Mycelic Ballad MTG Card

Generates card advantage through scry and potential card draw, optimizing your strategic moves. Ramps up mana, enabling earlier casting of spells to outpace the opposition. Offers game plan flexibility with its instant speed play, keeping opponents guessing.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery — Chorus
Abilities	Intensity
Released	2023-12-05
Set symbol
Set name	Alchemy: Ixalan
Set code	YLCI
Number	12
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	David Szabo

Text of card

Starting intensity 2 Each player sacrifices X creatures and you gain X life, where X is this spell's intensity. All Chorus cards you own intensify by 1.

Cards like Mycelic Ballad

Mycelic Ballad enters the rich tapestry of green enchantments in MTG, sharing characteristics with influential cards like Exploration. Both enable players to play additional lands each turn, yet Mycelic Ballad offers a cumulative advantage through landfall triggers. Exploration is straightforward and potent from the get-go but doesn’t have the growing benefit Mycelic Ballad boasts with each land played.

Another relative in this space is Oracle of Mul Daya, which also allows an extra land play, in addition to granting access to the top card of your library. Whereas Oracle of Mul Daya is a creature that can be more easily removed from play, Mycelic Ballad, as an enchantment, typically enjoys greater resilience on the battlefield. However, Oracle’s additional benefit of deck manipulation is not to be undervalued.

Assessing these options, Mycelic Ballad stands out for its snowballing potential in long games. While other cards provide immediate impact or consistency, the incremental advantage gained from Mycelic Ballad could be a turning point in games that go the distance, underscoring its value in decks designed to exploit manifold landfall triggers.

Cards similar to Mycelic Ballad by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mycelic Ballad shines in providing incremental advantage by allowing you to repeatedly scry and potentially draw additional cards. This potent utility can help ensure you find the resources you need when you need them.

Resource Acceleration: A key aspect of Mycelic Ballad’s value lies in its ability to ramp up your mana. Each verse counters it accumulates can become crucial in casting key spells earlier than usual, giving you an edge over your opponents.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Mycelic Ballad at instant speed means you retain the element of surprise. It can be cast at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to actions, maintaining flexibility in your game plan.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mycelic Ballad necessitates the discard of another card to enact its effects. This can often set back players who are already struggling with card advantage or who need to maintain a full hand to execute their strategy effectively.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Mycelic Ballad includes green mana. This specificity demands a deck with green mana sources, which could potentially exclude it from various multi-colored or mono-colored decks that don’t run green.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana required to play Mycelic Ballad could be seen as steep considering the effect it provides. In a game where tempo plays a critical role, allocating such resources for its benefits might not always align with a player’s game plan, especially if there are other lower-cost options available that perform similar functions.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mycelic Ballad is an asset in various deck builds due to its unique mechanic of playing with the top card of your library revealed, granting you an extra card resource each turn. This capability means it can easily slide into strategies focused on card advantage or top-deck manipulation.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with effects that allow you to play additional lands or spells during your turns, essentially amplifying its value. It’s a prime catalyst for synergies with landfall triggers or enabling powerful plays earlier than usual.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where resource acceleration and card advantage are crucial, Mycelic Ballad holds its own. It is particularly potent in formats where the long game prevails, allowing for consistent value turn after turn, potentially outpacing opponents.

How to beat

Mycelic Ballad can be a persistent thorn in a player’s side, reinforcing your opponent’s board state with an onslaught of creature tokens. The key to undermining its potency lies in preemptively managing the spread of enchantments and token creatures. Spot removal spells that can target enchantments, such as Disenchant or Naturalize, are indispensable, allowing you to dismantle the musical enchantment before its symphony of tokens crescendos.

Board wipes, like Wrath of God or Damnation, are also instrumental as they can clear the generated tokens regardless of how many have amassed. Timing is crucial; a well-placed sweep can negate several turns worth of buildup, leaving your opponent with a dearth of presence on the board. Meanwhile, incorporating graveyard interaction into your strategy, via cards like Scavenging Ooze or Bojuka Bog, prevents the Ballad from ever reciting its final verse, thanks to the graveyard recursion often associated with it.

Ultimately, maintaining a flexible range of answers in your deck to counteract Mycelic Ballad’s capabilities will be your refrain in the strategic symphony of MTG, accommodating for both enchantment removal and board control to orchestrate a winning game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mycelic Ballad MTG card by a specific set like Alchemy: Ixalan, 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 Mycelic Ballad and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mycelic Ballad has restrictions

Format	Legality
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Timeless	Legal