Bloodhill Bastion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
RarityCommon
TypePlane — Equilor

Key Takeaways

  1. Accelerates play by granting creatures immediate impact abilities upon entry.
  2. Enhances creature-based strategies with its unique board-influencing effect.
  3. Effective against control decks, it promotes a swift, forceful playstyle.

Text of card

Whenever a creature enters the battlefield, it gains double strike and haste until end of turn. Whenever you roll {Chaos}, exile target nontoken creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under your control.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bloodhill Bastion enriches strategic gameplay by enabling creatures that enter the battlefield to instantly become double threats, both attacking and defending with enhanced capabilities. This advantage amplifies your board presence and could potentially lead to overwhelming your opponent with tactical maneuvers that can tip the scales in your favor during crucial turns.

Resource Acceleration: By granting your creatures haste and double strike upon entering the battlefield under your control, Bloodhill Bastion acts as a powerful form of resource acceleration. This ability allows you to reap immediate value from your creatures, effectively speeding up your offensive and justifying investments in high-cost creatures by allowing them to impact the game instantly.

Instant Speed: While Bloodhill Bastion itself does not operate at instant speed, it transforms your creature plays into immediate threats and responses. With this card in play, any creature can be a surprise blocker or a sudden burst of damage, providing you with dynamic options that keep your opponents guessing and unable to settle into a comfortable defense or offense.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must sacrifice a substantial amount of strategic flexibility when engaging with Bloodhill Bastion due to its requirement that a creature be under your control before activating the card’s abilities. This necessity can pose a conundrum when attempting to optimize play while maintaining a strong defensive stance.

Specific Mana Cost: Bloodhill Bastion demands a specific alignment with red mana, which can limit its integration into various deck builds. This specificity can potentially restrict deck diversity and hinder the inclusion of the card in multi-color strategies where mana flexibility is key.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With other lands in the game offering utility or mana fixing at a lower cost, Bloodhill Bastion’s heavier mana cost puts it at a competitive disadvantage. Players may find the cost of incorporating this into their game plan steep relative to the benefits provided, especially in the early game stages where a more strategic deployment of mana can determine victory or defeat.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Bloodhill Bastion enhances any deck looking for a dynamic battlefield. With its ability to grant all creatures haste and double strike once flipped, it caters to a vast array of strategies emphasizing swift and hard-hitting tactics.

Combo Potential: For those crafting decks that aim for explosive turns, this card is a goldmine. It can amplify combos that rely on creature-based assaults, effectively doubling damage and fulfilling the criteria for various synergistic triggers with utmost efficiency.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where aggro strategies can dominate, Bloodhill Bastion can shift the tides, equipping creatures with the agility and power necessary to outpace control decks and overwhelm opposing defenses. Its presence in your arsenal means you’re ready to adapt and conquer in an ever-evolving competitive landscape.


How to beat

Bloodhill Bastion is one of those intriguing lands in MTG that can turn the tides of a game. When it becomes active, it bestows every creature that attacks alone with double strike and haste, propelling a fast and aggressive playstyle. Defeating a card with such potential requires strategic play and precise counteractions.

To overcome the challenges posed by Bloodhill Bastion, it’s crucial to limit its activation or mitigate its effects. Preventing creatures from attacking alone through rules enforcement abilities or deploying creatures with ‘must be blocked if able’ conditions can neutralize the double strike threat. Additionally, incorporating instant speed removal spells to dispatch attackers before they benefit from the Bastion’s boost or playing cards that negate combat damage on a crucial turn are both effective strategies. Control decks can also shine against Bloodhill Bastion by establishing a board presence that discourages single attackers, utilizing counterspells to handle key threats, or using enchantment removal to address the Bastion directly.

Ultimately, facing off against Bloodhill Bastion demands a blend of foresight, control measures, and timing. By hindering its activation or dealing with the threats it amplifies, players can navigate around the advantages it confers and maintain the upper hand in battle.


Cards like Bloodhill Bastion

When exploring the strategic landscape of MTG, Bloodhill Bastion leaps out as an intriguing choice for those looking to amplify creature abilities. It shares some characteristics with the likes of Contested Cliffs and Skarrg, the Rage Pits. Despite the differences, each of these lands focuses on enhancing creatures during combat.

Contested Cliffs, for instance, provides a means to engage in direct creature battles without entering combat, while Skarrg, the Rage Pits offers a slightly different perk, giving a creature a modest boost and trample. Bloodhill Bastion, in contrast, turns any creature into an immediate threat by granting it double strike and haste upon entering the battlefield. This can dramatically alter the state of play, much like Slayers’ Stronghold does by also bestowing haste along with an additional power and vigilance boost. However, Bloodhill Bastion stands unique in giving the double strike ability, a powerful effect that can be a game-changer in MTG.

Comparing the dynamics and benefits of these lands, it’s clear that Bloodhill Bastion has a potent role in decks that seek to unleash a flurry of swift and powerful attacks. Its unique ability set aligns well with aggressive strategies, setting it apart from its counterparts in the realm of creature-buffing lands in MTG.

Contested Cliffs - MTG Card versions
Skarrg, the Rage Pits - MTG Card versions
Slayers' Stronghold - MTG Card versions
Contested Cliffs - Onslaught (ONS)
Skarrg, the Rage Pits - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Slayers' Stronghold - Avacyn Restored (AVR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bloodhill Bastion MTG card by a specific set like Planechase Anthology Planes and March of the Machine Commander, 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 Bloodhill Bastion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bloodhill Bastion Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-12-25 and 2023-04-21. Illustrated by Mark Hyzer.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-12-25Planechase Anthology PlanesOPCA 162015planarblackMark Hyzer
22023-04-21March of the Machine CommanderMOC 1402015planarblackMark Hyzer

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Bloodhill Bastion 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 a creature you've gained control of temporarily (because of Act of Treason, for example) is exiled and returns to the battlefield under your control, you will control that creature indefinitely.

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