Pious Interdiction MTG Card

Provides both creature control and life gain, adding a dual benefit to your strategy. Can be a setback for opponents, requiring specific answers or strategic foresight. It stands distinct among enchantment-based removals with its life-gain feature.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	2017-09-29
Set symbol
Set name	Ixalan
Set code	XLN
Number	26
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lake Hurwitz

Text of card

Enchant creature When Pious Interdiction enters the battlefield, you gain 2 life. Enchanted creature can't attack or block.

"Ours is the true and righteous path. You will bow before our might."

Cards like Pious Interdiction

Pious Interdiction stands as an interesting option within the realm of enchantment-based removal in Magic: The Gathering. Its primary peers include Pacifism, a classic card that similarly prevents a creature from attacking or blocking. However, Pious Interdiction offers a life-gain twist, providing 2 life when it enters the battlefield which Pacifism does not. This subtle addition can make a significant difference in tight games where health totals are pivotal.

Another analogous card is Arrest, which goes a step further by preventing the abilities of the enchanted creature from being activated. While Pious Interdiction gives the benefit of life gain, Arrest provides increased control over problematic creatures on the board. There’s also Claustrophobia, which immobilizes a creature by tapping it, keeping it from untapping during the controller’s untap step, a condition that Pious Interdiction does not impose.

In the grand scheme of things, Pious Interdiction occupies a valuable slot in the spectrum of aura-based control. Its blend of creature neutralization and immediate life gain lends it a distinctive edge, offering not just board control but also a buffer to a player’s life total.

Cards similar to Pious Interdiction by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Pious Interdiction offers not only the removal of an opponent’s creature but also a life gain, which can be a subtle form of card advantage. By neutralizing a threat and boosting your life total, you’re effectively gaining an edge over your opponent without losing card parity.

Resource Acceleration: While Pious Interdiction does not directly provide resource acceleration, it can help maintain your resources by deterring attacks or blocking strategies. This allows you to save the mana and cards you would have spent on dealing with the enchanted creature, effectively smoothing out your mana efficiency over subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: Although Pious Interdiction is an enchantment at sorcery speed, the strategic implications of immobilizing a creature can be as pivotal as an instant-speed interaction. By timing the play effectively, you can disrupt your opponent’s attack plans or buff spells, creating surprise shifts in the game’s momentum.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Pious Interdiction does not require you to discard cards, which is an advantage as it does not deplete your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Pious Interdiction carries a very specific mana cost of two white and two generic mana, which makes it a somewhat inflexible card for players not heavily invested in white mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card’s requirement of four mana total to cast can be quite steep, especially when you consider that there are alternative enchantments or removal options available at a lower cost, potentially allowing for a more efficient use of resources during a game.

Reasons to Include Pious Interdiction in Your Collection

Versatility: Pious Interdiction can adapt to various game situations. It’s capable of neutralizing key threats in both aggressive decks with formidable creatures and utility creatures with pivotal abilities. This makes it a useful card in a diverse set of white-based control or mid-range decks.

Combo Potential: This aura not only taps an opposing creature but also gives you a life gain buffer, which can synergize with strategies centered around life total as a resource. For instance, it can enable conditions for cards like “Ajani’s Pridemate” or complement a strategy that manipulates life totals for victory.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where powerful creatures are commonplace, Pious Interdiction serves as a non-destructive removal option. It is particularly effective against decks that rely on indestructible or regenerate abilities, as it bypasses those defenses and keeps the creature out of combat permanently.

How to beat

Pious Interdiction offers a double-edged sword in the form of life gain and creature control in MTG, subtly tipping the scales in mid-game scenarios. It presents a challenge with its ability to neutralize a significant threat while padding the controller’s life total, making it an obstacle that requires a well-thought-out strategy to overcome.

To effectively trump Pious Interdiction, consider leveraging enchantment removal spells like Disenchant or Naturalize, which can readily dispatch the aura and free your creature. In addition, running creatures with hexproof or utilizing counterspells can preemptively shield your key monsters from being targeted. Managing your resources to keep removal or counter magic at the ready can mitigate the temporary setback Pious Interdiction poses and maintain the momentum of your game plan.

Aiming for a calculated approach when deploying your creatures and holding back crucial spells for the right moment ensures that such enchantments don’t disrupt your game flow. Anticipating and preparing for control elements such as Pious Interdiction is pivotal in crafting a strategy that sustains assault and weathers potential control hurdles that stand in your path to victory.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Pious Interdiction MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan, 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 Pious Interdiction and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Pious Interdiction 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 Pious Interdiction card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2017-09-29	If the creature this Aura would enchant is an illegal target by the time Pious Interdiction resolves, the entire spell doesn’t resolve. It won’t enter the battlefield, so its ability won’t trigger.