Festival MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	1994-08-01
Set symbol
Set name	The Dark
Set code	DRK
Number	8
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mark Poole

Key Takeaways

Festival offers card selection and potential ramp, crucial for maintaining gameplay momentum.
Its instant speed allows strategic flexibility, reacting to the game’s ever-changing state.
While potent, Festival’s discard requirement and mana specificity may limit some strategies.

Text of card

Opponent may not declare an attack this turn. Play during opponent's upkeep phase.

Only after the townsfolk had drawn us into their merry celebration did we discover that their holiday rituals held a deeper purpose.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Festival boosts your hand by letting you sift through the top cards of your library, ensuring you find the spells you need when you need them. This ability is key for outmaneuvering opponents by having more options available during crucial turns.

Resource Acceleration: By potentially uncovering additional lands or mana-generating cards, Festival can ramp up your resources quickly. This puts you ahead in the race to deploy high-impact cards earlier in the match, giving you a significant edge over your opponents.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Festival at instant speed means you can adapt to the flow of the game, using it as a surprise element or to maximize your mana efficiency. The ability to wait until the end of your opponent’s turn before deciding to cast it allows for smarter, more strategic decisions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Festival may put you in a tight spot by requiring a card discard. This can backfire, especially if your hand is running low on cards, potentially costing you crucial strategic plays later in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Restricted by its particular mana needs, Festival mandates a mix of generic and green mana, which could potentially be a stumbling block for multicolored decks not heavily invested in green mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For decks that aim to be lightning-fast, Festival’s mana cost demands careful consideration. There could be alternative spells that achieve similar outcomes without sacrificing speed and efficiency.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Festival is a card that effortlessly slots into a variety of decks, shining in those that capitalize on instant speed tricks and mana acceleration.

Combo Potential: It offers a springboard for potent combos, particularly in strategies that thrive on casting multiple spells in a single turn or that require exact mana sequences to unleash devastating plays.

Meta-Relevance: As the game environment ebb and flows, Festival remains a consistent tool for outpacing opponents who prioritize slower, more deliberate game plans, making it a smart addition to your arsenal.

How to beat

Festival is an intriguing MTG card that offers quite the puzzle when it comes to asserting dominance on the battlefield. This unique instant provides an answer to opponents’ creatures without targeting and, thereby, dodging effects that protect creatures from being targeted. To effectively navigate against Festival, it’s essential to prioritize playing creatures that offer value upon entering the battlefield or dying. In doing this, you ensure that even if Festival removes your creatures, you’ve gained something in return.

Another strategy is to include cards in your deck that are not affected by Festival, such as those with hexproof or indestructible. Cards that regenerate or self-recur from the graveyard also lessen the impact of Festival’s removal capabilities. Moreover, keeping up a diversified board state with variable casting costs can mitigate the setback of Festival’s limitation on casting spells of the converted mana cost noted. It’s about being adaptable and maintaining momentum despite your opponent’s attempts to disrupt your game plan.

In sum, though Festival may pose a temporary setback, a well-rounded strategy and a deck that accounts for such contingencies can help players turn the tables and stay ahead in the game.

Cards like Festival

Festival is a unique spell for players in Magic: The Gathering, fitting snugly into the niche of one-time mana acceleration. Its kinship is closest to cards such as Early Harvest, which also delivers a quick burst of mana by untapping all basic lands for a player. Festival, however, is more restrictive, only working during an opponent’s turn and before attackers are declared; yet this specificity can be advantageous in the right deck—enabling surprise plays or instant-speed interactions.

Comparably, we have Benefactor’s Draught, another card that untaps creatures and lands, but it can be cast at any time providing even more flexibility. While it doesn’t have the defensive angle of Festival, it includes a draw a card mechanic, which offers immediate value. Then shift focus to Seedtime, which also plays within the realm of green instants that can be cast on an opponent’s turn. It gives you an extra turn if an opponent has cast a blue spell this turn, but unlike Festival, it doesn’t offer any mana acceleration.

Ultimately, Festival’s application in Magic: The Gathering can be seen as a strategic albeit situational tool, perfect for decks poised to capitalize on instant-speed plays or to catch an adversary off guard with unexpected mana availability.

Benefactor's Draught - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Festival by color, type and mana cost

Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Festival MTG card by a specific set like The Dark, 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 Festival and other MTG cards: