields your Illusion creatures, allowing you to play them with more confidence and less concern about immediate counters during your turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One aspect that might dissuade players from including the Lord of the Unreal in their decks is the absence of any self-sustaining mechanic. Unlike other creatures that help replenish your hand or offer card draw capabilities, this one offers no such advantage, which can be particularly taxing in longer duels where maintaining card advantage becomes crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: Lord of the Unreal comes with a mana cost that is exclusively blue, which means it fits primarily in mono-blue or blue-heavy decks. This specificity can limit deck-building options and might not be ideal for players looking to construct a more diverse mana base or include it in multicolored decks that don’t heavily favor blue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While two blue mana for a 2/2 creature that boosts other Illusions might seem reasonable, in the scope of MTG’s vast array of cards, there are alternatives that could be considered more cost-effective. Decks might prefer to use lower-cost creatures with comparable or better stats, or creatures that offer more immediate board presence or utility than a tribal synergy enabler like Lord of the Unreal.

Reasons to Include Lord of the Unreal in Your Collection

Versatility: Lord of the Unreal excels in its ability to enhance Illusion creatures, making them tougher to remove thanks to hexproof. This card integrates well not only in Illusion-centric builds but also in any blue deck that values the protection of its key creatures.

Combo Potential: Pairing Lord of the Unreal with a variety of Illusion creatures can create a formidable board presence. Its synergy with cards that benefit from hexproof creatures or that trigger upon casting Illusions can be the cornerstone of powerful combinations.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment rich with targeted removal spells, Lord of the Unreal safeguards your critical creatures. By making them more resilient to spot removal, it allows for a more consistent performance against control decks that rely on picking off individual threats.

How to beat

Lord of the Unreal is a powerful card that can significantly boost the strength of Illusion creatures in Magic: The Gathering. Generally, Illusions have the drawback of being destroyed if they become targets of spells or abilities, but Lord of the Unreal provides them with Hexproof, protecting them from such threats. Additionally, it gives other Illusion creatures you control +1/+1, further enhancing their threat on the battlefield.

Overcoming this card requires strategic planning. It’s essential to handle Lord of the Unreal quickly before an army of buffed Illusion creatures overwhelms you. Board clearing spells are effective, as they bypass the Hexproof protection by not targeting individual creatures. Utilize non-targeted removal like Supreme Verdict or Terminus that can sweep away all creatures, including those buffed by Lord of the Unreal.

Another tactic is to force your opponent to sacrifice creatures. Since sacrifice is not a targeted action, it circumvents Hexproof. Cards like Liliana of the Veil can pressure your opponent into making difficult decisions. Employing these methods, Lord of the Unreal can be managed effectively, minimizing its impact and tipping the scales of the game back in your favor.

BurnMana Recommendations

Lord of the Unreal offers a strategic advantage in MTG by adding resilience to your Illusion creatures with crucial hexproof ability and an overall strength boost. This advantage, however, comes with certain conditions that require a thoughtful deck-building approach. Focusing your strategy on integrating and protecting Illusion creatures could turn the tides in your favor, especially in matchups against control decks. If you’re looking to enhance your MTG play with a tribal twist or seeking ways to fortify your creatures against targeted removal, delving deeper into the utilities of Lord of the Unreal is worthwhile. For insights on crafting an Illusion-focused deck and optimizing Lord of the Unreal’s potential, extend your MTG knowledge with us.