Shining Armor MTG Card
2019-10-04 - Number 29
2019-11-07 - Number 228
2022-12-02 - Number 243
2020-09-26 - Number ELD-29
Key Takeaways
- Provides multi-use utility and recurring benefits for creatures, particularly in Knight-focused decks.
- Low cost and instant-speed casting can surprise opponents and disrupt their combat strategies.
- Restrictive equip conditions and mana specificity may limit versatility in diverse deck builds.
Guide to Flash card ability
Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.
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
Flash When Shining Armor enters the battlefield, attach it to target Knight you control. Equipped creature gets +0/+2 and has vigilance. Equip (: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Shining Armor itself might not permit direct card draw, it effectively acts as a multi-use card. By attaching to a creature every time it enters the battlefield under your control, this card maximizes its utility, creating potential recurring benefits without additional investment.
Resource Acceleration: Shining Armor doesn’t necessarily increase your mana pool, but its low casting cost and flexibility in returning to the battlefield from your graveyard offer a form of resource acceleration. It ensures you are using your mana efficiently, optimizing the use of your available resources for maximum impact each turn.
Instant Speed: One of Shining Armor’s key strengths is its ability to be cast at instant speed. This allows a player to wait until the last possible moment to decide whether to use Shining Armor for its defensive capabilities, ensuring it’s never a wasted card in hand. This can disrupt your opponent’s calculations and attacks, turning the tide of the game unexpectedly.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Shining Armor has the downside that equipping it requires you to have a Knight creature on the battlefield. This can be quite restrictive if your deck isn’t tailored to support a substantial number of Knights, potentially leaving you with an unusable card in hand.
Specific Mana Cost: Shining Armor’s casting cost demands white mana, which means that in a multicolored deck, you might not always have the required mana available when needed. This can hinder the card’s playability especially in the crucial early game phases when mana resources are limited.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing only two mana to play, the real cost comes from its equip ability. Needing three mana to equip to a creature other than a Knight can be quite steep considering other equipment cards in MTG which offer greater benefits for the same or even lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include Shining Armor in Your Collection
Versatility: Shining Armor’s ability to attach to a creature as it enters the battlefield offers immediate value in decks that require protecting key creatures or enhancing their abilities.
Combo Potential: This card can synergize well with Knight tribal themes or strategies that benefit from instant-speed interaction, giving creatures vigilance and a defensive boost when least expected by your opponents.
Meta-Relevance: In metas where aggressive strategies are prevalent, Shining Armor can provide a quick defensive increase, offsetting potential early game pressure from opponents.
How to beat
Shining Armor is a unique equipment card that not only bolsters a creature’s defense but also grants vigilance. Its ability to attach to a creature as soon as it enters the battlefield sets it apart from other equipment cards, offering immediate impact on the game. However, despite these benefits, there are strategies to overcome this card effectively.
One efficient method is to use instant-speed removal spells that can disrupt the timing of Shining Armor’s attachment. Doing this can negate the armor’s effect and leave your opponent with fewer options. Additionally, playing cards that restrict the ability to equip can render Shining Armor useless. Enchantment removal spells also provide a direct solution, allowing you to eliminate the card outright from the battlefield, while mass artifact destruction can clear multiple equipment pieces, including Shining Armor, in a single sweep.
Ultimately, understanding the subtle interplay of timing, interrupting your opponent’s strategies, and employing dedicated removal options are key to mastering how to neutralize Shining Armor and maintain the upper hand in your matches.
Cards like Shining Armor
Shining Armor from Magic: The Gathering offers a unique blend to the mix of artifact equipment cards. In its category, we can look at cards such as Leonin Bola or Kitesail Apprentice which also augment creatures, but they differ significantly. Shining Armor distinguishes itself with the ability to attach instantly to a Knight you control as it enters the battlefield. This immediate equipment avoids the usual equip cost, which is a pivotal benefit unlike Leonin Bola that still requires an equip cost to be paid.
Another similar card worth mentioning is Trusty Machete, which provides a significant bonus to power and toughness. Yet, it lacks the Knight-specific synergy that Shining Armor carries, as well as the added advantage of boosting the creature’s defense with vigilance. On the defensive end, we could also compare Shining Armor with Cathar’s Shield. Although Cathar’s Shield does come at zero cost, it doesn’t offer the instantaneous equip feature or the aforementioned stat boost tailored specifically for Knights.
Breaking down their characteristics, Shining Armor certainly offers a fascinating tactic for Knight-themed decks in Magic: The Gathering, providing immediate battlefield improvement and a strategic edge over similarly costed equipment.
Cards similar to Shining Armor by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Shining Armor MTG card by a specific set like Throne of Eldraine and Mystery Booster, 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 Shining Armor and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Shining Armor Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2019-10-04 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Eric Deschamps.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-10-04 | Throne of Eldraine | ELD | 29 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | |
| 2 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 228 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | |
| 3 | The List | PLST | ELD-29 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | ||
| 4 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 243 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Shining Armor has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Shining Armor card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2019-10-04 | Gaining vigilance any time after the moment you choose to attack with a creature won't cause it to become untapped. |
| 2019-10-04 | If there are no Knights to attach Shining Armor to when it enters the battlefield, it simply remains unattached. |
