Kindle MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Kindle scales its damage with each copy in your graveyard, intensifying its threat as the game progresses.
  2. Instant speed gives Kindle flexibility to disrupt during critical game moments, enhancing strategic play.
  3. Kindle’s restrictions include a discard requirement and a specific mana cost, which can limit its use.

Text of card

Kindle deals to target creature or player an amount of damage equal to 2 plus the number of Kindle cards in all graveyards.

Hope of deliverance is scorched by the fire of futility.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Kindle card becomes increasingly powerful with each copy in your graveyard, allowing you to scale your damage output as the game progresses. This can lead to significant card advantage by dealing with multiple threats with a single card.

Resource Acceleration: Although Kindle itself doesn’t produce additional resources, its cost-effectiveness can lead to a faster accumulation of card advantage. This advantage helps to pave the way for deploying more resource-intensive cards sooner, creating a snowball effect that can accelerate your game plan.

Instant Speed: Kindle’s instant-speed nature provides the flexibility to disrupt your opponent’s strategy at critical moments. Whether it’s removing key creatures or answering surprise threats during combat, the versatility of instant speed makes Kindle a powerful tool in your arsenal.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Kindle card demands you to part with another card from your hand, which could deplete your options, particularly when your hand is running dry.

Specific Mana Cost: Kindle’s cost is fixed at a combination of red mana, which may restrict its integration into decks that are not red-focused or that manage a more diverse mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The investment of two red mana for Kindle’s potential damage output might be steep compared to other direct damage spells that cost less and offer a more immediate and sizable impact on the game’s board state.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Kindle provides an adaptable damage option for decks that scale with the game, offering more punch as your graveyard accumulates additional copies.

Combo Potential: As a card that can synergize with graveyard mechanics, Kindle has the potential to integrate into and enhance intricate burn strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta with a prevalence of creature-based decks, Kindle’s increasing damage output can be a critical tool for maintaining board control.


How to beat

The Kindle MTG card is known for its potential to deal damage that grows with each copy in the graveyard. To outsmart this card, control the pace of the game and minimize the number of spells cast. Unlike cards with flat damage rates like Lightning Bolt, Kindle’s effect scales, making graveyard management crucial. Preventing the accumulation of Kindles in the graveyard is key, and can be achieved through graveyard disruption like Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt. Cards like Surgical Extraction can also be used to surgically remove all copies from the game, drastically reducing the threat.

Playing around Kindle also means pacing out threats and being cautious about when to fill the graveyard. Don’t overcommit and thereby enable your opponent to capitalize on a loaded graveyard. Furthermore, life gain strategies can nullify the incremental damage done by Kindle, with cards like Essence Warden providing a buffer that keeps your life total out of danger. It’s also prudent to maintain a full hand to lessen Kindle’s impact, using draw engines or counterspells like Drawn from Dreams or Cancel to stay ahead of the Kindle curve.

Ultimately, hindering Kindle comes down to smart play and strategic deck choices, emphasizing graveyard control, life gain, and hand advantage to mitigate its scaling threat.


Cards like Kindle

The dynamics of controlling the flow of a game is gracefully exemplified by Kindle, which offers incremental value as the game progresses. Like Kindle, Flame Jab is another spell that gains power over time but works through retrace, allowing repeated use from the graveyard. Kindle, though, maintains the surprise element, with the damage potential increasing for each copy in the graveyard, requiring no additional cards to be discarded.

Meanwhile, the classic card Fireball can deal with multiple targets or one massive blow, which can be compared to Kindle’s potential in a long-term match. However, Fireball’s mana cost is variable and typically higher, making Kindle a more mana-efficient choice in the early to mid-game. Incinerate is also noteworthy, offering instant damage with the added benefit it prevents regeneration, something Kindle lacks. Nevertheless, Kindle’s damage can outpace Incinerate when multiple copies are played.

Through this lens, Kindle shines as a formidable option for red decks that favor a strategy building towards overwhelming late-game damage potential while also being functional for early game removal. Its adaptive damage based on graveyard contents sets it apart from other direct damage spells in MTG.

Flame Jab - MTG Card versions
Fireball - MTG Card versions
Incinerate - MTG Card versions
Flame Jab - Eventide (EVE)
Fireball - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Incinerate - Ice Age (ICE)

Cards similar to Kindle by color, type and mana cost

Shatter - MTG Card versions
Word of Blasting - MTG Card versions
Incinerate - MTG Card versions
Guerrilla Tactics - MTG Card versions
Orcish Catapult - MTG Card versions
Blood Frenzy - MTG Card versions
Falter - MTG Card versions
Shattering Pulse - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Strike - MTG Card versions
Starstorm - MTG Card versions
First Volley - MTG Card versions
Surging Flame - MTG Card versions
Psychotic Fury - MTG Card versions
Sudden Shock - MTG Card versions
Fists of the Anvil - MTG Card versions
Magma Jet - MTG Card versions
Seismic Shudder - MTG Card versions
Fling - MTG Card versions
Comet Storm - MTG Card versions
Pyretic Ritual - MTG Card versions
Shatter - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Word of Blasting - Ice Age (ICE)
Incinerate - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Guerrilla Tactics - Mystery Booster Retail Edition Foils (FMB1)
Orcish Catapult - Astral Cards (PAST)
Blood Frenzy - Tempest (TMP)
Falter - Urza's Saga (USG)
Shattering Pulse - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Flowstone Strike - Nemesis (NEM)
Starstorm - Onslaught (ONS)
First Volley - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Surging Flame - Arena League 2006 (PAL06)
Psychotic Fury - Dissension (DIS)
Sudden Shock - Time Spiral (TSP)
Fists of the Anvil - Tenth Edition (10E)
Magma Jet - Friday Night Magic 2009 (F09)
Seismic Shudder - Zendikar (ZEN)
Fling - Magic 2012 (M12)
Comet Storm - Commander 2017 (C17)
Pyretic Ritual - Magic 2011 (M11)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kindle MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and Vintage Masters, 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 Kindle and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Kindle Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 2018-03-16. Illustrated by Donato Giancola.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-10-14TempestTMP 1841997normalblackDonato Giancola
22014-06-16Vintage MastersVMA 1762015normalblackDonato Giancola
32015-05-06Tempest RemasteredTPR 1372015normalblackDonato Giancola
42018-03-16Masters 25A25 1402015normalblackDonato Giancola

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kindle has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-03-16 Because Kindle is still on the stack as you perform its instructions, it isn’t in your graveyard and won’t add to the amount of damage dealt.

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