Felidar Umbra MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant,Totem armor

Key Takeaways

  1. Felidar Umbra ensures creature survival with totem armor, maintaining a strong board presence.
  2. Its instant speed attachment surprises opponents, turning the tide in critical moments.
  3. High mana cost and specific mana demands might limit its play to certain deck types.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature has lifelink. : Attach Felidar Umbra to target creature you control. Totem armor (If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Felidar Umbra provides a resilient form of card advantage through its totem armor ability. When the creature it’s attached to would be destroyed, the Aura is sacrificed instead, effectively saving your creature and maintaining your board presence.

Resource Acceleration: This Aura attaches for just two mana, a relatively low investment for its effect. This enables you to rapidly enhance a creature and maintain mana resources for other spells and abilities, thus accelerating your resource allocation on the battlefield.

Instant Speed: Felidar Umbra can be attached to a creature any time you could cast an instant. This flexibility allows you to surprise your opponent by saving a creature during combat or in response to a removal spell, turning potential game losses into advantageous scenarios.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Felidar Umbra doesn’t have a discard requirement per se, but it’s essential to consider the loss of tempo you might incur by equipping it. Should the creature it’s attached to be removed from the battlefield, the aura will go to the graveyard, which can feel like a setback if you’re unable to capitalize on its Totem Armor ability.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both white mana and generic mana, Felidar Umbra can be a bit restrictive in multicolored decks that might struggle with color fixing. If your mana base isn’t solid, it could be challenging to have the right types of mana available when you need to cast and attach it.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of 1W and an additional cost to attach to a creature, Felidar Umbra’s total investment might be steep, considering other auras or equipment that cost less and provide similar or greater benefits. Its initial casting cost is manageable, but its equip cost is what might deter players from including it in faster-paced or more mana-efficient decks.


Reasons to Include Felidar Umbra in Your Collection

Versatility: Felidar Umbra offers a high level of flexibility for various deck builds. Its ability to grant lifelink and totem armor can be pivotal in defensive strategies as well as aggressive decks seeking to preserve their key creatures.

Combo Potential: This aura can be part of numerous combos, particularly with creatures that have damaging triggers upon gaining life. It’s also efficient in strategies looking to protect and enhance creatures that are essential to a combo’s execution.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where removal spells are prevalent, Felidar Umbra can maintain your board presence by saving crucial creatures from destruction. Its relevance persists as long as creature-based strategies remain a core aspect of the meta.


How to beat

Felidar Umbra stands out as a potent aura in Magic: The Gathering, bestowing both lifelink and totem armor on its enchanted creature. This combination makes it a reliable defensive tool that can turn the tides of combat. However, like any card in MTG, there are strategies to counteract its strengths. If you’re facing a creature enchanted with Felidar Umbra, focus on using spells that don’t destroy but rather exile or return to hand. Think along the lines of Path to Exile or Oblivion Ring, which can neutralize the threat without triggering totem armor’s protective effect.

Counteracting the lifelink ability involves reducing your opponent’s opportunities for combat. Control decks shine here, with capabilities to tap or freeze creatures, preventing them from attacking or blocking. You could also redirect your tactics towards non-combat damage, utilizing burn spells or abilities that deal damage directly to your opponent, thereby circumventing the lifegain from the lifelink ability. Timing is crucial; ensure these actions are taken before lifegain becomes a significant factor in the game state.

Efficient planning and choosing the right answers thus are key in overcoming the challenges posed by Felidar Umbra, making it vital to have a well-constructed deck with versatile responses to a variety of MTG cards and scenarios.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dissecting the intricacies of Felidar Umbra is just one step in mastering MTG’s ever-evolving battlefield. This unique aura swings between saving your key creatures with totem armor and providing a lifeline with lifelink. As you refine your deck to face an array of opponents, consider how this card could fortify your strategy. Are you ready to deepen your understanding of MTG dynamics and uncover more secrets to achieving victory? We encourage you to join the league of players who go beyond the basics, ensuring that each draw drives you closer to becoming an adept of the game. Dive in with us to unlock the full potential of your arsenal.


Cards like Felidar Umbra

Felidar Umbra is a unique aura in MTG that grants both lifelink and totem armor to the enchanted creature, serving as a protective addition to creature-focused decks. Looking at Spirit Mantle, we observe a similar pattern; it provides protection from creatures, giving a defensive edge akin to Felidar Umbra’s totem armor. Spirit Mantle does not offer lifelink, though, making Felidar Umbra superior for long-term survival.

Comparatively, Unflinching Courage stands out by bestowing lifelink and granting a boost to power and toughness. Yet, it lacks the critical component of creature preservation that Felidar Umbra’s totem armor provides, giving slight variance in strategic applications. Hyena Umbra is another notable parallel. It also gives the totem armor effect at a lower mana cost, ensuring creature survivability, but differs by giving a smaller power boost without lifelink.

When analyzing these enchantments in MTG, Felidar Umbra exemplifies a combination of offense and defense, bridging the gap between resilience offered by totem armor and the sustainability from lifelink. Its versatility can pivot between aggressive and conservative playstyles, making it a powerful choice for enchantment-focused decks.

Spirit Mantle - MTG Card versions
Unflinching Courage - MTG Card versions
Hyena Umbra - MTG Card versions
Spirit Mantle - Magic 2012 (M12)
Unflinching Courage - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Hyena Umbra - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Cards similar to Felidar Umbra by color, type and mana cost

Blessing - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: White - MTG Card versions
Island Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Crusade - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Blue - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Artifacts - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Red - MTG Card versions
Energy Storm - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Black - MTG Card versions
Ward of Lights - MTG Card versions
Gossamer Chains - MTG Card versions
I'm Rubber, You're Glue - MTG Card versions
Absolute Grace - MTG Card versions
Seal of Cleansing - MTG Card versions
Absolute Law - MTG Card versions
Sacred Ground - MTG Card versions
Pacifism - MTG Card versions
Hypochondria - MTG Card versions
Soulcatchers' Aerie - MTG Card versions
Circle of Protection: Green - MTG Card versions
Blessing - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Circle of Protection: White - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Island Sanctuary - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Crusade - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Circle of Protection: Blue - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Circle of Protection: Artifacts - Renaissance (REN)
Circle of Protection: Red - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Energy Storm - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Circle of Protection: Black - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Ward of Lights - Mirage (MIR)
Gossamer Chains - Visions (VIS)
I'm Rubber, You're Glue - Unglued (UGL)
Absolute Grace - Urza's Saga (USG)
Seal of Cleansing - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Absolute Law - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Sacred Ground - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Pacifism - Duel Decks: Divine vs. Demonic (DDC)
Hypochondria - Torment (TOR)
Soulcatchers' Aerie - Judgment (JUD)
Circle of Protection: Green - Eighth Edition (8ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Felidar Umbra MTG card by a specific set like Planechase 2012 and Planechase Anthology, 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 Felidar Umbra and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Felidar Umbra Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2012-06-01 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Christopher Moeller.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12012-06-01Planechase 2012PC2 62003normalblackChristopher Moeller
22016-11-25Planechase AnthologyPCA 62015normalblackChristopher Moeller
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 1092015normalblackChristopher Moeller
42020-09-26The ListPLST PCA-62015normalblackChristopher Moeller

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Felidar Umbra has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2012-06-01 If Felidar Umbra is enchanting a creature with first strike, you can activate its ability and attach it to a creature without first strike during the first combat damage step. Each of those creatures will have lifelink when dealing combat damage and you’ll gain life accordingly.
2012-06-01 It’s not possible for Felidar Umbra to save two creatures that are being destroyed simultaneously.

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