Sylvan Awakening MTG Card


Sylvan Awakening instantly creates a surprise army from lands, ideal for an unexpected offense or defense. The card’s instant speed allows for strategic depth and timing to maximize board impact. Sylvan Awakening’s ability to dual-purpose lands for mana and combat offers players remarkable flexibility.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Indestructible

Text of card

Until your next turn, all lands you control become 2/2 Elemental creatures with reach, indestructible, and haste. They're still lands.

"Yavimaya is aware, but not always awake. You will know the difference when you see it." —Karn


Cards like Sylvan Awakening

Sylvan Awakening stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a transformative spell that turns all your lands into 2/2 creatures with vigilance, reach, and indestructible until your next turn. This card has parallels to Rude Awakening, which can also animate lands, but doesn’t grant the indestructible keyword, leaving your lands vulnerable to board wipes. While Rude Awakening has the flexibility of an untap mode, Sylvan Awakening ensures your lands survive to fight another day.

Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi is another card that shares the theme of land animation. It turns a land into a massive 9/9 creature permanently. However, it targets a single land, whereas Sylvan Awakening affects all your lands, essentially setting the stage for a potential all-out attack or a grand defensive stance. Furthermore, Nissa, Who Shakes the World is a planeswalker that also brings lands to life, but with a persistent effect and only on your turn.

Ultimately, Sylvan Awakening serves as a unique card for players looking to mobilize their lands either for an overwhelming offense or an impenetrable defense. The safeguarding aspect that prevents your land creatures from destruction sets it apart in Magic: The Gathering, providing a strategic option for those looking to utilize their mana base as an army.

Rude Awakening - MTG Card versions
Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi - MTG Card versions
Nissa, Who Shakes the World - MTG Card versions
Rude Awakening - MTG Card versions
Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi - MTG Card versions
Nissa, Who Shakes the World - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Sylvan Awakening. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
4c Ascendancy4c Ascendancy PioneerJeskai AscendancyPioneer League 2023-12-29
Jeskai ComboJeskai Combo ExplorerThe Pizza Box Open: Explorer

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sylvan Awakening turns all lands you control into 2/2 elemental creatures with reach, vigilance, and haste until end of turn. This transformation can turn a seemingly harmless board state into a formidable army ready to attack, often catching opponents off guard and leading to sudden victories. This shift in dynamics can be the difference, especially when you’re seeking to close a game or defend against an array of threats.

Resource Acceleration: While Sylvan Awakening doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it allows you to maintain mana availability while mobilizing a defense or offense. It’s a transformative play that enables your lands to be used as both sources of mana and as potential threats or blockers. This flexibility often results in a significant advancement in board presence, allowing for more aggressive and versatile plays in a single turn.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast this spell at instant speed adds an element of surprise and provides strategic depth to your plays. It enables you to wait until the last possible moment before unleashing your lands as creatures, perhaps in response to an opponent’s attack or at the end of their turn, therefore retaining the mystery of your next move and keeping your opponent guessing.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Sylvan Awakening doesn’t directly ask you to discard a card, it’s important to consider the setup it requires – holding the card until you have a substantial number of lands or other spells to synergize. This can sometimes mean discarding other cards to maintain a strategic hand over the course of the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Sylvan Awakening demands a precise mana arrangement with two greens and one of any color. For players running multicolored decks, this cost can be a stumbling block, particularly in the early game when mana resources are more limited.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At three mana, it’s a card designed for later in the game when you can make the most of animated lands. But those three mana could be an investment in other spells or creatures that could provide an immediate advantage or build toward a quicker win condition.


Reasons to Include Sylvan Awakening in Your Collection

Versatility: Sylvan Awakening is a versatile card that allows lands to become powerful creatures, giving players a surprise advantage during combat. It can turn stagnation into a formidable assault, making it a multifaceted addition to green-centered decks.

Combo Potential: This card shines in land-based strategies that benefit from landfall triggers or effects that count the number of creatures in play. Combine it with cards that boost creature stats, and you create a situation where your lands can overwhelm the opponent.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where decks often focus on establishing board presence with creatures, Sylvan Awakening allows you to swing in for lethal damage unexpectedly or create a formidable defense, thus keeping your deck competitive in a vast array of play environments.


How to beat

Sylvan Awakening is one of those cards in MTG that can suddenly turn the tides of a match by animating lands into creatures. Mastering the art of countering this card is thus crucial. As opposed to other wake cards, Sylvan Awakening transforms all your lands into 2/2 creatures with indestructible and reach, and they all remain as such until your next turn. Therefore, to disrupt this strategy, controlling the timing and pace of the game is imperative.

One method to surpass Sylvan Awakening’s effect is by utilizing board sweepers that don’t destroy creatures, such as “Settle the Wreckage” or “Time Wipe”, which return creatures to the hand instead. This is effective because while the lands are creatures, they can still be exiled or bounced. Another technique is to preemptively use land destruction spells or effects that remove the opponent’s ability to have enough lands to pose a significant threat. And lastly, having counterspells ready to prevent Sylvan Awakening from resolving can stop the threat before it materializes.

Anticipating and preparing for pivotal moments like the casting of Sylvan Awakening helps ensure that your opponent’s lands stay just lands, keeping you one step ahead in the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Delving into the strategic depths of MTG is a journey of continuous discovery, and cards like Sylvan Awakening exemplify the dynamic play that keeps the game exhilarating. Whether you’re scheming for an unexpected offense or setting up an impenetrable defense, Sylvan Awakening offers the combo potential and versatility to flip the script on your adversary. Consider how it might synergize with your current strategy and elevate your gameplay. If you’re ready to harness your lands in a way that defies expectations and secures your triumph, we’re here to guide you. Dive deeper into the nuances of such strategic plays and join the ranks of savvy MTG tacticians with us.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sylvan Awakening MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria Promos and Dominaria, 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 Sylvan Awakening and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sylvan Awakening Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-04-27 and 2018-04-27. Illustrated by Adam Paquette.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-04-27Dominaria PromosPDOM 183s2015NormalBlackAdam Paquette
22018-04-27DominariaDOM 1832015NormalBlackAdam Paquette

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sylvan Awakening has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2018-04-27 Sylvan Awakening affects only lands you control at the time it resolves. Lands you begin to control before your next turn won’t become creatures.
2018-04-27 Sylvan Awakening doesn’t untap any of the lands that become creatures.
2018-04-27 The lands affected by Sylvan Awakening stop being creatures as your next untap step begins, before you untap your permanents. If this causes any state-based actions to become applicable, or if any abilities trigger, those are handled during your upkeep.