Tel-Jilad Defiance MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2010-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Scars of Mirrodin
Set code	SOM
Number	129
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Goran Josic

Key Takeaways

Protects key creatures at instant speed, offering a quick shield against specific removal spells or combat tricks.
Its affordability and surprise element can be pivotal, but the discard requirement can prove disadvantageous.
While versatile against artifacts, other protective spells may offer broader utility and efficiency.

Text of card

Target creature gains protection from artifacts until end of turn. Draw a card.

The Viridian elves had purged their culture of the trolls' traitorous influence. In times of strife, however, the ancestral memories returned.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the inherent advantages of Tel-Jilad Defiance is its role in protecting your important creatures from removal spells or combat tricks. While it doesn’t draw cards directly, it can essentially save a card from being lost, maintaining your battlefield presence and keeping your card advantage intact.

Resource Acceleration: While Tel-Jilad Defiance isn’t a traditional resource acceleration card, the benefit lies in its low cost. For a single green mana, it’s an affordable play that can ensure your key creatures survive pivotal turns, indirectly allowing your resources to be allocated elsewhere efficiently.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Tel-Jilad Defiance gives you the flexibility to react to your opponent’s actions. Whether it’s in response to a targeted removal spell or combat interaction, its timely usage can disrupt your opponent’s strategy and swing the momentum in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Tel-Jilad Defiance compels the player to discard another card. This stipulation may lead to a setback, especially when the player’s hand is already dwindling, making it a potentially costly defense mechanism.

Specific Mana Cost: The precision of its mana cost, which requires green mana, can restrict its integration into multi-colored decks. Players may find it cumbersome to incorporate within a diverse mana base, thereby limiting its universality across different deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its protective capabilities, Tel-Jilad Defiance demands a notable amount of mana. There are alternative cards available that could provide similar or greater defensive utility at a lower mana investment, granting players more efficiency in managing their resources during gameplay.

Reasons to Include Tel-Jilad Defiance in Your Collection

Versatility: Tel-Jilad Defiance serves as a critical piece in decks that strive to protect key creatures. Its capability to give a creature protection from artifacts for a turn can be a game-changer, especially in environments where artifact removal is prevalent.

Combo Potential: This instant has the ability to surprise opponents by disrupting expected removals or by securing the completion of combos that rely on creature permanence. It pairs well with strategies seeking to capitalize on uninterrupted plays.

Meta-Relevance: With an ever-evolving competitive scene, Tel-Jilad Defiance may rise in importance when facing decks that lean heavily on artifact-based removal or control elements. This can offer a decisive advantage in key matchups, making it a noteworthy consideration for any strategic player’s collection.

How to beat Tel-Jilad Defiance

Tel-Jilad Defiance may not be the flashiest card in the MTG realm, but it offers a solid shield against spells targeting your precious green creatures. The first step in outmaneuvering this instant is keeping removal spells that don’t target, such as those that say “destroy all creatures” – these bypass the protection Tel-Jilad Defiance provides. Cards like Wrath of God or Damnation can effectively clear the board without the need to target individual creatures.

Another strategy involves utilizing counterspells to prevent Tel-Jilad Defiance from resolving in the first place. Blue players can keep a Mana Leak or Negate at the ready, ensuring that their opponent’s defenses never get off the ground. Understanding the timing can also give you an upper hand. By waiting until the opponent is tapped out or unlikely to have Tel-Jilad Defiance in hand, you can make your move and target their creatures with greater confidence. Finally, if the creature has already been granted protection, overarching effects like board wipes or -X/-X spells can often do the trick since they don’t target the creature directly.

Strategically, Tel-Jilad Defiance demands a measure of respect for its ability to turn the tide by saving a key green creature. By employing smart, non-targeting removal tactics or countering it before it takes effect, you ensure your path to victory remains clear.

Cards like Tel-Jilad Defiance

In the realm of protective spells in Magic: The Gathering, Tel-Jilad Defiance stands out as a specialized option. It bears similarities to cards like Apostle’s Blessing, which provides protection from colors or artifacts for any creature. However, Tel-Jilad Defiance is unique in its adherence to green creatures, granting them a bulletproof vest against the full spectrum of artifacts throughout the turn.

Comparing it further, we stumble upon Ranger’s Guile, a one-mana spell that not only shields your creature but also gives it a slight power boost. Though not as broad in its protective scope as Tel-Jilad Defiance, Ranger’s Guile’s advantage lies in its cost and the surprise strength increment. Then there’s Vines of Vastwood, which can serve both offensive and defensive purposes and has the potential to scale up with its kicker cost, offering a more flexible use than Tel-Jilad Defiance.

Examining these selections side by side, it’s evident that while Tel-Jilad Defiance offers a dependable refuge for green creatures against artifacts, its situational nature means that players might choose alternatives like Apostle’s Blessing or Vines of Vastwood for their versatility and broader applications within the complex strategies of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Tel-Jilad Defiance by color, type and mana cost

Might of the Nephilim - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tel-Jilad Defiance MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin, 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 Tel-Jilad Defiance and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tel-Jilad Defiance has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Tel-Jilad Defiance 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	“Protection from artifacts” means the following: -- The affected creature can't be blocked by artifact creatures. -- The affected creature can't be equipped. If any Equipment are attached to it, they become unattached. The affected creature also can't be enchanted by Auras that have somehow become artifacts in addition to enchantments. -- The affected creature can't be targeted by abilities from artifact sources. -- All damage that would be dealt to the affected creature by artifact sources is prevented.