Sword of Feast and Famine MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 13 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact — Equipment
Abilities Equip

Key Takeaways

  1. Untapping lands and forcing discards gives players a significant edge in resource management.
  2. Flexibility to cast spells at instant speed disrupts opponents’ strategies and improves combat outcomes.
  3. Demands careful deck construction with specific mana and high-cost considerations.

Text of card

Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from black and from green. Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card and you untap all lands you control. Equip


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sword of Feast and Famine provides a clear edge by allowing its wielder to essentially draw into more resources. When the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, not only do you untap all lands you control, but the opponent also discards a card, thinning out their options and improving your attritional strategy.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact offers valuable resource acceleration by untapping all of your lands. This effect lets you surge ahead by deploying more threats or holding up mana for crucial responses, essentially doubling your mana availability in any given turn cycle.

Instant Speed: Although Sword of Feast and Famine itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the untapping of lands provides the necessary flexibility to cast spells at instant speed on your turn or during opponents’ turns. This constant threat of activation can significantly alter how your opponent plays their game, giving you a psychological and strategic advantage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Sword of Feast and Famine provides a compelling benefit by forcing opponents to discard a card, this feature can be double-edged. Against decks that utilize their graveyard as a resource, giving them another card to work with can sometimes backfire.

Specific Mana Cost: This artifact requires a considerable investment, demanding not just any three mana but specifically two colorless and one black-green hybrid mana. This requirement could potentially disrupt your play if those particular mana colors aren’t readily available in the crucial turns.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost and an equip cost that totals five mana, the Sword of Feast and Famine is no negligible expenditure. In faster formats or against early threats, the time taken to deploy and utilize this card could be a liability, rendering it less attractive compared to lower-costing alternatives for immediate board impact or quicker combos.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: The Sword of Feast and Famine is renowned for its capacity to be a game-changer in various decks. Its protection from black and green means it’s quite resilient against a wide breadth of commonly played removal spells and creatures, making it a formidable piece in any duel.

Combo Potential: This equipment not only offers protection and a buff to the creature it’s attached to but also untaps all your lands when you deal combat damage. This opens up significant opportunities to play out your hand, activate abilities, or even play disruptive spells in your second main phase.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where resource advantage is crucial, the Sword of Feast and Famine can often tip the scales in your favor. The card’s ability to disrupt an opponent’s hand while accelerating your board presence keeps it perpetually relevant, making it a must-have for collectors and competitive players alike.


How to Beat

The Sword of Feast and Famine is a powerful artifact card in Magic: The Gathering known for its ability to both protect and enhance creatures. It grants protection from two colors while also forcing opponents to discard a card, and untapping all lands controlled by the wielder. Given its strength and versatility, facing off against it requires a strategy that is both careful and smart.

One effective approach is to use cards that can neutralize artifacts without targeting them directly, such as board wipes, which can destroy all artifacts regardless of protections. Additionally, counter spells are particularly potent as they prevent the sword from entering the battlefield in the first place. Another tactic involves utilizing sacrifice effects which force the opponent to choose and sacrifice a creature or artifact, thus bypassing the protection granted by the sword. Lastly, going for a more aggressive strategy to reduce the number of creatures susceptible to being equipped with the sword can also minimize the impact it has on the game.

In essence, while the Sword of Feast and Famine may seem daunting at first, it can be overcome with a well-prepared deck that includes artifact removal, counter spells, sacrifice effects, and direct creature control to ensure your opponent’s powerful weapon becomes a non-issue.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dominating your MTG matches is all about finding that strategic edge, and the Sword of Feast and Famine is a key piece to consider for your arsenal. The insights provided by its pros, cons, and tactical uses should have you pondering how it can fit into your current deckbuild. Understanding its strengths against the meta and its potential in various gameplay scenarios might give you that upper hand. It’s a multifaceted card with a lot to offer, from combo execution to resource management. Ready to wield this powerful artifact to its full potential? Dive in to learn more and be adept at manipulating each phase in your matches to your advantage.


Cards like Sword of Feast and Famine

The Sword of Feast and Famine stands as a formidable piece of equipment in nearly any MTG arsenal. Its closest cousins in the sword cycle include the Sword of Fire and Ice and the Sword of Light and Shadow. Each sword bestows a unique pair of protections and powerful triggered abilities upon the equipped creature. For instance, while Sword of Feast and Famine provides protection from black and green spells and untaps all lands upon dealing combat damage, the Sword of Fire and Ice shields against red and blue spells and deals additional damage while drawing a card.

Another relative in this elite group is the Sword of War and Peace, which offers protection from red and white spells and cleverly manipulates life totals based on hand size. Additionally, the Sword of Body and Mind might be mentioned for its mill and wolf token generation abilities, reflecting a different strategic direction. Although each swordshares the common thread of empowering creatures and disrupting opponents, Sword of Feast and Famine is particularly celebrated for its lethal combination of resource denial and acceleration, a duality that can swing games significantly.

Between the fabled blades in Magic’s rich history, Sword of Feast and Famine stands out for its ability to simultaneously bolster your board presence and sabotage your opponent’s resources, marking it as a keystone in decks that aim to leverage every combat phase to the fullest.

Sword of Fire and Ice - MTG Card versions
Sword of Light and Shadow - MTG Card versions
Sword of War and Peace - MTG Card versions
Sword of Body and Mind - MTG Card versions
Sword of Fire and Ice - Darksteel (DST)
Sword of Light and Shadow - Darksteel (DST)
Sword of War and Peace - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Sword of Body and Mind - From the Vault: Relics (V10)

Cards similar to Sword of Feast and Famine by color, type and mana cost

Celestial Prism - MTG Card versions
Sunglasses of Urza - MTG Card versions
Ebony Horse - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Arena of the Ancients - MTG Card versions
Bösium Strip - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Static Orb - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Wall of Spears - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Celestial Prism - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Sunglasses of Urza - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Ebony Horse - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Runed Arch - Ice Age (ICE)
Arena of the Ancients - Chronicles (CHR)
Bösium Strip - Weatherlight (WTH)
Clay Pigeon - Unglued (UGL)
Ashnod's Altar - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Jalum Tome - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Static Orb - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Patchwork Gnomes - Odyssey (ODY)
The Stasis Coffin - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Captain's Hook - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)
Wall of Spears - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Spellweaver Helix - Mirrodin (MRD)
Scale of Chiss-Goria - Mirrodin (MRD)
Lightning Coils - Mirrodin (MRD)
Vedalken Shackles - Kaladesh Inventions (MPS)
Loxodon Warhammer - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Training Drone - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sword of Feast and Famine MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Magic Online Promos, 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 Sword of Feast and Famine and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sword of Feast and Famine Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2007-02-24 and 2024-07-05. Illustrated by 6 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 596832015normalblackEfrem Palacios
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 523041997normalblackChris Rahn
32002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 828482015normalblackThomas M. Baxa
42007-02-24Grand Prix PromosPGPX 2016b2015normalblackEfrem Palacios
52011-02-04Mirrodin BesiegedMBS 1382003normalblackChris Rahn
62014-01-01Judge Gift Cards 2014J14 61997normalblackChris Rahn
72014-05-30Modern Event Deck 2014MD1 102003normalblackChris Rahn
82016-09-30Kaladesh InventionsMPS 282015normalblackSteven Belledin
92020-08-07Double Masters2XM 3642015normalborderlessThomas M. Baxa
102020-08-07Double Masters2XM 2962015normalblackChris Rahn
112020-09-26The ListPLST 2XM-2962015normalblackChris Rahn
122024-07-05Assassin's CreedACR 992015normalblackThanh Tuấn
132024-07-05Assassin's CreedACR 1242015normalborderlessBruce Brenneise

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sword of Feast and Famine has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-08-07 You can tap your lands for mana while the triggered ability is on the stack. However, you'll lose any mana you produce this way if you don't spend it before the end of the current combat damage step.
2020-08-07 You'll untap all lands you control even if the player can't discard a card.

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