Eiganjo Castle MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Land

Key Takeaways

  1. Eiganjo Castle offers instant speed protection, a tactical tool for preserving legendary creatures.
  2. Demands precise use of mana and land resources, potentially limiting deck flexibility.
  3. Remains a versatile card, providing defensive utility in various MTG metas.

Text of card

: Add to your mana pool. , : Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target legendary creature this turn.

Since the war began, the castle's walls mark the only place on Kamigawa where no kami has ever set foot.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Eiganjo Castle offers a unique form of card advantage by protecting your most valuable creatures. By preventing damage to a legendary creature, it can be the difference between losing a key piece and maintaining a dominant board presence.

Resource Acceleration: As a legendary land, Eiganjo Castle doesn’t directly accelerate resources like ramp spells, but it taps for white mana without coming into play tapped. This means it can immediately impact the game, enabling you to deploy threats or answers without delay.

Instant Speed: The ability to activate Eiganjo Castle’s protective power at instant speed provides a tactical advantage. You can wait until the last possible moment to use its ability, making it harder for opponents to plan around it and ensuring your legendary creatures survive through critical turns.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Eiganjo Castle can provide a safe haven for your legendary creatures, it requires you to have another untapped land available if you want to use its damage prevention ability. This means that, essentially, you are discarding the opportunity of using that land for other purposes during your turn, which could potentially hinder your mana optimization and overall strategy, especially in the early game phases where every land drop counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Despite its utility, Eiganjo Castle demands white mana to execute its damage prevention ability. This can be restrictive as it necessitates dedicating a portion of your mana base to white, potentially limiting deck-building options. Players running multicolored decks or those that are heavy in other colors may find the mana requirement of Eiganjo Castle to be a constraint, making it less flexible compared to more versatile utility lands in MTG.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Additionally, Eiganjo Castle’s activation cost isn’t just one mana. To prevent the two damage, you have to pay one white as well as tap the castle itself. This effectively translates to a two-mana cost for a rather minimal effect. In many scenarios within the current state of the game, there are other lands or cards that could provide a greater impact or broader utility for the same or a lower cost, which challenges Eiganjo Castle’s place in a competitive deck list.


Reasons to Include Eiganjo Castle in Your Collection

Versatility: Eiganjo Castle offers a unique defensive capability that can be a safety net for your battlefield leaders. As it can protect legendary creatures, this land is a boon for decks that rely on such heroes to execute their strategy.

Combo Potential: This legendary land pairs well with high-profile commanders and legendary creatures, adding resilience to your strategic linchpins. In decks where your commander or other key legendary creatures are essential, Eiganjo Castle provides a safeguard that can preserve your board state and maintain your momentum.

Meta-Relevance: Given the dynamic nature of MTG, having Eiganjo Castle in your repository equips you to better handle opponent threats targeting your legendary creatures. Its ability to prevent damage to these critical pieces ensures that it remains relevant in various meta environments, particularly those heavy with targeted removal spells.


How to beat

Eiganjo Castle is known for its defensive capabilities in Magic: The Gathering, most notably its power to shield legendary creatures from harm. Its ability to prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to a legendary creature this turn makes it a fort against opponents looking to take down your key pieces.

Overcoming the protection Eiganjo Castle provides requires tactical planning. Players can circumvent its influence by using spells or abilities that don’t deal damage but instead cause creatures to be sacrificed, exiled, or placed back in their owner’s hands. The castle’s protective scope is limited to damage, so spells like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile can outmaneuver its defenses by removing creatures from the battlefield entirely, not allowing Eiganjo Castle an opportunity to apply its shield.

Board wipes also offer a strategic way to navigate around Eiganjo Castle’s protections. A well-timed Wrath of God or Damnation will sweep away legendary creatures regardless of the castle’s preventive abilities since these spells don’t deal damage, they simply destroy. By focusing on the weak points in Eiganjo Castle’s armor, players can effectively handle what would otherwise be a formidable obstacle to victory.


Cards like Eiganjo Castle

Eiganjo Castle is a unique land card that offers a defensive edge to players in Magic: The Gathering. Among similar cards, the most immediate comparison arises with Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, which delivers a touch of offense by giving a creature first strike. While Eiganjo Castle provides a protective ability, granting your legendary creatures a shield from minor damages with its damage prevention, Shinka pivots toward a more aggressive tactic.

Karlov of the Ghost Council decks often include Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. This land, however, leverages a more combative angle, offering double strike to creatures for a costlier investment. While Sunhome can turn a blocked creature into a stronger threat, Eiganjo Castle is more about ensuring the survival of your treasured legendary creatures during the fray. Both serve strategic roles in their respective decks, yet they cater to divergent play styles within the realm of supportive lands.

Finally, Eiganjo Castle is lauded for its low opportunity cost. It asks for just one white mana and the tap of itself to activate its ability, seamlessly fitting into white-based control or midrange archetypes that benefit from safeguarding key legendary creatures. This subtle yet significant power of preservation marks Eiganjo Castle’s place on the MTG battlefield.

Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep - MTG Card versions
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - MTG Card versions
Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Cards similar to Eiganjo Castle by color, type and mana cost

Plains - MTG Card versions
Snow-Covered Plains - MTG Card versions
Ruins of Trokair - MTG Card versions
Karoo - MTG Card versions
Drifting Meadow - MTG Card versions
Nomad Stadium - MTG Card versions
Rustic Clachan - MTG Card versions
Emeria, the Sky Ruin - MTG Card versions
Vivid Meadow - MTG Card versions
Kabira Crossroads - MTG Card versions
Shefet Dunes - MTG Card versions
Makindi Stampede // Makindi Mesas - MTG Card versions
Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave - MTG Card versions
Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins - MTG Card versions
Secluded Steppe - MTG Card versions
Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire - MTG Card versions
Castle Ardenvale - MTG Card versions
Citadel Gate - MTG Card versions
Memorial to Glory - MTG Card versions
Karakas - MTG Card versions
Plains - Modern Horizons 3 (MH3)
Snow-Covered Plains - Coldsnap (CSP)
Ruins of Trokair - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Karoo - Commander 2014 (C14)
Drifting Meadow - Anthologies (ATH)
Nomad Stadium - Odyssey (ODY)
Rustic Clachan - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Emeria, the Sky Ruin - Commander 2014 (C14)
Vivid Meadow - Commander 2015 (C15)
Kabira Crossroads - Commander 2017 (C17)
Shefet Dunes - Amonkhet Remastered (AKR)
Makindi Stampede // Makindi Mesas - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Secluded Steppe - Commander 2021 (C21)
Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Castle Ardenvale - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
Citadel Gate - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Memorial to Glory - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Karakas - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Eiganjo Castle MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa and The List, 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 Eiganjo Castle and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Eiganjo Castle Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2004-10-01 and 2004-10-01. Illustrated by Wayne England.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12004-10-01Champions of KamigawaCHK 2752003normalblackWayne England
22020-09-26The ListPLST CHK-2752003normalblackWayne England

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Eiganjo Castle has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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