Semblance Anvil MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeArtifact
Abilities Imprint

Key Takeaways

  1. Semblance Anvil enables significant casting cost reductions, elevating deck performance by maximizing resource allocation.
  2. Enables a faster gameplay tempo, allowing mana-intensive spells to be played ahead of curve, accelerating your game plan.
  3. Introduces instant speed play flexibility, optimizing mana use and increasing reaction capabilities during crucial game moments.

Text of card

Imprint — When Semblance Anvil enters the battlefield, you may exile a nonland card from your hand. Spells you cast that share a card type with the exiled card cost less to cast.

Forged from what it forges.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Semblance Anvil offers the potential for a significant card advantage by reducing the casting cost of multiple cards in your deck. This advantage grows each time you cast a spell for a reduced cost, effectively drawing you into the value without drawing a card.

Resource Acceleration: By imprinting a card onto Semblance Anvil, it effectively accelerates resource availability. This means spells that previously were out of reach as per your mana pool become playable sooner, potentially speeding up your game by several turns.

Instant Speed: Although Semblance Anvil itself is not an instant, it allows instant (and other spell) castings at a reduced cost, freeing up mana to use at instant speed for other spells or abilities. This can lead to more efficient turn planning, allowing you to react to opponents’ moves more effectively while developing your own board.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Semblance Anvil asks players to exile a card from their hand to activate its cost reduction ability. This can lead to a significant loss in card advantage, making it a risky play if you’re running low on cards or relying on every piece in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a mana cost that includes two colorless mana, Semblance Anvil requires a solid mana base to cast. Without the right mana acceleration or fixing, it might be slow to hit the battlefield, especially in multicolor decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At three mana with an additional card exile cost, Semblance Anvil can be a considerable investment. Players must weigh if the future savings on other spells justify the immediate cost and the potential for a two-for-one loss if the artifact is removed quickly.


Reasons to Include Semblance Anvil in Your Collection

Versatility: Semblance Anvil is a unique artifact that allows you to cast spells for less mana, offering flexibility to a wide range of decks. By imprinting a card, you reduce the cost of spells that share a card type, thereby enhancing your ability to play multiple cards in a single turn.

Combo Potential: This card opens up a plethora of combo opportunities, especially in artifact-centric decks or those that utilize cards with similar types. Its ability to reduce costs can be a cornerstone in creating powerful, game-winning synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where speed is key, or in metas where reducing casting costs provides a critical advantage, Semblance Anvil can be an essential tech choice. It’s particularly useful in formats where building around key card types or themes can give a deck a competitive edge.


How to beat

Semblance Anvil is a unique artifact in the realm of Magic the Gathering, capable of drastically reducing the mana costs of your spells. The card allows you to exile another card from your hand and in turn, the spells you cast that share a card type with the exiled card cost two less mana to cast. This powerful effect can set up situations where players could potentially cast spells for free, making it a formidable tool in any game.

To effectively counteract Semblance Anvil’s influence in a game, removal of artifacts becomes crucial. Cards like Disenchant or Krosan Grip provide the means to directly deal with Semblance Anvil. Additionally, implementing counterplay strategies such as sideboarding artifact hate cards or pressure-based play that demand answers before the Anvil can be effectively leveraged often proves to be an effective approach. Moreover, by maintaining a pace that outstrips the advantages provided by the Anvil’s cost reductions, one can incrementally diminish the card’s impact on the game.

Ultimately, even though Semblance Anvil can be a significant value engine in the right deck, understanding and preparing for this card by implementing targeted removal and maintaining a strategic tempo can neutralize its potential and keep your opponent’s advantage in check.


BurnMana Recommendations

With Semblance Anvil’s ability to shape the flow of your gameplay, mastering its use is key to unlocking game-changing strategies. Decreased casting costs lead to a tempo that could potentially overwhelm your adversaries. But remember, every card has its counter, and remaining vigilant against removal strategies is essential. If you are intrigued by the prospect of incorporating Semblance Anvil into your deck or seeking ways to optimize its use, delve deeper with us. Learn more about this versatile artifact and how it can revolutionize your game plan, enabling you to gain a commanding presence at the table.


Cards like Semblance Anvil

Semblance Anvil is a card known for its cost reduction ability in Magic: The Gathering, allowing you to imbue your spells with an economic advantage. Its nearest counterparts include Cloud Key and Herald’s Horn, both offering cost reduction for specific types of cards. Cloud Key, for instance, focuses on a chosen card type when it comes into play, reducing the casting cost by one. While Herald’s Horn selects a creature type, also reducing cost and potentially providing card advantage.

Ancestral Statue is another card that might seem related in the realm of mana cost efficiency. Although it doesn’t reduce costs, the Ancestral Statue can be used to repeatedly trigger enter the battlefield effects, harmonizing well with Semblance Anvil’s imprint mechanism that encourages playing with numerous copies of a card. Ethereal Usher also provides a cost-related benefit, giving the option to transmute for a card with the same converted mana cost, indirectly influencing the resources you commit to the board.

What makes Semblance Anvil stand apart in this crowd is its ability to affect multiple card types – provided they share a card type with the imprinted card. This flexibility positions it as a powerful enabler in decks looking to churn out an array of spells swiftly and efficiently.

Cloud Key - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Ancestral Statue - MTG Card versions
Ethereal Usher - MTG Card versions
Cloud Key - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Ancestral Statue - MTG Card versions
Ethereal Usher - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Semblance Anvil by color, type and mana cost

Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Sword of Vengeance - MTG Card versions
Runed Arch - MTG Card versions
Clay Pigeon - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Jalum Tome - MTG Card versions
Patchwork Gnomes - MTG Card versions
The Stasis Coffin - MTG Card versions
Captain's Hook - MTG Card versions
Spellweaver Helix - MTG Card versions
Scale of Chiss-Goria - MTG Card versions
Lightning Coils - MTG Card versions
Loxodon Warhammer - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Training Drone - MTG Card versions
Pristine Talisman - MTG Card versions
Alloy Myr - MTG Card versions
Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions
Vedalken Shackles - MTG Card versions
Herald's Horn - MTG Card versions
Manalith - MTG Card versions
Sword of Vengeance - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Semblance Anvil MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts, 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 Semblance Anvil and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Semblance Anvil Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2022-11-18. Illustrated by Dan Scott.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-10-01Scars of MirrodinSOM 2012003NormalBlackDan Scott
22022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 521997NormalBlackDan Scott
32022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 1151997NormalBlackDan Scott
42022-11-18The Brothers' War Retro ArtifactsBRR 115z1997NormalBlackDan Scott

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Semblance Anvil has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
GladiatorLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2011-01-01 Artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, planeswalker, sorcery, and tribal are card types.
2011-01-01 Semblance Anvil can reduce the amount you pay for a spell's cost that includes . For example, Blaze is a sorcery that costs . If the card exiled with Semblance Anvil is a sorcery, and you want to cast Blaze with X equal to 5, you'll have to pay only . This is true even if the ability states that must be paid with a certain color of mana (as Drain Life does).
2011-01-01 Semblance Anvil takes the total cost to cast a spell into account, not just its mana cost. This includes additional costs (such as kicker) and alternative costs (such as evoke). It also includes cost increases from other sources (such as Lodestone Golem's ability).
2011-01-01 Semblance Anvil won't affect the part of a spell's cost represented by colored mana symbols. For example, a spell that normally costs to cast would cost if it shared a card type with the exiled card.
2011-01-01 Semblance Anvil's cost reduction effect is mandatory.
2011-01-01 Spells you cast that share multiple card types with the exiled card still cost just less to cast. They don't get a greater cost reduction.