Take Heart MTG Card

Gain life and boost creatures in combat, indirectly improving card advantage by keeping them alive on the board. Enhances gameplay without depleting resources significantly, ensuring a robust hand and advancing board state. Flexibility to disrupt opponent strategies during combat due to its instant speed, securing better positions.

Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
2018-10-05 - Number 28

Jumpstart (JMP)
2020-07-17 - Number 134

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant

Text of card

Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. You gain 1 life for each attacking creature you control.

In the quiet before a battle, Boros soldiers whisper prayers that steady their nerves and focus their minds.

Cards like Take Heart

Take Heart is a charming inclusion among MTG’s myriad of instant-speed combat tricks. It bears resemblance to cards like Giant Growth, which also bestows a power boost, yet Take Heart takes it a step further by rewarding you with life gain for each attacking creature under your control. Unlike Giant Growth, which offers a more substantial boost without life gain, Take Heart’s appeal lies in its potential to prolong your gameplay while enhancing your offense.

Integrity // Intervention also echoes the combat trick concept but with a versatile twist: it can either pump a creature slightly or act as removal and healing. The versatility offers strategic depth that Take Heart doesn’t; however, Take Heart’s potential for more extensive life gain is unique. Another similar card is Moment of Heroism, providing a comparable power lift and life gain but at a higher cost and without the reward for multiple attackers.

In conclusion, Take Heart presents a delicate balance within MTG combat tricks, offering not just a modest power boost, but a harmonious synergy with aggressive strategies that utilize numerous attackers, marking its value in matches where sustaining momentum and life total is crucial.

Integrity // Intervention - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Take Heart by color, type and mana cost

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Take Heart does not directly allow for drawing cards, it indirectly contributes to card advantage by bolstering a single creature’s power and toughness, often ensuring its survival in combat which can lead to maintaining a presence on the board and tipping the scales in a protracted game.

Resource Acceleration: Take Heart may not provide traditional resource acceleration such as additional mana, it does offer a budget-friendly option to enhance a player’s field without expending numerous resources. This keeps your hand well-stocked while still progressing your board state.

Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of Take Heart gives players the flexibility to react to an opponent’s actions. Timing this card right allows players to surprise an opponent during combat, potentially removing an attacking or blocking creature and therefore disrupting their strategy.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other instant spells, Take Heart doesn’t necessitate discarding cards, making it resource-friendly in the most critical moments of gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: Take Heart requires white mana to cast, which means it fits primarily in white or multicolored decks, potentially limiting its versatility in a deck that doesn’t normally use white mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Take Heart is not expensive in terms of mana cost, there are alternative buff spells available for white mana decks that might provide a greater stat boost or additional effects for a similar or reduced cost.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Take Heart is a useful addition to decks focused on creatures, particularly those teeming with tokens or a battalion of low-cost units. Its ability to boost a creature’s power and toughness, while potentially gaining you life, makes it a flexible pick for both defensive and aggressive strategies.

Combo Potential: This card shines in synergy with decks that capitalize on life gain and creature buffs. The temporary boost can be a game-changer during combat, tipping the scales in your favor, and when combined with cards that have lifelink or similar effects, can lead to significant swings in life totals.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where combat interactions are key, Take Heart offers an inexpensive way to protect valuable creatures and gain life. It’s a solid sideboard card against aggressive decks, giving you an edge in the vital race for board control and life advantage.

How to beat Take Heart

Take Heart is a unique instant spell that has made impact plays in MTG, offering not only a power and toughness boost but also the advantage of gaining life. This makes it particularly effective in the heat of combat or when solidifying a defensive stance. To effectively counter this card, one strategy involves timing. Playing instant speed removal in response to Take Heart can negate the buff, rendering the life gain moot and maintaining board control.

Another tactic is to employ cards that limit or deny life gain. By using cards like Tocatli Honor Guard to prevent abilities from triggering or Tibalt, Rakish Instigator to stop life gain directly, players can reduce the effectiveness of Take Heart significantly. Moreover, strategic planning around the mana availability of your opponent is also essential. Since Take Heart is an instant, keeping pressure on the opponent’s mana during their turn can limit opportunities for them to effectively use this spell to its full potential.

As a card that can turn the tides of battle, understanding the mechanics and proper timing to counter it is paramount. By employing foresight and apt disruption, players can subdue the potential life swings and power boosts that Take Heart offers in combat scenarios.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Take Heart MTG card by a specific set like Guilds of Ravnica and Jumpstart, 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 Take Heart and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Take Heart Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2018-10-05 and 2020-07-17. Illustrated by Lucas Graciano.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2018-10-05	Guilds of Ravnica	GRN		28	2015	Normal	Black	Lucas Graciano
2	2020-07-17	Jumpstart	JMP		134	2015	Normal	Black	Lucas Graciano

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Take Heart has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-10-05	If the target creature becomes an illegal target for Take Heart, the spell doesn’t resolve. You don’t gain life.
2018-10-05	You can cast Take Heart even if you control no attacking creatures, perhaps because it’s not even your turn. The target creature gets +2/+2 even though you don’t gain life.