Traveling Plague MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Odyssey
Set code	ODY
Number	166
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Dave Dorman

Key Takeaways

Traveling Plague grants significant card advantage by manipulating creature count in your favor.
Its instant speed allows strategic flexibility vital for gaining an upper hand during matches.
Demanding specific mana and a discard can limit the card’s utility in diverse deck builds.

Text of card

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, put a plague counter on Traveling Plague. Enchanted creature gets -1/-1 for each plague counter on Traveling Plague. When enchanted creature leaves play, that creature's controller returns Traveling Plague from its owner's graveyard to play.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Traveling Plague, you get the ability to potentially deplete your opponent’s creatures while you maintain or grow your own board presence. This can swing the tide in your favor by diminishing their options and bolstering your strategy for long-term dominance on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Effective use of Traveling Plague can lead to a depletion of your opponent’s resources while you accelerate your own strategic plays. Whether it’s by forcing costly regenerations or simply by clearing the way for your own creatures to attack, this card can shift the momentum in a match.

Instant Speed: The flexibility offered by instant speed spells cannot be overstated, and Traveling Plague is no exception. The ability to unleash this spell when it’s most advantageous—whether it’s during combat on an opponent’s turn or in response to an opponent’s spell—makes it a versatile tool in any player’s arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Traveling Plague demands you to discard a card to enact its ability. This can deplete your hand, making it harder to keep up with opponents, especially if the card doesn’t swing the game in your favor immediately.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a mix of black and generic mana, potentially complicating your mana base. Players not running a dedicated black deck may struggle to meet the color requirements consistently, which could lead to the card being dead weight at crucial moments.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost on the higher side, Traveling Plague faces stiff competition from other removal or control cards that are more cost-efficient. Other options may provide similar effects with lower mana demands, potentially making them preferable in a tightly curated decklist.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Traveling Plague offers flexibility in deck building, as it can operate as a deterrent against creature-heavy strategies. Its ability to hinder opponent’s creatures makes it a versatile pick for various control or midrange decks.

Combo Potential: This card can work in tandem with other pieces to control the board while you establish your win conditions. Its enduring presence can help maintain pressure as part of a larger strategy that capitalizes on weakening opponent’s forces.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based decks are prevalent, Traveling Plague can serve as an effective tech card. Being proactive about the creatures your opponent plays by using its ability can give you an edge and set the pace of the game in your favor.

How to beat

Traveling Plague presents a unique challenge on the battlefield. As a persistent enchantment that impacts creatures across the board, it requires strategic maneuvering to overcome. Unlike passive enchantments, its effect is felt each turn, mandating careful consideration of creature deployment.

To effectively counteract Traveling Plague’s debilitating presence, consider incorporating enchantment removal spells in your deck. Spells such as Disenchant or Naturalize are excellent tools to directly remove such threats from the game. Alternatively, employing hexproof or indestructible creatures can prevent the Plague from taking hold, ensuring your forces remain unaffected.

Leveraging graveyard strategies can also negate the attrition caused by Traveling Plague. Cards that thrive on or recycle from the graveyard can turn this disadvantage into a surprising asset, as your creatures become more potent post-mortem. Thus, while Traveling Plague can pose a significant obstacle, a well-prepared deck allows players to navigate around this card’s menacing effect and maintain control over the game’s pace.

Cards like Traveling Plague

Traveling Plague has carved its niche in MTG’s pantheon of poison counters utility. This card shares space with similar mechanics found in cards like Tainted Strike, which can turn any creature into a sudden lethal threat by not only giving it +1/+0 but also infect until end of turn. Traveling Plague, however, adds a layer of flexibility by affecting multiple creatures and lingering to erode opponent defenses over time.

In comparison, we have the proliferate mechanic from cards like Contagion Clasp, which incrementally enhances all poison counters on the field, though it doesn’t apply them directly like Traveling Plague. Another parallel can be drawn with the card Virulent Wound, inflicting a poison counter while removing smaller creatures from the battlefield. Still, these cards serve immediate and targeted purposes, in contrast to Traveling Plague’s broader, ongoing impact on the game state.

Ultimately, these cards have their own merits and aid the strategy of poisoning your adversary in unique ways. Traveling Plague holds a strategic value in potentially draining multiple adversaries again and again, making it a persistent threat in any MTG deck that aims to win through the accumulation of poison counters.

Cards similar to Traveling Plague by color, type and mana cost

Curse of Death's Hold - MTG Card versions

Dreadbringer Lampads - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Traveling Plague 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 Traveling Plague and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Traveling Plague has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Traveling Plague 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	A counter is placed on every player’s upkeep, not just the controller’s upkeep.
2004-10-04	The controller of the dead creature chooses the new creature.
2005-08-01	When the enchanted creature leaves the battlefield, this card is placed into the graveyard as is normal for an Aura when it loses what it enchants. The triggered ability returns this card to the battlefield with no counters on it.
2006-05-01	In Two-Headed Giant, triggers only once per upkeep, not once for each player.