Soratami Mirror-Guard MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Moonfolk Wizard |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Released | 2004-10-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Champions of Kamigawa |
| Set code | CHK |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 87 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Wayne England |
Text of card
Flying , Return a land you control to its owner's hand: Target creature with power 2 or less is unblockable this turn.
Cards like Soratami Mirror-Guard
Soratami Mirror-Guard is an intriguing creature card that finds its place in the vast realm of Magic: The Gathering. It offers a unique ability to return a land you control to its owner’s hand in order to protect it from being the target of spells or abilities. This mechanic is similar to cards like Quickling, which also allows you to return a permanent you control to your hand as a cost for gaining an advantageous effect.
Comparably, there’s the card Pearl Lake Ancient, another creature that can return three lands to your hand to evade destruction or exile. While the Soratami Mirror-Guard focuses on individual protection, Pearl Lake Ancient operates as a larger shield, protecting itself while necessitating a more substantial land bounce. Another card, Jeskai Infiltrator, cannot be blocked as long as you control no other creatures, and when it deals combat damage, it offers card advantage, albeit through a different mechanic than the bounce strategy of Soratami Mirror-Guard.
Assessing the unique benefits of these cards, Soratami Mirror-Guard has a specialized position among Magic: The Gathering creatures that leverage the strategy of returning lands to hand for a tactical advantage, featuring a fine balance between land management and creature protection.
Cards similar to Soratami Mirror-Guard by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Soratami Mirror-Guard can be a key component in gaining card advantage, especially in decks focusing on the bounce mechanism. By returning a creature you control to your hand, you protect it from removal or reuse its enter-the-battlefield effects on subsequent turns.
Resource Acceleration: The ability to play lands from the hand using Moonfolk offering gives you a subtle form of resource acceleration, setting you up for powerful plays and paving the way for more formidable creatures or spells in later stages of the game.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of playing Soratami Mirror-Guard at instant speed allows for strategic depth. You can respond to your opponent’s actions, making it a surprise blocker or saving a key creature from a threat, effectively utilizing your mana and maintaining the element of surprise.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Soratami Mirror-Guard necessitates that a card be discarded upon activation. This can prove disadvantageous during moments when maintaining hand advantage is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost demanding both generic and blue mana, Soratami Mirror-Guard requires a mana base specifically tailored to accommodate blue spells, which might not fit in all deck strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Casting Soratami Mirror-Guard comes with a notably high mana investment. For the mana spent, players might find themselves considering other creatures or spells that provide a stronger board presence or more significant card advantage.
Reasons to Include Soratami Mirror-Guard in Your Collection
Versatility: Soratami Mirror-Guard proves to be an adaptable card, fitting well within blue-focused strategies. Its ability to return a permanent to its owner’s hand allows for reuse of potent enter-the-battlefield effects or protection of key assets.
Combo Potential: This spirit can seamlessly integrate into combos by recycling your own impactful permanents or disrupting opponents’ strategies. Combined with cards that hoist enter-the-battlefield triggers, it can forge powerful and recurring synergies.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where tempo plays are crucial, Soratami Mirror-Guard stands out. It can help control the board and maintain pace against aggressive decks, making it a significant addition to collections aiming to stay competitive.
How to beat
Soratami Mirror-Guard brings a unique blend to the playing field in Magic: The Gathering. What sets this card apart is its ability to return a target permanent you own to its owner’s hand. At first glance, it seems to provide a defensive utility to protect one’s investments on the battlefield. Strategically, it can prove to be quite versatile when paired with cards that have beneficial enter-the-battlefield effects, essentially allowing you to re-use those abilities time and again.
To tackle the Soratami Mirror-Guard effectively, disruption is key. Counter spells that prevent it from entering the battlefield in the first place, such as Negate or Essence Scatter, are your first line of defense. Direct removal spells that can eliminate the Mirror-Guard without triggering its return ability like Murder or Path to Exile, are highly effective. Moreover, leveraging cards that restrict the ability to cast creature spells or cards that prevent abilities from being activated, therefore inhibiting the Guardian’s key utility, can shut down its defensive potential completely.
Ultimately, when you understand the mechanics at work and carry a well-prepared deck with counters and removal, the Soratami Mirror-Guard’s edge is significantly dulled, restoring balance to your game plan against this exceptional card.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Soratami Mirror-Guard MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa, 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 Soratami Mirror-Guard 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 Soratami Mirror-Guard has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |