Silence the Believers MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Instant |
| Abilities | Strive |
| Released | 2014-05-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Journey into Nyx |
| Set code | JOU |
| Number | 82 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Slawomir Maniak |
Text of card
Strive — Silence the Believers costs more to cast for each target beyond the first. Exile any number of target creatures and all Auras attached to them.
Cards like Silence the Believers
Silence the Believers is an intriguing removal spell in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, sharing a similar space with other exile effects like Sever the Bloodline. Both cards provide a solution against creatures, but Silence the Believers offers the advantage of scalability with its strive mechanic, potentially removing multiple threats in a single cast. Sever the Bloodline, while it can’t target multiple creatures at once without flashback, does have the upside of exiling all cards with the same name as the targeted creature.
Another parallel can be drawn with Utter End, which although it has a slightly higher mana cost, gives you the versatility to exile any nonland permanent, not just creatures. This broadens the range of possible targets, providing a more universal answer at the cost of not being able to scale with additional mana investment like Silence the Believers.
Evaluating these alternatives against Silence the Believers, it’s clear that the card holds a unique position. Its capability to escalate with additional mana to address numerous creatures aligns well with late-game strategies, making it a formidable tool for players looking to maintain control of the board.
Cards similar to Silence the Believers by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Silence the Believers offers exceptional card advantage by potentially removing multiple threats with a single card. Its Strive ability scales with the game, enabling it to exile several creatures and outpace opponents by depleting their resources while you maintain card parity or advantage.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources, Silence the Believers can indirectly contribute to resource acceleration by clearing the way for your own creatures to attack and potentially deliver damage, allowing for abilities that trigger on combat damage to generate additional value or mana.
Instant Speed: The option to cast Silence the Believers at instant speed provides strategic flexibility, allowing players to respond to threats immediately, disrupt opponent strategies, or wait for the most opportune moment to ensure maximum impact on the game state.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Silence the Believers requires no discard, card removal from hand might still be essential for activating its strive cost effectively, particularly in a tight game scenario where resources are king.
Specific Mana Cost: Silence the Believers demands a specific mana combination, requiring both black and colorless. This cost can restrict deck variety, especially for those that run on a tight mana base or multicolored decks that may not always have the necessary black mana when needed.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an initial cost of four mana to exile one creature, the card can be costly, especially in fast-paced games where mana efficiency is crucial. Additional mana is required to target multiple creatures, which can be cumbersome, making the card less attractive compared to other removal options in the same mana range.
Reasons to Include Silence the Believers in Your Collection
Versatility: Silence the Believers is a card that holds a place in various decks that require pinpoint removal of problematic creatures. Its ability to exile any creature, rather than just destroying it, makes it an ideal response to creatures that can return from the graveyard or have indestructibility.
Combo Potential: For players looking to capitalize on spell synergies, Silence the Believers offers excellent combo potential. When paired with mana acceleration or cost-reducing effects, the strive mechanic can be maximally exploited, allowing for multiple exiles in a single cast, disrupting your opponent’s board presence significantly.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state where powerful creatures dictate the pace of the match, having an answer like Silence the Believers can shift the dynamic in your favor. Its relevance is underscored in metas populated by creature-based strategies, ensuring that it remains a useful tool in your arsenal against dominating creature decks.
How to beat
Silence the Believers is a powerful removal card in Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to exile target creature and potentially more, depending on the Strive cost paid. To effectively combat Silence the Believers, it’s crucial to employ a strategy that makes it difficult for your opponent to capitalize on its full potential. Think about diversifying your threats on the board. Silence the Believers’ efficacy increases with more targets, so by maintaining a variety of creatures with different converted mana costs and abilities, you make it more challenging for your opponent to get maximum value from a single spell.
Another approach is to keep mana open for counterspells or abilities that protect your creatures. Instant speed responses like Hexproof-granting spells or sacrifice-effects can circumvent Silence the Believers, saving your key creatures from exile. Also consider using cheaper creatures that have already provided value or those with enter-the-battlefield effects; this way, even if Silence the Believers is used, the overall impact on your game plan is minimized. Lastly, running creatures with indestructible or those that can regenerate can make Silence the Believers an undesirable option for your opponent.
By implementing these tactics and making strategic plays, you can diminish the impact of Silence the Believers on your strategy and maintain the upper hand in the game.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Silence the Believers MTG card by a specific set like Journey into Nyx, 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 Silence the Believers and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Silence the Believers has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Silence the Believers card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-04-26 | If a spell or ability allows you to cast a strive spell without paying its mana cost, you must pay the additional costs for any targets beyond the first. |
| 2014-04-26 | If all of the spell's targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. If one or more of its targets are legal when it tries to resolve, the spell will resolve and affect only those legal targets. It will have no effect on any illegal targets. |
| 2014-04-26 | If such a spell is copied, and the effect that copies the spell allows a player to choose new targets for the copy, the number of targets can't be changed. The player may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. If, for one of the targets, the player can't choose a new legal target, then it remains unchanged (even if the current target is illegal). |
| 2014-04-26 | The creatures and Auras are exiled at the same time. Specifically, if an Aura is a permanent with bestow, it will be exiled. It won't stop being an Aura and remain on the battlefield. |
| 2014-04-26 | The mana cost and mana value of strive spells don't change no matter how many targets they have. Strive abilities affect only what you pay. |
| 2014-04-26 | You choose how many targets each spell with a strive ability has and what those targets are as you cast it. It's legal to cast such a spell with no targets, although this is rarely a good idea. You can't choose the same target more than once for a single strive spell. |