Marked by Honor MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides lasting board presence by granting vigilance and strength to creatures, enabling both attack and defense.
  2. Immediate impact on game dynamics, offering strategic advantage and potential for resource acceleration.
  3. Demands mindful play, with drawbacks like specific mana costs and potential card disadvantage considered.
Vigilance card art

Guide to Vigilance card ability

In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has vigilance. (Attacking doesn't cause it to tap.)

Stand your post for duty. Stand your ground for honor.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Marked by Honor allows the enchanted creature to have a lasting impact on the game, granting it vigilance and making it a consistent threat. This means every turn it can be a defender as well as an attacker without having to tap, preserving your board state while also enabling aggression.

Resource Acceleration: By providing vigilance, Marked by Honor effectively doubles the utility of the creature it enchants, allowing it to act in multiple phases of the game. This can lead to resource acceleration as it makes it difficult for an opponent to trade resources efficiently against your ever-vigilant creature.

Instant Speed: Although Marked by Honor is an aura that you cast at sorcery speed, its real value comes from its ability to immediately alter the board’s dynamic. The benefit of instant speed comes into play when considering your tactics and how you may bait your opponent into unfavorable attacks or blocks assuming your creature would tap.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Marked by Honor can be a setback when it requires sacrificing another card to play it, especially when your hand is already depleted.

Specific Mana Cost: With a white mana specific cost, it can restrict deck-building options and may not fit well in multicolor strategies without sufficient mana fixing.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering its mana value, Marked by Honor demands a significant investment for the aura it provides, potentially steering players toward more cost-effective enchantments.


Reasons to Include Marked by Honor in Your Collection

Versatility: Marked by Honor is a flexible aura that can be a significant addition to white-based decks. Its ability to give a creature +2/+2 and Vigilance allows creatures to become more formidable in combat while remaining ready to block.

Combo Potential: By enhancing a creature’s combat capabilities, this card can work well with strategies that rely on creatures surviving battle or attacking multiple times. Combining it with cards that capitalize on Vigilance or buffed creatures can lead to potent interactions.

Meta-Relevance: With aggressive strategies often dominating play, the additional durability and offensive boost provided by Marked by Honor can help your creatures outmatch others in the battlefield. As it suits a variety of situations, it’s a solid consideration for decks intending to hold their ground in a diverse environment.


How to beat

Marked by Honor is an enchantment that can prove to be a tough obstacle on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. As an aura, it grants a creature +2/+2 and vigilance, significantly bolstering its combat capabilities. With such a boost, the empowered creature becomes a sturdy blocker while remaining a relentless attacker. To effectively counter this card, one strategy is to prioritize removal spells, especially those that can target enchantments. By removing Marked by Honor, you reduce the threat level of the creatures it might be enhancing.

Another tactic is to utilize board wipes or mass removal spells that reset the battlefield. Such spells can help you overcome a creature that’s grown too threatening due to Marked by Honor. It’s also beneficial to maintain control over the game by keeping mana open for instant removal spells, allowing you to respond effectively to your opponent’s plays. Direct creature removal spells are another way to address the problem directly by taking out the buffed creature itself, rendering Marked by Honor useless. In sum, handling a card like Marked by Honor requires you to remain vigilant and ready with your answers to maintain the upper hand.


Cards like Marked by Honor

Marked by Honor stands out in the realm of enchantment auras in MTG. Its most direct counterpart may be seen in cards like Knightly Valor, which not only gives a similar +2/+2 boost but also creates a 2/2 Knight creature with vigilance. Although Knightly Valor is slightly costlier in terms of mana, the additional creature it provides brings extra value to the battlefield right away.

Similarly, Griffin Guide offers an augmentation by providing a +2/+2 increase and flying, rather than vigilance. This gives the creature an edge in evasion, however, upon the enchanted creature’s demise, Griffin Guide’s ability creates a 2/2 Griffin creature token with flying. This adds a noteworthy dimension of resilience compared to Marked by Honor’s single everlasting enhancement.

Comparing these auras, we see how Marked by Honor fits snugly into a strategy that favors permanent stat increases and vigilant defense. While it doesn’t produce additional creatures or offer evasion like its counterparts, the vigilant capability it confers ensures that the enchanted creature remains active both offensively and defensively, an aspect that is crucial in many MTG game situations.

Knightly Valor - MTG Card versions
Griffin Guide - MTG Card versions
Knightly Valor - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Griffin Guide - Time Spiral (TSP)

Cards similar to Marked by Honor by color, type and mana cost

Castle - MTG Card versions
Karma - MTG Card versions
Conversion - MTG Card versions
Angelic Voices - MTG Card versions
Seeker - MTG Card versions
Drought - MTG Card versions
Justice - MTG Card versions
Divine Transformation - MTG Card versions
Null Chamber - MTG Card versions
Field of Souls - MTG Card versions
Light of Day - MTG Card versions
Pegasus Refuge - MTG Card versions
Opal Titan - MTG Card versions
Serra's Liturgy - MTG Card versions
Ivory Mask - MTG Card versions
Parallax Wave - MTG Card versions
Worship - MTG Card versions
Serra's Embrace - MTG Card versions
Diversionary Tactics - MTG Card versions
Moat - MTG Card versions
Castle - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Karma - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Conversion - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Angelic Voices - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Seeker - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Drought - Ice Age (ICE)
Justice - Ice Age (ICE)
Divine Transformation - Renaissance (REN)
Null Chamber - Mirage (MIR)
Field of Souls - Eternal Masters (EMA)
Light of Day - The List (PLST)
Pegasus Refuge - Tempest (TMP)
Opal Titan - Urza's Saga (USG)
Serra's Liturgy - Urza's Saga (USG)
Ivory Mask - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Parallax Wave - The List (PLST)
Worship - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Serra's Embrace - Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic (DVD)
Diversionary Tactics - Apocalypse (APC)
Moat - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Marked by Honor MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2015 and Welcome Deck 2016, 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 Marked by Honor and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Marked by Honor Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2014-07-18 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by David Palumbo.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12014-07-18Magic 2015M15 172015normalblackDavid Palumbo
22016-04-08Welcome Deck 2016W16 22015normalblackDavid Palumbo
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 1732015normalblackDavid Palumbo
42020-09-26The ListPLST M15-172015normalblackDavid Palumbo

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Marked by Honor has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

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