Briar Shield MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	1997-06-09
Set symbol
Set name	Weatherlight
Set code	WTH
Number	121
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Scott Kirschner

Key Takeaways

Briar Shield offers pseudo card advantage, saving key creatures and resources in combat.
Instant speed casting provides strategic flexibility and surprise combat boosts.
Despite its benefits, Briar Shield’s mana cost may not always be efficient.

Text of card

Enchanted creature gets +1/+1. Sacrifice Briar Shield: Enchanted creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.

In all its forms, the forest is the elves' best protector.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Briar Shield may not directly allow you to draw cards, but it acts as a pseudo card advantage by protecting your key creatures from being destroyed or helping them win combat, effectively saving your resources.

Resource Acceleration: Although Briar Shield doesn’t generate additional mana, it’s a low-cost enhancement, enabling you to deploy your resources efficiently and still have mana open for other strategic plays or spells.

Instant Speed: Briar Shield’s ability to be cast at instant speed provides flexibility, allowing you to react to threats or opportunistically strengthen a creature during combat for a possible surprise advantage.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Briar Shield does not directly demand a card to be discarded, it can effectively act as a discard when sacrificing itself after its boosted defenses have been utilized. This could leave you with one less card in hand, potentially impacting your overall game strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Briar Shield requires green mana to cast. This specificity means it fits mostly into green decks or those with a mana base tailored to accommodate green spells. For players running other color combinations without the sufficient mana fixing, it may be challenging to optimally include and play this card.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although the initial casting cost of one green mana might appear low, the additional cost of three mana to sacrifice Briar Shield for a temporary boost may not be as mana-efficient compared to other enhancers or protection spells in the game. Strategic players might find other more impactful uses for their mana in a game where resources and timing are critical.

Reasons to Include Briar Shield in Your Collection

Versatility: Briar Shield’s ability to provide a modest boost in power and toughness at a low cost makes it a flexible addition to any deck focused on creature strategies. It can be the difference between winning and losing in combat or help achieve lethal damage.

Combo Potential: This enchantment has synergetic potential with decks that revolve around +1/+1 counters or those aiming to protect key creatures. Additionally, its sacrifice ability can be used as a surprise element, complicating the calculus for your opponent during critical turns.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where combat tricks and creature-based strategies reign, Briar Shield can offer an inexpensive and unexpected edge, potentially disrupting your opponent’s plans and paving the way for your victory. Its low mana value also keeps your options open for playing other spells in a turn.

How to beat

Briar Shield is a classic card that provides a temporary boost to a creature’s power and toughness in a pinch. This green enchantment can turn the tides of battle by providing a sizable advantage during combat. It can be tricky to overcome, especially if it’s used to save a creature from what would otherwise be a fatal exchange or to push through extra damage to clinch the game.

To successfully navigate against Briar Shield, consider holding onto removal spells until after it has been cast. This way, you ensure that your removal isn’t thwarted by the sudden boost in stats. Additionally, playing around potential combat tricks by not over-committing can reduce the card’s impact. Counterspell and instant speed removal excel at dealing with creatures that might be targets for the Shield. Alternatively, effects that give your creatures hexproof or shroud prevent the opponent from targeting them with Briar Shield’s ability, thus nullifying its combat potential.

Timing is crucial; knowing when to play around Briar Shield can be as important as the card itself. With a well-thought-out strategy and precise timing, this enchantment’s impact can be minimized, maintaining control over the battlefield.

Cards like Briar Shield

The enchantment Briar Shield plays a unique role in Magic: The Gathering’s vast array of buffing spells. Comparable in purpose to cards like Giant Growth, Briar Shield offers the flexibility of an ongoing buff with the option to sacrifice for an additional temporary boost. Unlike Giant Growth, however, it does not provide an immediate +3/+3 increase, instead, it offers a more strategic approach with its sacrificial ability.

Another card that echoes the mechanics of Briar Shield is Rancor. Though Rancor bestows a smaller +2/+0, it possesses the resilience of returning to its owner’s hand when it goes to the graveyard from the battlefield. This makes it a recurring threat in the long game, unlike the one-time-use aspect of Briar Shield’s sacrifice ability. Then there’s Unstable Mutation, providing an initial significant buff that dwindles over time, contrasting with the consistent option Briar Shield presents before its potential sacrifice for an extra push.

Assessing these and other similar cards, Briar Shield stands out with its combination of a static buff and an on-demand larger boost, offering a versatile choice for players who can capitalize on the timing of its sacrifice.

Cards similar to Briar Shield by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Briar Shield MTG card by a specific set like Weatherlight, 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 Briar Shield and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Briar Shield has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-04-01	When you cast Briar Shield’s activated ability, Briar Shield is put into the graveyard as a cost. The +1/+1 effect immediately ends, but the +3/+3 effect won’t begin until the ability resolves. The enchanted creature gets no bonus while Briar Shield’s ability is on the stack. If its toughness is 0 during this time, it’ll be put into the graveyard.