Umbra Mystic MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Human Wizard
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Umbra Mystic offers card advantage by protecting auras even after creature destruction.
  2. Indirect resource acceleration is achieved by maintaining aura investments on the board.
  3. Increases the potency of instant-speed auras through added resilience via totem armor.

Text of card

Auras attached to permanents you control have totem armor. (If an enchanted permanent you control would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy an Aura attached to it.)

"I have found the courage to face death—twice, if I must."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Umbra Mystic grants a significant edge by empowering auras to stick around, even if the creatures they are attached to are destroyed. This means you won’t lose card investment from board wipes or targeted removal, effectively preserving your board state and the resources you’ve committed.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly contributing to mana acceleration, the long-term value generated by saving your auras can indirectly speed up your game plan. By protecting your investments, Umbra Mystic allows you to dedicate resources elsewhere, potentially leading to a faster buildup of your board and overwhelming your opponent.

Instant Speed: Although the card itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it adds resilience to your other instant-speed auras by providing them with totem armor. This makes your instant-speed interactions more potent, ensuring that your creatures gain protection just when they need it most, without fear of losing the auras to collateral damage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Umbra Mystic’s abilities are valuable, but players should be aware that it doesn’t come into play without prior setup. To get the most out of its aura protection, a dedicated aura-based library is necessary, which can sometimes require discarding cards to manage the right hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Restricted by its color identity, Umbra Mystic demands both white and blue mana. This specific mana cost can create hurdles in mana bases that are not tailored to support such a combination, thereby reducing its versatility in multicolored decks that may not prioritize these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Umbra Mystic falls on the higher side when compared to other creatures offering similar levels of board impact. It competes with other powerful three-drop cards, which puts pressure on players to justify its slot in their decks over potentially more impactful plays at the same mana value.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Umbra Mystic has an invaluable place in decks leveraging auras. This card ensures that auras attached to your creatures stick around, offering sustained advantage which is rare and precious in gameplay.

Combo Potential: In combination with other cards that have totem armor or benefit from it, Umbra Mystic exponentially increases the resilience of your creatures, potentially locking opponents out of victory by creating robust, protected board states.

Meta-Relevance: With a metagame that favors removal-heavy strategies, Umbra Mystic shines by safeguarding your key creatures against targeted spells, keeping your offensive line solid and unyielding.


How to beat

Umbra Mystic is a unique force on the battlefield, imbuing auras with totem armor, which adds a layer of protection to creatures in Magic: The Gathering. This effect saves creatures from what would normally be certain destruction, allowing them to survive situations that would otherwise lead to their doom. To efficiently counteract the resilience provided by Umbra Mystic, consider implementing removal spells that bypass totem armor. Board wipes like Supreme Verdict or Wrath of God clear the board and ignore the protection granted by the totem armor mechanic.

Targeted exiling effects are another potent counter, with cards such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares leading the charge in removing the enchanted creature from the game entirely. These strategies effectively neutralize the advantage brought by Umbra Mystic. Moreover, enchantment removal spells like Naturalize or Disenchant target the Mystic itself or the auras it protects, dismantling the opponent’s setup. It is critical to disrupt the synergy before it becomes overwhelming.

Adapting to your opponent’s strategy is key, and knowing when to hold back your removal or when to strike can make all the difference against a card as robust as Umbra Mystic.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving into the tactical decision-making of MTG can be a captivating journey, and mastering cards like Umbra Mystic can be pivotal for aura-centric decks. By understanding both the capabilities and limitations this unique card presents, you cultivate an edge over opponents through strategic resilience. As you continue to refine your deck, consider the synergy and meta-context where Umbra Mystic becomes a game changer. Engaging with our insights can escalate your gameplay, offering a comprehensive view on when and how to deploy this card for maximum effect. Delve with us into the deeper strategies of MTG and enrich your collection with purposeful picks. Start optimizing your deck today.


Cards like Umbra Mystic

Umbra Mystic has carved out a niche as a unique aura-focused card in Magic the Gathering, resonating with the strategies of enchantment enthusiasts. This card shares a thematic link with creatures like Bruno, Light of Alabaster, which also emphasizes the power of auras. Umbra Mystic provides your auras with the ability to grant totem armor, potentially saving your creatures from destruction. Comparatively, Bruno can retrieve auras from the graveyard, ensuring that your key enchantments return to the battlefield.

Totem Guide Hartebeest further relates to Umbra Mystic by acting as a tutor for auras, reinforcing your hand by directly searching your library for the needed enchantments. While it doesn’t provide the same protective qualities, it guarantees consistency in obtaining your auras. Another related card is Kor Spiritdancer, which not only boosts itself for each aura you control but draws you a card whenever you cast one, echoing Umbra Mystic’s theme of enhancing the utility of enchantments.

Overall, while each card has its unique nuances, Umbra Mystic stands out by providing a reliable safeguard for your creatures, uniting the concepts of aura advantage and board resilience. This makes this mystic a compelling choice for players seeking to fortify their enchantment-based strategies in Magic the Gathering.

Kor Spiritdancer - MTG Card versions
Kor Spiritdancer - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Umbra Mystic MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and Wilds of Eldraine 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 Umbra Mystic and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Umbra Mystic Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2023-09-08. Illustrated by Matt Stewart.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-04-23Rise of the EldraziROE 522003normalblackMatt Stewart
22023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine CommanderWOC 822015normalblackMatt Stewart

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Umbra Mystic has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2010-06-15 All _Rise of the Eldrazi_ cards printed with totem armor are Auras with "enchant creature." But Umbra Mystic grants totem armor to Auras attached to any permanent you control, not just creatures. The ability works the same way even if the Aura is enchanting a land, an artifact, or any other permanent.
2010-06-15 If a permanent you control would be destroyed, and it's enchanted by an Aura with totem armor, it doesn't matter who controls that Aura. The totem armor effect is mandatory. If that permanent is enchanted by multiple Auras, you choose which one is destroyed, regardless of who controls them.
2010-06-15 Multiple instances of totem armor on the same Aura are redundant.
2010-06-15 Say you control a permanent that's enchanted by an Aura you control, and that Aura is itself enchanted by an Aura. If the permanent would be destroyed, instead the first Aura is destroyed... but since that Aura would be destroyed, instead the second Aura is destroyed.
2010-06-15 Umbra Mystic grants totem armor to Auras attached to permanents you control, regardless of who controls those Auras. Conversely, it doesn't grant totem armor to Auras you control that are attached to permanents controlled by other players.
2018-07-13 If a permanent enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor has indestructible, lethal damage and effects that try to destroy it simply have no effect. Totem armor won't do anything because it won't have to.
2018-07-13 If a permanent enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor would be destroyed by multiple state-based actions at the same time (most likely because a creature with deathtouch has dealt damage to that creature greater than or equal to its toughness) totem armor's effect will replace all of them and save the creature.
2018-07-13 If a permanent you control is enchanted with multiple Auras that have totem armor, and the enchanted permanent would be destroyed, one of those Auras is destroyed instead — but only one of them. You choose which one because you control the enchanted permanent.
2018-07-13 If a spell or ability (such as Akroma's Vengeance) would destroy both an Aura with totem armor and the permanent it's enchanting at the same time, totem armor's effect will save the enchanted permanent from being destroyed. Instead, the spell or ability will destroy the Aura in two different ways at the same time, but the result is the same as destroying it once.
2018-07-13 If a spell or ability says that it would "destroy" a permanent enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor, that spell or ability is what causes the Aura to be destroyed instead. Totem armor doesn't destroy the Aura; rather, it changes the effects of the spell or ability. On the other hand, if a spell or ability deals lethal damage to a creature enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor, the game rules regarding lethal damage cause the Aura to be destroyed, not that spell or ability.
2018-07-13 Totem armor has no effect if the enchanted permanent is put into a graveyard for any other reason, such as if it's sacrificed, if the "legend rule" applies to it, or if its toughness is 0 or less.
2018-07-13 Totem armor's effect is applied no matter why the enchanted permanent would be destroyed: because it's been dealt lethal damage, or because it's being affected by an effect that says to "destroy" it (such as Putrefy). In either case, all damage is removed from the permanent and the Aura is destroyed instead.
2018-07-13 Totem armor's effect is mandatory. If the enchanted permanent would be destroyed, you must remove all damage from it (if it has any) and destroy the Aura that has totem armor instead.
2018-07-13 Totem armor's effect is not regeneration. Specifically, if totem armor's effect is applied, the enchanted permanent does not become tapped and is not removed from combat as a result. Effects that say the enchanted permanent can't be regenerated (as Putrefy does) won't prevent totem armor's effect from being applied.

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