Savage Alliance MTG Card

An instant-speed card, Savage Alliance offers varied interactive abilities for real-time strategic depth. Its Escalate ability endows flexibility, allowing players to address multiple challenges efficiently. The card’s intricacies cater to savvy players aiming for a tactical edge in tight matches.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Abilities	Escalate
Released	2016-07-22
Set symbol
Set name	Eldritch Moon
Set code	EMN
Number	140
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Johann Bodin

Text of card

Escalate (Pay this cost for each mode chosen beyond the first.) Choose one or more — • Creatures target player controls gain trample until end of turn. • Savage Alliance deals 2 damage to target creature. • Savage Alliance deals 1 damage to each creature target opponent controls.

Cards like Savage Alliance

Savage Alliance is an intriguing entry in the roster of multi-effect instants in Magic: The Gathering. Its versatility is reminiscent of cards like Sweltering Suns, which deals damage to each creature. Savage Alliance, however, offers a broader range of options, including the ability to target multiple creatures or players, a critical advantage in certain game situations. While Sweltering Suns provides a guaranteed board sweep, Savage Alliance allows players to adapt to diverse board states with its choice of effects.

Another comparison can be drawn with Arc Lightning, a spell that splits damage among several creatures or players. Similar to Savage Alliance, it grants the ability to control the distribution of damage. Yet, Savage Alliance edges out with an additional option to force creatures to block this turn if desired. Lastly, we can look at Pyroclasm as a card with a similar impact on the game. It deals damage to each creature like Sweltering Suns, but at a lower cost. Savage Alliance requires a higher resource investment, but it compensates with its tactical flexibility and potential to swing combat phases in your favor.

To sum it up, Savage Alliance’s adaptability and range of choices place it as a valuable utility in Magic: The Gathering, especially for players who value strategic options and board control.

Cards similar to Savage Alliance by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: When deploying Savage Alliance, the card’s multifaceted abilities give players multiple ways to interact with the board. It can potentially deal damage to multiple creatures, giving you a one-card answer to several threats and tipping the scales in your favor during crucial moments of gameplay.

Resource Acceleration: Savage Alliance can serve as a strategic play for resource acceleration. While it doesn’t explicitly produce additional mana or tokens, its Escalate ability allows you to invest more mana to activate additional modes. This versatility can accelerate your game plan by dealing with several challenges simultaneously, saving resources for future turns.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Savage Alliance at instant speed provides a tactical edge. It allows you to act in response to your opponent’s moves or during their end step, keeping them guessing and potentially avoiding their countermeasures. The flexibility to react instantly with this card can be a decisive advantage in tight situations.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Savage Alliance requires players to discard a card when using its escalate ability. This can be a setback when hand size is critical for sustaining options and strategies during gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: This card necessitates a red mana in its casting cost, which can be restrictive. Decks not dedicated to red or those running a tight mana base might struggle to cast it consistently.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a base cost and an additional cost for each mode, Savage Alliance can be pricey. In scenarios where board presence and resource allocation are key, there may be alternative spells that provide similar or better effects for a lower investment.

Reasons to Include Savage Alliance in Your Collection

Versatility: Savage Alliance offers multiple modes, making it adaptable for various scenarios. Whether you need to clear small creatures, deal direct damage, or power up your own team in combat, this card has something to offer.

Combo Potential: This card works well with mechanics that leverage instant spells or benefit from multiple creatures being damaged, such as prowess or enrage, creating opportunities to build powerful synergies in your deck.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Savage Alliance can act as a potent tool, disrupting your opponent’s board and turning the tide in your favor, potentially making it a staple in the current competitive scene.

How to Beat

Savage Alliance from MTG offers a versatile approach to dealing with opponents by providing multiple modes for controlling the battlefield. One efficient method to counter this card’s impact is to prioritize maintaining a low creature count. Doing so can minimize the reach of its sweeping effect that deals damage to multiple creatures. Additionally, using creatures with toughness greater than two can be a strategic advantage, as it renders the card’s damage output less effective.

Another approach involves leveraging instant-speed removal or counterspells to disrupt your opponent’s plans when they cast Savage Alliance. Having these types of responses ready in your hand can help you nullify the threat before it affects your board state. Furthermore, incorporating indestructible creatures into your deck building strategy or utilizing protection spells can shield your key creatures from Savage Alliance’s potential board-clearing effects.

In essence, by conscientiously building your deck and strategizing your plays, you can effectively prepare for and neutralize the possible disruptions caused by Savage Alliance in MTG. Proper anticipation and equipped responses are paramount in maintaining board presence against such flexible threat cards.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Savage Alliance MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon, 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 Savage Alliance and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Savage Alliance has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-07-13	Additional costs don’t affect a spell’s converted mana cost.
2016-07-13	Effects that reduce the cost of spells reduce the total cost, including any escalate costs added.
2016-07-13	If an effect allows you to cast a spell that has escalate without paying its mana cost, you pay escalate costs for that spell if you choose more than one mode.
2016-07-13	If one target of an escalate spell becomes illegal, the other targets will still be affected. If all of the targets become illegal, the spell won’t resolve.
2016-07-13	If two of the chosen modes of an escalate spell target a creature, you may choose the same creature for each mode’s target, or choose different creatures. The same is true if the chosen modes target a player (or opponent).
2016-07-13	If you choose the second and third modes, and the targeted creature is controlled by the targeted opponent, that creature will take 2 plus 1 damage for a total of 3 damage. An ability that triggers whenever that creature is dealt damage will trigger twice.
2016-07-13	When determining how much damage a creature with trample may assign to the player or planeswalker it’s attacking, take into account damage that has already been dealt to the blocking creatures. For example, a 4/4 creature with trample blocked by a 4/4 creature with 2 damage marked on it may assign 2 damage to that creature and 2 damage to the defending player.
2016-07-13	You can’t choose any one mode multiple times.
2016-07-13	You choose all of your modes at once. You can’t wait to perform one mode’s actions and then decide to choose more modes.