Devoted Caretaker MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Human Cleric |
| Released | 2001-10-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Odyssey |
| Set code | ODY |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 2 |
| Number | 18 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Clyde Caldwell |
Key Takeaways
- Devoted Caretaker shields important cards, offering a strong defense against targeted disruption.
- Including Devoted Caretaker in a deck improves resilience against removal-heavy meta environments.
- Efficient counterplay includes mass removal or larger creature combat to bypass Caretaker’s protection.
Text of card
o W, oc T: Target permanent you control gains protection from instant spells and from sorcery spells until end of turn.
Her eyes blaze with the strength of twenty shields. Every glance is a salvation.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Devoted Caretaker offers the strategic benefit of protecting key creatures or other important permanents, effectively safeguarding the investments you’ve made on the board. This can lead to a sustainable card advantage as you maintain your board presence while disrupting your opponent’s attempts to destabilize it.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing resource acceleration in terms of mana, Devoted Caretaker can be seen as accelerating your game plan by ensuring that your mana-intensive investments remain on the battlefield and continue to generate value turn after turn.
Instant Speed: The ability of Devoted Caretaker to use its protective power at instant speed is a critical part of its strength. This grants you the flexibility to respond to your opponents’ spells and abilities in real-time, effectively shielding your key pieces precisely when it matters most.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: In scenarios where card advantage is crucial, Devoted Caretaker’s ability comes at the cost of discarding a card. During tight matches, having to lose a potential resource could become a significant setback.
Specific Mana Cost: Devoted Caretaker requires white mana for both casting and its protective ability. This specific mana requirement can restrict deck-building options, limiting the Caretaker’s inclusion to primarily white or two-colored decks that can support white mana consistently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the mana cost to cast Devoted Caretaker is reasonably low, continually activating its ability can be mana-intensive over time. Other cards in the same mana range may offer persistent protection without the recurring cost, leading to more efficient use of mana resources in a game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Devoted Caretaker offers protection for your key creatures or even other important permanents, making it a flexible addition to decks that focus on defending significant threats or combos.
Combo Potential: This card can safeguard combo pieces from spot removal, helping to secure your win conditions until you’re ready to execute your game-winning move.
Meta-Relevance: With a meta that frequently shifts towards targeted removal, having a card like Devoted Caretaker can deter opponents from disrupting your board, keeping your strategy intact against various control decks.
How to Beat Devoted Caretaker
Understanding the mechanics of how to tackle the Devoted Caretaker is essential for any player looking to maintain an edge. Renowned for its protective ability, this creature can make key pieces of your opponent’s board frustratingly resilient to your strategies. To effectively bypass the safeguarding prowess of the Devoted Caretaker, players need to focus on using untargeted removal effects or global effects that do not discriminate based on targeting. Board wipes or state-based actions prove invaluable in dismantling the protection it offers.
Mass removal spells are a potent answer, circumventing the Caretaker’s ability by not requiring a specific target. Look into utilizing spells that affect each creature or all creatures an opponent controls, such as “Wrath of God” or “Damnation”. Alternatively, engaging in combat with larger creatures can pressure your opponent into a situation where they must use the Caretaker defensively, making it susceptible to your subsequent plays.
Deploying spells with hexproof or shroud can also nullify the Devoted Caretaker’s advantages, ensuring your important spells land unhindered. By meticulously planning your actions and choosing the right moment to strike, you can effectively neutralize the protective charm of the Devoted Caretaker, paving the way towards victory.
Cards like Devoted Caretaker
Devoted Caretaker offers a unique shield to key pieces on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. The card bears similarities to Mother of Runes, which also provides protection to creatures but extends that protection by allowing target creatures to gain protection from colors of your choice until end of turn. Unlike Devoted Caretaker, Mother of Runes doesn’t focus solely on countering spells or abilities that target your precious permanents.
Another parallel can be drawn with Giver of Runes, a card that ensures a creature or planeswalker you control gains protection from any color or from colorless until end of turn. While Giver of Runes is more flexible than Devoted Caretaker, it doesn’t have the specificity of protecting against spells that certain decks might require.
In assessing these options, Devoted Caretaker holds its place among protective cards in MTG. It uniquely focuses on safeguarding your key assets, specifically from spells and abilities, rendering it a specialized tool for defending your strategies on the board.
Cards similar to Devoted Caretaker by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Devoted Caretaker MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Devoted Caretaker 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Devoted Caretaker has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Devoted Caretaker card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | The permanent affected by this ability can’t be targeted by instant and sorcery spells and (if it’s a creature) all damage from instant and sorcery spells will be prevented. |
