Tower of the Magistrate MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tower of the Magistrate offers a unique method of card advantage by providing protection to your creatures. This utility can effectively counteract strategies that rely on equipment or enchantment-based buffs, indirectly causing your opponent to lose resources while you maintain board presence.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to generate mana of any color is not directly provided by the Tower of the Magistrate. However, its ability to protect your creatures can lead to indirect resource acceleration by preserving your board state and the creatures that might enable mana production or other valuable abilities.

Instant Speed: The key to flexibility is the use of instant speed abilities. The Tower’s ability can be activated during any phase of the game — your turn, your opponent’s turn, or in response to an action, which can be particularly disruptive to your opponent’s plans. By enabling a swift response to threats, you can retain control of the game tempo and exert pressure through strategic defensive plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Tower of the Magistrate doesn’t force a discard, but equipping creatures require additional resources which, when used unwisely, can lead to a disadvantageous card economy.

Specific Mana Cost: Tower of the Magistrate demands both generic and colored mana (one of each), which could make it slightly awkward in multi-colored mana bases that prioritize color fixing over utility lands.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing two mana to grant protection from artifacts every turn can tally up, especially in the early stages of the game. There are alternatives that protect creatures for less investment or offer more versatile solutions.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tower of the Magistrate offers unique utility in a variety of decks. Its ability to provide protection against artifacts can be crucial in games where equipment and artifact creatures play a significant role.

Combo Potential: This land has untapped potential in combo decks, providing a means to protect combo pieces from being targeted by artifact-based removal, keeping your key creatures safe as you set up for the win.

Meta-Relevance: In metas heavy with artifact interaction, Tower of the Magistrate can serve as a powerful tool. It can disrupt opponents’ strategies by rendering their creature-based equipment useless at critical moments.

How to beat

When facing Tower of the Magistrate on the battlefield, the strategy shifts subtly but importantly. This versatile land has the unique capability to grant target creature protection from artifacts until end of turn. This can disrupt your equipment strategies or block artifact creature attacks. Overcoming this requires a flexible game plan. First, consider using instant-speed removal that doesn’t rely on attaching equipment or targeting with artifact creatures. Spells like Path to Exile or Doom Blade can bypass the protection granted by the Tower.

Another tactic is to bait out the Tower’s ability before combat or when it’s less advantageous for your opponent. Forcing them to use their mana during their own turn can limit their options and give you an opening. Also, increase pressure with non-artifact threats to force difficult decisions. Incorporate versatile creatures that don’t depend on artifacts to be effective. Lastly, don’t overlook the value of enchantments, sorceries, and instants in this matchup. These can often be just as potent as artifact-based strategies while circumventing the Tower’s protective influence. By adapting your approach, you can effectively neutralize Tower of the Magistrate’s defensive capabilities.