Nighthaze MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nighthaze provides the benefit of modifying a creature’s capabilities while also letting you cycle through your deck, potentially uncovering key pieces to your strategy faster.

Resource Acceleration: Though not a direct resource accelerant, Nighthaze can be a cog in the engine of decks that capitalize on spell casting or graveyard synergies, indirectly accelerating your game plan.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed allows you to cast Nighthaze at the most opportune moment, whether that’s during combat on your turn or as a surprise element on your opponent’s turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nighthaze may demand discarding cards at times, placing strain on your hand and potentially forcing you to give up key pieces of your strategy prematurely.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring explicit black mana, Nighthaze can challenge deck fluidity, especially in multicolored decks that might struggle to meet the mana color criteria consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When stacked against alternatives, Nighthaze carries a relatively steep mana cost for its effect, which might slow down your tempo and give competitors an edge during pivotal turns.

Reasons to Include Nighthaze in Your Collection

Versatility: Nighthaze offers a unique spin on utility spells that can be utilized in a multitude of decks. As a card that grants swampwalk until the end of turn to a target creature, it can serve as both an offensive tool and a surprise defensive measure, slipping through for damage or avoiding potential blockers.

Combo Potential: This card might be a key piece in decks that revolve around land type modifiers and benefits from having creatures unblockable by certain lands. The swampwalk ability can seamlessly work with other cards that change lands into swamps or benefit from the number of swamps you or your opponent control.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where many players utilize black mana and swamp lands, Nighthaze can gain unexpected utility by making your creatures essentially unblockable. Its low cost also ensures that it can be played alongside other spells in a turn, keeping up with the pace of the current fast-paced meta-game.

How to beat

Nighthaze is a card that can often catch players off guard by granting swampwalk to a target creature until the end of turn. This ability allows the buffed creature to become unblockable as long as the opponent controls a Swamp. To effectively outmaneuver this tactic, consider adjusting your land base if possible—limiting or eliminating Swamps from your deck reduces the chances of Nighthaze altering the battlefield in your opponent’s favor. Additionally, keep an eye out for instant-speed removal that can disrupt your opponent’s plans mid-combat, eliminating the threat before it can take advantage of the swampwalk ability.

Maintaining tactical flexibility is also key when facing cards like Nighthaze. Prioritize creatures that can block or interact with creatures regardless of their abilities, such as those with reach or “can block any number of creatures” to ensure you’re not left defenseless. Artifact or enchantment-based removal can also neutralize the enhanced creature before it can exploit the swampwalk ability granted by Nighthaze. By preparing for these situations, you can overcome the challenges posed by this sneaky card and keep the upper hand in your matches.