Moment of Silence MTG Card

Indirect card advantage by preserving creatures and life during the opponent’s combat phase. Instant speed of Moment of Silence enables surprise disruption of enemy tactics. Flexibility in use makes it a versatile choice for White-based control strategies.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Number	28
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Christopher Moeller

Text of card

Target player skips his or her combat phase this turn.

The silence commemorates not those who've died, but those about to.

Cards like Moment of Silence

Moment of Silence is a unique tactical tool in Magic: The Gathering, offering players a chance to temporarily halt their opponent’s offensive play. Its effect is reminiscent of the classic card Fog, which prevents all combat damage for a turn without targeting a single creature. Moment of Silence, however, focuses on preventing a specific creature’s next combat phase, differentiating it by allowing strategic timing to disrupt key attacks or combos.

Another card that echoes its defensive nature is Holy Day, which also prevents damage but does so on a broader scale much like Fog. Despite their similarities, Holy Day and Fog are always reactive, whereas Moment of Silence can be a proactive measure, offering a more controlled defense. Then there’s the card Orim’s Chant, which not only prevents all combat for a turn but also stops the casting of spells, giving it a dual utility that can shape the tempo of a game significantly.

Considering the versatility and potential to disrupt an opponent’s strategy, Moment of Silence offers MTG players a valuable option for precise control, enhancing their defensive arsenals especially in formats where timing and precision play crucial roles in victory.

Cards similar to Moment of Silence by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Moment of Silence doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, it disrupts your opponent’s play by skipping their combat phase, effectively granting you a form of indirect card advantage as you preserve your creatures and life for future turns.

Resource Acceleration: Though not providing traditional acceleration like mana ramp or treasure tokens, Moment of Silence can be seen as a temporal resource accelerator. By postponing your opponent’s aggression, you secure additional time to deploy your resources and strategies without the pressure of an incoming attack.

Instant Speed: The strength of Moment of Silence rests in its instant speed capability. This allows for tactical flexibility, ensuring that you can wait until the most impactful moment during your opponent’s turn to nullify their combat, thus maintaining a defensive posture while keeping mana available for other potential responses or end-of-turn plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Moment of Silence demands the sacrifice of a turn’s attack potential, which could be a strategic setback when you’re trying to maintain board presence and pressure on your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s need for white mana restricts it to decks that can accommodate such a requirement, potentially limiting its versatility across a variety of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost to essentially pause the game without changing the board state, other cards at a similar or lower cost might provide a more permanent solution or card advantage.

Reasons to Include Moment of Silence in Your Collection

Versatility: Moment of Silence offers a unique ability to pause combat, providing an integral disruption tool that can be deployed in a wide array of White-based control and defensive strategies.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in combos that aim to lock out the opponent from their combat phase entirely or be paired with cards that trigger on casting spells or the event of a skipped phase.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where aggressive strategies dominate, Moment of Silence can buy crucial time for setting up defenses or drawing into answers to prevent onslaughts from creature-heavy decks.

How to Beat Moment of Silence

Moment of Silence presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, temporarily halting your opponent’s turn by preventing all creatures from attacking. Its capacity to stymie an aggressive gameplan might seem daunting, but there are several strategies to navigate around its effect. One approach is to employ instant-speed removal or counter spells as a defense against it. This allows you to disrupt the spell before it can resolve, preserving your turn’s combat phase.

Additionally, having a diverse set of non-creature threats can mitigate the impact of Moment of Silence. Planeswalkers and abilities from artifacts or enchantments can continue to advance your board state even when your creatures are temporarily sidelined. It’s also worth focusing on passive effects that trigger during the upkeep or end step, which remain unaffected by Moment of Silence.

Overall, while Moment of Silence can pause your momentum, thoughtful deck construction and keen awareness of timing when casting spells can effectively counteract its influence. Thus, ensuring your deck has the necessary tools to respond will keep your strategy moving forward, unfazed by your opponent’s temporary silencing tactics.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Moment of Silence MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Moment of Silence and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Moment of Silence has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	If cast on a player when it is not their turn, it has no effect.
2004-10-04	It must be used before the combat phase starts or it has no effect.
2004-10-04	The player skips their next combat phase this turn (if any). If they manage to have two combat phases, then only their next one combat phase is skipped.