Smoke Shroud MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants evasion with +1/+1 boost, efficiently circumventing opponents’ defenses while augmenting creatures.
  2. Recursive abilities enable resource-saving and persistent pressure within Blue or Ninja-centric decks.
  3. Utility may be reduced by mana specificity and higher cost relative to similar cards.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has flying. When a Ninja enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Smoke Shroud from your graveyard to the battlefield attached to that creature.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Smoke Shroud MTG card gives you an edge by equipping a creature with +1/+1 and granting it unblockability, effective for bypassing opponent defenses and maintaining card advantage in your game. Its ability to return from your graveyard when another creature enters the battlefield under your control helps keep your hand full.

Resource Acceleration: As an enchantment aura, Smoke Shroud provides resource acceleration in a unique way. It doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, but instead, it beefs up your creatures and could be seen as a resource that empowers your battlefield presence. The recursive nature of this card also saves your resources as you can use it repeatedly.

Instant Speed: Although Smoke Shroud is not an instant, it does have a feature that functions at instant speed. When a Ninja you control enters the battle, you can return Smoke Shroud from your graveyard to your battlefield, an effective way to catch your opponent off-guard and disrupt their strategies, making it feel like an instant spell.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Smoke Shroud requires a creature to be in the graveyard to be cast from it, limiting its usability when few or no creatures are in the graveyard. This may pose a challenge as players need to balance creature loss with the potential benefits of casting Smoke Shroud.

Specific Mana Cost: The necessity to utilize specifically blue mana may imply a drawback to certain decks. Players using multi-color decks or decks without blue mana generators might find Smoke Shroud hard to cast consistently. This simultaneously restricts Smoke Shroud’s versatility and playability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For just two mana cost, cards similar to Smoke Shroud might provide more effective leverage in terms of utility and power. This comparatively high cost for relatively limited effect might make placement of Smoke Shroud in decks less favorable than other lower-costing alternatives on the field.


Reasons to Include Smoke Shroud in Your Collection

Versatility: Smoke Shroud is a well-rounded addition to any MTG collection, suitable for a variety of deck setups. Primarily suited to decks that center around creature strategies, it grants its host creature both evasion ability in the form of flying and a power boost of +1/+1.

Combo Potential: Smoke Shroud has a built-in mechanic that returns it from the graveyard to the battlefield, enabling powerful combo interactions with any decks focussed on Blue or Ninja strategies. This card easily dovetails with cards that encourage self-milling or looting to give your creatures a consistent edge.

Meta-Relevance: In the current meta-game where creature-based strategies are popular, Smoke Shroud holds its relevance. Its value isn’t only in the buff animation but also in its ability to catch opponents off guard with unexpected, quick, and efficient field presence, making it a strong meta choice.


How to beat

Smoke Shroud is a compelling Enchantment – Aura spell card that grants an affirmative boon to creatures you control in Magic: The Gathering. This spell card bestows your magical entity with increased power––a bonus of +1/+1, and moreover, the prized ability of evasion through gaining unblockability. However, breaking the dominance of Smoke Shroud in a game requires some tactical approaches.

Avoiding the creation of Ninjas in play is the key. Smoke Shroud’s free inscription from your graveyard only triggers when a Ninja enters under your sway. Therefore, disrupting your adversary’s creature base will effectively limit the power of Smoke Shroud. Additionally, possessing means to exile Smoke Shroud from the battlefield or opponent’s graveyard can prove invaluable. Certain cards or abilities allow you to do so, resulting in your opponent being unable to call upon the Enchantment’s power via graveyard inscription.

In essence, countering Smoke Shroud is reliant on anticipation and active management of your adversary’s forces. This tactic, coupled with strategic card utilization, can effectively neutralize the inherent advantage of Smoke Shroud, rendering it less impactful within Magic: The Gathering gameplay.


BurnMana Recommendations

Delving deeper into the strategic world of MTG, every card selection shapes your path to victory. Understanding and leveraging the impactful mechanics of cards like Smoke Shroud can form the backbone of a formidable deck. This versatile enchantment brings a competitive edge, blending evasion and power boosts in a single swoop. If you find yourself keen on developing a Ninja-themed deck or enriching your blue strategies, the clever utilization of Smoke Shroud could be your ticket to overwhelming your opponents. Dive into our comprehensive guides, and elevate your deck-building skills to dominate the gameplay with cunning and precision.


Cards like Smoke Shroud

Falling under the enchantment umbrella in Magic: The Gathering, Smoke Shroud shares a similar core purpose with the likes of Aqueous Form and Spectra Ward – crafting a strategic playstyle using creature cards. The unique aspect of Smoke Shroud is its ability to boost a creature with +1/+1 and gift it unblockable, provided it’s a Ninja.

Moving parallel to Smoke Shroud, we look at Aqueous Form. Like Smoke Shroud, it also grants unblockable to a creature but without the power/toughness boost. However, Aqueous Form rewards players with a scry mechanic, a favourable trade for its lower mana cost. In contrast, Spectra Ward, though more mana-intensive, provides a much bigger power and toughness boost along with protection from all colors, a trade-off for its higher mana cost.

From a similar place in the MTG universe, Cloak and Dagger is an equipment card that provides a larger boost in power/toughness and provides Shroud, although strictly for Rouges. Compared to the specific Ninja boost from Smoke Shroud, this restriction might make it less universal.

Summarizing, an assessment of strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs places Smoke Shroud as a notable contender amongst enchantment spells in Magic: The Gathering, specifically for Ninja focused deck strategies.

Aqueous Form - MTG Card versions
Spectra Ward - MTG Card versions
Cloak and Dagger - MTG Card versions
Aqueous Form - Theros (THS)
Spectra Ward - Magic 2015 (M15)
Cloak and Dagger - Morningtide (MOR)

Cards similar to Smoke Shroud by color, type and mana cost

Copy Artifact - MTG Card versions
Invisibility - MTG Card versions
Power Leak - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Terrain - MTG Card versions
Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Stasis - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Homarid Spawning Bed - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Flooded Shoreline - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions
Copy Artifact - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Invisibility - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Power Leak - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Phantasmal Terrain - Invasion (INV)
Creature Bond - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Stasis - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Lifetap - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Power Artifact - Antiquities (ATQ)
Psychic Venom - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Venarian Gold - Legends (LEG)
Homarid Spawning Bed - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Soar - Mirage (MIR)
Flooded Shoreline - Visions (VIS)
Dance of Many - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Teferi's Veil - Weatherlight (WTH)
Legacy's Allure - Tempest (TMP)
Chill - Tempest (TMP)
Buoyancy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Mana Maze - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Psionic Gift - Odyssey (ODY)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Smoke Shroud // Smoke Shroud MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons Art Series and Modern Horizons, 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 Smoke Shroud // Smoke Shroud and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Smoke Shroud // Smoke Shroud Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2019-06-14. Illustrated by Micah Epstein.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-06-05Modern Horizons Art SeriesAMH1 192015art_seriesborderlessMicah Epstein
22019-06-14Modern HorizonsMH1 692015normalblackMicah Epstein

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Smoke Shroud has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

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