Capashen Templar MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Knight
Released	1999-06-07
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Destiny
Set code	UDS
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	5
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Todd Lockwood

Key Takeaways

Vigilance and potential for card advantage make Capashen Templar a strategic early-game creature.
Limited to white mana decks, its lack of flexibility can be a hurdle in deck building.
Despite some drawbacks, its defensive capabilities and combo potential warrant consideration.

Text of card

oo W Capashen Templar gets +0/+1 until end of turn.

Their shields are Benalia's outermost battlements.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Though not directly a card drawer, Capashen Templar has the potential to become an obstacle for your opponent, often resulting in card advantage. By forcing unfavorable attacks or trades, you may end up with more valuable board presence than your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While Capashen Templar does not directly provide resource acceleration, its low casting cost allows for a smooth mana curve. This enables players to establish early board presence while keeping mana open for other actions.

Instant Speed: Capashen Templar is not an instant itself, but its synergy with instant speed spells is noteworthy. With vigilance, it remains untapped and ready to attack or block, leaving your mana free to cast spells at instant speed, maintaining flexibility and surprise within your game plan.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One drawback of Capashen Templar is the potential cost of discarding a card. If your hand is already stretched thin, this can leave you at a disadvantage by further reducing your available resources and options during critical turns.

Specific Mana Cost: Capashen Templar can only be included in decks that support white mana, which may not align with the strategic needs of multicolored or non-white decks. This limits the card’s versatility and utility across the diverse spectrum of deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring three mana, Capashen Templar’s cost is significant when compared to other creatures of similar strength. This can impact your mana curve and slow down the deployment of other important cards in the early game when board presence is crucial.

Reasons to Include Capashen Templar in Your Collection

Versatility: Capashen Templar offers a reliable blocking creature thanks to its respectable toughness, making it a practical addition to defensive strategies and lifegain decks looking to establish a presence on the board.

Combo Potential: As a creature that can gain protection from the color of your choice, Capashen Templar can pair well with cards that benefit from protection mechanics or those that require targeting your own creatures without interference.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where mono-colored decks prevail, this card’s utility shines by allowing for adaptive defense against the dominant color, ensuring it remains a relevant choice in various meta scenarios.

How to beat

The Capashen Templar card stands as a formidable force in Magic the Gathering, boasting a solid combination of cost-efficiency and the resilience provided by its ability to gain protection. Players looking to counter this pesky knight might want to consider bypassing its protection using colorless spells or abilities. Cards like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon can work wonders as its damage isn’t hindered by protection abilities.

Another strategic approach could include utilizing board wipes that don’t target specific colors such as Wrath of God or Damnation. This side-steps the protection and removes the Templar regardless of its abilities. Furthermore, taking advantage of cards that force a player to sacrifice creatures can elegantly sidestep the protection issue. Edict effects, found in cards such as Liliana of the Veil, make the Capashen Templar’s protection irrelevant as it doesn’t target specifically.

Understanding the nuances of the Capashen Templar’s strengths and weaknesses is essential for any player. Deftly navigating around its protections can turn the tide of a match. Therefore, including colorless removal, global board wipes, or sacrifice effects in your arsenal can give you the upper hand against this steadfast guardian.

Cards like Capashen Templar

Capashen Templar stands as a solid creature option for players who are into bolstering their MTG deck with resilient life-linking units. Its likenesses can be seen in cards like Silvercoat Lion—a vanilla creature that lacks the lifelink ability of the Templar but shares the same mana value and power/toughness ratio. What sets Capashen Templar apart, however, is its potential to sway the game with incremental life gain throughout the match.

Another card that comes to mind is Ajani’s Pridemate which, though starts as a weaker creature, carries the potential to grow with every instance of life gain, synergizing well with the life-link ability of Capashen Templar. Then there’s the Healer’s Hawk, a flying creature with lifelink at a lower mana cost, offering a different strategy by providing early board presence and life total manipulation.

When evaluating these choices side by side, Capashen Templar might not be the flashiest of the bunch, but it provides a steady combination of attributes that can steadily contribute to a player’s battlefield strategy, making it a reliable card to have in life-gain themed decks.

Cards similar to Capashen Templar by color, type and mana cost

Pianna, Nomad Captain - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Capashen Templar MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny, 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 Capashen Templar and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Capashen Templar has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal