Heavy Fog MTG Card

Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
1999-05-01 - Number 136

Masters Edition III (ME3)
2009-09-07 - Number 122

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant

Key Takeaways

Heavy Fog shields your creatures, thereby maintaining board control and momentum.
Instant speed enables surprising shifts in combat dynamics, favoring the defending player.
Its requirement to discard another card poses a strategic cost, especially late-game.

Text of card

Play Heavy Fog only after you're attacked, before you declare blockers. This turn, all damage dealt to you by attacking creatures is reduced to 0.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Heavy Fog offers players a defensive edge without card loss. By preventing all combat damage that would be dealt in a turn, you effectively nullify your opponent’s attack, preserving your creatures and maintaining board control.

Resource Acceleration: Though Heavy Fog itself doesn’t accelerate resources directly, it indirectly preserves your mana-generating creatures. By keeping them on the board, you ensure your mana pool remains robust for subsequent turns, crucial for ramping up to your game-changing spells.

Instant Speed: Heavy Fog’s power lies in its timing. As an instant, it can be cast unexpectedly during the combat phase, disrupting your opponent’s strategy. It can swing the momentum of the game by negating what might have been a lethal attack and putting you in a favorable position for your next move.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The utility of Heavy Fog is diminished somewhat by the necessity of discarding another card from your hand. This can be particularly detrimental during late-game scenarios where every card in hand is crucial for maintaining an advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Heavy Fog requires a dedicated green mana source for casting. This mana specificity could potentially restrict it predominantly to mono-green or green-heavy decks, which can limit its versatility in multicolored deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that involves both green and generic mana, Heavy Fog’s mana requirement is on the higher side when compared to other fog-like effects that often cost less. This can make it a less appealing option in decks where speed and mana efficiency are key.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Heavy Fog is a staple for green decks that favor an element of surprise defensively. Its ability to prevent all combat damage that would be dealt in a turn can turn the tide of battle, making it a useful tool in a variety of game situations.

Combo Potential: It’s not just about protection; Heavy Fog can be part of a strategic combo with cards that allow you to capitalize on having an untouched life total. It can also synergize with cards counting on a full health total to maximize their effects, amplifying your defensive strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment teeming with aggressive decks, Heavy Fog levels the playing field by halting token swarms and voltron assaults. By negating a potentially lethal attack, it maintains relevance in numerous metagames. Incorporating Heavy Fog into your lineup can provide you with a critical breathing room against rush strategies.

How to Beat Heavy Fog

When facing the card Heavy Fog in a game of MTG, understanding its function is pivotal to developing a counter-strategy. Heavy Fog excels at staving off attacks by preventing all combat damage that would be dealt in a turn. Key to outmaneuvering this defensive tactic is to deploy non-combat damage sources or abilities. Cards with direct damage spells or effects that cause loss of life irrespective of combat, such as ‘Lightning Bolt’ or ‘Exsanguinate,’ effectively circumvent the protection offered by Heavy Fog.

Another approach involves leveraging the strategy of card advantage. By using spells that force your opponent to draw or discard, you can potentially exhaust their hand of Heavy Fog, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. ‘Thoughtseize’ and ‘Duress’ are exemplary in this role, selectively stripping key cards from your opponent’s grip. Additionally, some players opt for enchantments like ‘Sulfuric Vortex,’ which deals damage to each player, thereby nullifying the benefits of Heavy Fog’s combat negation and can press the opponent towards a precarious position.

Successfully overcoming Heavy Fog requires a blend of direct damage and strategic hand control. By integrating these elements into your deck, you can effectively neutralize Heavy Fog’s capacity to disrupt your path to victory.

Cards like Heavy Fog

Heavy Fog is an intriguing entry into the wide array of defensive spells in the union of Magic: The Gathering’s strategic gameplay. Its closest parallel is found in cards like Fog and Moment’s Peace. Much like Heavy Fog, Fog serves as a simple but effective means of preventing all combat damage that would be dealt in a single turn. Despite having an identical effect, Heavy Fog is distinct as it requires the player to control a Forest, which can limit its use to certain deck types that include green mana.

Moment’s Peace offers not just one, but two chances to prevent combat damage thanks to its flashback ability, which allows for reuse from the graveyard. While it is slightly more costly in terms of mana investment, the potential for a repeated effect gives it an edge in terms of flexibility over Heavy Fog. Additionally, cards like Dawn Charm also share similarities, providing not only combat damage prevention but also other modes that can protect against targeted spells or regenerate creatures.

In the broader scope of Magic: The Gathering’s protective spells, Heavy Fog belongs to a niche class where the cost and conditions are balanced against its immediate utility, offering players a tactical edge in protecting their life total at crucial moments.

Cards similar to Heavy Fog by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Heavy Fog MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms and Masters Edition III, 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 Heavy Fog and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Heavy Fog Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-05-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by Liu Shangying.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1999-05-01	Portal Three Kingdoms	PTK		136	1997	Normal	White	Liu Shangying
2	2009-09-07	Masters Edition III	ME3		122	1997	Normal	Black	Liu Shangying

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Heavy Fog has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2009-10-01	Heavy Fog prevents all damage attacking creatures would deal to you this turn, not just combat damage. Noncombat damage from those creatures is prevented only if they’re still attacking at the time that damage would be dealt or, if the creature has left the battlefield by then, if it was an attacking creature at the time it left.
2009-10-01	Heavy Fog prevents only damage that would be dealt to you by attacking creatures. It won’t prevent damage attacking creatures would deal to creatures or planeswalkers you control.
2009-10-01	If all the attacking creatures attack your planeswalkers, you can’t cast Heavy Fog. To cast it, a creature needs to have attacked _you_.