Alaborn Veteran MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Human Knight
Released	1998-06-24
Set symbol
Set name	Portal Second Age
Set code	P02
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	5
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Henry Van Der Linde

Key Takeaways

Alaborn Veteran provides tactical combat advantages without spending extra cards, optimizing card advantage.
Its instant-speed ability allows for unexpected plays, giving a flexible response to opponents’ actions.
Moderate casting cost paired with a specific mana requirement may limit deck versatility.

Text of card

On your turn, before you attack, you may tap Alaborn Veteran to give any one creature +2/+2 until the end of the turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Alaborn Veteran stands out by offering a tactical edge in combat scenarios, often tipping the balance in your favor without needing to spend additional cards from your hand. The veteran’s ability to boost another creature can equate to effective card advantage by outmaneuvering opponents and preserving your board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While Alaborn Veteran itself may not directly contribute to resource acceleration, its low casting cost and supportive role enable a faster and more aggressive gameplay, allowing you to allocate resources to deploy other threats or reinforce your board state without delay.

Instant Speed: The key ability of Alaborn Veteran can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to respond to your opponents’ actions during their turn. This adaptability ensures you maintain the upper hand, turning the tide of battle or creating unexpected blockers when your adversaries least expect it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although the Alaborn Veteran doesn’t require a discard out of hand, its capacity is often compared unfavorably to other cards that do grant bonuses without this downside, which could be critical in resource-tight scenarios.

Specific Mana Cost: Alaborn Veteran has a mana cost that includes white, which narrows its deck compatibility, often restricting its use to mono-white or compatible two-color decks, thus limiting its versatility across various MTG strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost higher than many creatures of similar stature, the Alaborn Veteran’s mana investment may outweigh its battlefield impact, especially when considering the breadth of lower-cost creatures with comparable or superior abilities available to players.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Alaborn Veteran brings a unique dynamic to decks that focus on combat tactics, as its ability to bolster another creature can be a game-changer during pivotal turns. This card seamlessly integrates with various creature-focused strategies, enhancing the combat phase and offering tactical advantages.

Combo Potential: As a card that can untap your creatures, Alaborn Veteran pairs remarkably well with cards that have tap abilities, providing you with opportunities to exploit those abilities multiple times in a single turn. This opens up a range of combinations that can optimize board presence and control.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where creature-based decks are prevalent, having a card like Alaborn Veteran can give you an edge. By selectively enhancing your strongest creatures or repeatedly using powerful tap effects, Alaborn Veteran can help keep you one step ahead. Its role can significantly impact matchups, especially in metas that revolve around intricate combat tricks and tactics.

How to beat

The Alaborn Veteran is an often overlooked creature in MTG that comes with a notable ability to boost another target creature’s attack. This tactical advantage can be a game changer in combat, making it an essential card to handle defensively. To overpower an Alaborn Veteran, it’s essential to disrupt this augmenting ability.

A straightforward strategy is removing the Veteran before the combat phase, using instant-speed removal spells. Cards such as Doom Blade or Path to Exile are perfect for this task, as they can eliminate the Veteran without needing to reach the combat phase. Another effective method is to utilize counterspells. By keeping mana open, you can counter the Veteran as it’s cast, halting your opponent’s plan in its tracks.

In addition, keeping your creatures untapped with abilities to block or flash creatures can be a deterrent for an opponent using the Alaborn Veteran. This forces your opponent to think twice before attacking, potentially negating the Veteran’s combat buff. When facing an Alaborn Veteran, remember that your best defense is a mixture of proactive removal and strategic blocking.

Cards like Alaborn Veteran

Alaborn Veteran brings a tactical twist to the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. This card often draws comparisons to other creatures that offer bolstering effects. For instance, Veteran Swordsmith is a creature that also provides strength to other creatures, specifically Soldiers, by increasing their attack power. While Alaborn Veteran requires tapping to boost another target creature, Veteran Swordsmith passively increases the attack without having to tap, enabling continuous pressure on the opponent.

On a different note, Benalish Hero is another card that shares the tapping functionality with Alaborn Veteran, offering the banding ability upon tapping. However, banding is more niche and strategic, focusing on grouped combat dynamics rather than the direct power increase provided by Alaborn Veteran. Yet another comparable card is the Knight Captain of Eos, which, while costlier to play, grants a protective edge by creating soldier tokens and can also sacrifice a soldier to fog the battlefield, preventing all combat damage for a turn.

In the spectrum of MTG creature support, Alaborn Veteran holds its own with its combat-enhancing ability, proving to be a valuable asset especially in decks where single combat victories can turn the tide of the game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Alaborn Veteran MTG card by a specific set like Portal Second Age, 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 Alaborn Veteran and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Alaborn Veteran has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-09-20	If a turn has multiple combat phases, the ability can only be activated before the beginning of the declare attackers step of the first combat phase in that turn.