Apostle's Blessing MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Phyrexian mana allows flexible casting, preserving card advantage while protecting critical board presence.
  2. Instant speed enables reactive play, adapting to opponents’ moves, crucial for combat or removal.
  3. Card utility extends beyond creatures, protecting artifacts and aiding in unblockable strategies.

Text of card

({PW} can be paid with either or 2 life.) Target artifact or creature you control gains protection from artifacts or from the color of your choice until end of turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Apostle’s Blessing provides strategic flexibility without costing a card from hand due to its Phyrexian mana option. This essentially equates to preserving card advantage while executing pivotal plays.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources, Apostle’s Blessing helps protect key creatures or permanents. This protection can indirectly accelerate your game plan by keeping important resources on the board and functional.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Apostle’s Blessing at instant speed is a formidable asset. It allows players to adapt to their opponent’s actions, providing protection when it is most crucial, often during combat or in response to targeted removal.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Apostle’s Blessing demands paying life or a specific mana as part of its cost, which could be detrimental in a tight health race or when mana resources are already stretched thin.

Specific Mana Cost: The requirement of a single white mana, in addition to its Phyrexian mana option, means that Apostle’s Blessing inherently favors white or multicolor decks, thus limiting its inclusion in mono-colored decks of other types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the ability to provide protection from colors or artifacts is valuable, some players may find the cost of Apostle’s Blessing a bit steep considering it is a single-use effect that doesn’t contribute to board presence or long-term advantages.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Apostle’s Blessing offers flexibility across numerous deck builds due to its ability to protect a creature or land from colors of your choice. This makes it a utility card in decks that need to ensure their key pieces remain on the board.

Combo Potential: It can be a critical combo enabler, giving your critical combo pieces protection at a pivotal moment. Its low mana cost, including the option to pay 2 life instead of white mana, makes it a seamless addition to intricate plays.

Meta-Relevance: Given that interaction is pivotal in any meta, Apostle’s Blessing shines by providing an inexpensive answer to threats. It can safeguard your win conditions from targeted removals, setting up a solid defensive measure against prevalent control strategies.


How to beat

Apostle’s Blessing offers a versatile tool for protecting creatures or artifacts and making them unblockable for a turn. The key to countering this spell lies in anticipating when your opponent might have the mana and Phyrexian mana available to cast it. Since Apostle’s Blessing can be used to give protection from a color or from artifacts, holding up removal that can target regardless of protection can be effective. Additionally, forcing your opponent to use their resources at an inopportune time, by applying pressure or presenting multiple threats, can render Apostle’s Blessing less effective.

A well-timed counterspell can also prevent it from resolving, especially when your opponent is low on life and relying on the Phyrexian mana cost. Alternatively, strategies that do not rely on targeting, such as using board wipes or effects that cause the player to sacrifice creatures, can bypass Apostle’s Blessing’s protection. It’s important to maintain a strategic game plan and to adapt to your opponent’s possible move set, including the use of Apostle’s Blessing, to secure your victory.

In conclusion, by thinking ahead, holding reactive cards, and applying pressure to test your opponent’s defenses, you can effectively navigate around the protections provided by Apostle’s Blessing and maintain the upper hand in your matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Building a formidable deck in MTG is all about understanding the strengths and versatility of each card. Apostle’s Blessing is a stellar example of a card that can sway the game in your favor with its ability to protect your crucial pieces on the board. By analyzing the pros and cons of this flexible spell, you’re better equipped to weave it into your deck where it can best serve your strategy. Delve deeper into deck-building techniques, card synergies, and the nuanced dynamics of the game. Hone your skills and knowledge with BurnMana, where we elevate your MTG gameplay and guide you toward conquering the tables with confidence.


Cards like Apostle's Blessing

Apostle’s Blessing stands out in the Magic: The Gathering realm as a versatile form of protection. Comparable to cards like Gods Willing, Apostle’s Blessing provides a shield for a creature or an artifact from a color of your choice, but its use of phyrexian mana offers a unique advantage in terms of flexibility. Gods Willing, while offering scry 1, only targets creatures and is strictly color-locked for casting.

Mizzium Skin is another card that echoes a semblance of protection, offering hexproof to a single target and the option to protect multiple creatures with its overload cost. However, it falls short of Apostle’s Blessing’s ability to ward off damage from all sources of a chosen color. Then there’s Brave the Elements, which shields multiple creatures from a specific color, efficient in a deck denser with creatures. Yet, it doesn’t touch artifacts and doesn’t quite match the adaptability of Apostle’s Blessing’s payment method.

When analyzing the value of these protective spells, Apostle’s Blessing is a strong contender due to its flexibility and wide-ranging shield. Its distinctive mana cost option allows for strategic gameplay, showcasing why it’s a valued utility card among players.

Gods Willing - MTG Card versions
Mizzium Skin - MTG Card versions
Brave the Elements - MTG Card versions
Gods Willing - Theros (THS)
Mizzium Skin - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Brave the Elements - Zendikar (ZEN)

Cards similar to Apostle's Blessing by color, type and mana cost

Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Divine Offering - MTG Card versions
Alabaster Potion - MTG Card versions
Lightning Blow - MTG Card versions
Sacred Boon - MTG Card versions
Invulnerability - MTG Card versions
Remedy - MTG Card versions
Rhystic Shield - MTG Card versions
Samite Ministration - MTG Card versions
Shield Wall - MTG Card versions
Life Burst - MTG Card versions
Shelter - MTG Card versions
Equal Treatment - MTG Card versions
Aura Extraction - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Test of Faith - MTG Card versions
Echoing Calm - MTG Card versions
Bathe in Light - MTG Card versions
Dawn Charm - MTG Card versions
Graceful Reprieve - MTG Card versions
Disenchant - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Divine Offering - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Alabaster Potion - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Lightning Blow - Ice Age (ICE)
Sacred Boon - Ice Age (ICE)
Invulnerability - Tempest (TMP)
Remedy - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Rhystic Shield - Prophecy (PCY)
Samite Ministration - Invasion (INV)
Shield Wall - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Life Burst - Odyssey (ODY)
Shelter - Eternal Masters (EMA)
Equal Treatment - Torment (TOR)
Aura Extraction - Onslaught (ONS)
Raise the Alarm - Core Set 2020 (M20)
Test of Faith - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)
Echoing Calm - Darksteel (DST)
Bathe in Light - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Dawn Charm - Commander Legends (CMR)
Graceful Reprieve - Morningtide (MOR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Apostle's Blessing MTG card by a specific set like New Phyrexia and Modern Masters 2015, 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 Apostle's Blessing and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Apostle's Blessing Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2011-05-13 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Brad Rigney.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-05-13New PhyrexiaNPH 22003normalblackBrad Rigney
22015-05-22Modern Masters 2015MM2 82015normalblackBrad Rigney
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 232015normalblackBrad Rigney
42020-09-26The ListPLST MM2-82015normalblackBrad Rigney

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Apostle's Blessing has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-06-01 A card with Phyrexian mana symbols in its mana cost is each color that appears in that mana cost, regardless of how that cost may have been paid.
2011-06-01 Any Equipment attached to a creature that gains protection from artifacts will become unattached.
2011-06-01 As you cast a spell or activate an activated ability with one or more Phyrexian mana symbols in its cost, you choose how to pay for each Phyrexian mana symbol at the same time you would choose modes or choose a value for X.
2011-06-01 If you’re at 1 life or less, you can’t pay 2 life.
2011-06-01 Phyrexian mana is not a new color. Players can’t add Phyrexian mana to their mana pools.
2011-06-01 To calculate the mana value of a card with Phyrexian mana symbols in its cost, count each Phyrexian mana symbol as 1.
2011-06-01 You choose the target as part of casting the spell. You choose what attribute the target gains protection from when the spell resolves.

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