Winterthorn Blessing MTG Card

Winterthorn Blessing excels by offering both creature boost and opponent disruption under one spell. Its instant speed allows strategic plays that can pivot the game’s momentum in your favor. Requires careful deck consideration due to a specific mana cost and discard condition for casting.

Winterthorn Blessing - Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID)

Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID)
2021-09-24 - Number 251

Winterthorn Blessing - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)

Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
2022-01-28 - Number 251

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Flashback

Text of card

Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature you control. Tap up to one target creature you don't control, and that creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. Flashback (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

Cards like Winterthorn Blessing

Winterthorn Blessing is an enchanting aura from Magic: The Gathering that locks down an opponent’s creature while bolstering your own. Its closest relatives are cards like Lignify and Claustrophobia, which similarly neutralize threats by preventing the abilities and attacks of enemy creatures. Winterthorn Blessing, however, offers the additional perk of giving one of your creatures a +1/+1 counter, tipping the scales further in your favor.

Another card akin to Winterthorn Blessing is Ice Over. Both enchantments aim to control the battlefield by stopping a creature from untapping. Nevertheless, Winterthorn Blessing pushes ahead with its proactive bonus, making your creature more formidable in contrast to Ice Over’s passive constraint. Then there’s Frost Lynx, which enters the battlefield causing a creature to become temporarily immobile, yet it doesn’t match Winterthorn Blessing’s lasting control and creature enhancement.

In the realm of MTG, where proactive plays and board presence can dictate the victor, Winterthorn Blessing stands out among creature debilitation cards. Its duality in both advancing your offensive strength and impeding your opponent grants it a valuable dual role in the strategic fabric of the game.

Cards similar to Winterthorn Blessing by color, type and mana cost

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Winterthorn Blessing. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#	Name	Format	Archetype	Event
	Simic Tempo	Gladiator		Sword and Sandals Showdown: AM Week 10 2024
	Bant Combo	Standard	Brokers Ascendancy	BOP! Standard Open

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Winterthorn Blessing offers a unique twist to card advantage. It allows you to essentially “borrow” an opponent’s creature by tapping it and preventing its untap during the next untap step. This can indirectly lead to card advantage by improving your battlefield position and hampering your opponent’s potential plays.

Resource Acceleration: By tapping an opponent’s creature with Winterthorn Blessing, you create an advantageous situation where the resource balance shifts in your favor. Although this card doesn’t directly produce mana or resources, it plays into the wider strategy of ramp decks by delaying an opponent’s threats and giving you the upper room to utilize your mana more effectively in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: One of the main strengths of Winterthorn Blessing is its instant speed, allowing you to surprise an opponent by tapping a creature they were counting on either for defense or offense. Deploying this spell during your opponent’s turn can disrupt their strategy or during your turn to clear a path for a decisive attack.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Winterthorn Blessing comes with the stipulation that a player must discard another card to cast it, potentially setting you back by depleting your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Winterthorn Blessing includes a specific color combination, which could hinder its integration into a variety of decks, especially those not aligned with its color identity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the card offers a useful enchantment, its mana cost may be considered steep for the benefits it provides when compared to other options within the game, thereby affecting its inclusion in competitive formats.

Reasons to Include Winterthorn Blessing in Your Collection

Versatility: Winterthorn Blessing is a card that offers a unique blend of creature enhancement and control. It can be included in decks that focus on buffing creatures, while also having the ability to tap potential threats on your opponent’s side, making it useful in various game situations.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with decks that capitalize on tapping and untapping creatures, allowing for intricate combos that can disrupt your opponent’s rhythm and increase your board advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where tempo plays an important role, Winterthorn Blessing can shift the momentum in your favor by removing blockers or potential attackers. It aligns well with strategies that aim to win through incremental advantages and board control.

How to beat

Winterthorn Blessing is a card that has the potential to shift the momentum of a game in Magic: The Gathering by temporarily locking down an opponent’s creature and strengthening one of your own. To tackle an opponent’s Winterthorn Blessing, it’s crucial to employ removal spells or abilities that can get rid of the enchanted creature or the enchantment itself. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant are perfect for this task as they can directly target and destroy enchantments, thus freeing the immobilized creature and nullifying the stat boost granted to the opponent’s creature.

Alternatively, playing cards that grant your creatures hexproof can prevent Winterthorn Blessing from ever latching onto them in the first place. Dive Down or Blossoming Defense can be game-changers here, offering protection at critical moments. Another strategy is to favor creatures that can’t be targeted by spells or abilities, effectively nullifying Winterthorn Blessing’s impact. Shifting Ceratops is a prime example, effortlessly sidestepping targeted enchantments while often proving to be a formidable force on its own.

Overall, while Winterthorn Blessing can create temporary setbacks, strategic deckbuilding and timely counters can easily mitigate its influence, allowing players to maintain control of the battlefield. Effective strategies do not only require the right cards but also a keen sense of timing to disrupt the enchantment’s ambitious play.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Winterthorn Blessing MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Winterthorn Blessing and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Winterthorn Blessing Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by Yeong-Hao Han.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2021-09-24	Innistrad: Midnight Hunt	MID		251	2015	Normal	Black	Yeong-Hao Han
2	2022-01-28	Innistrad: Double Feature	DBL		251	2015	Normal	Black	Yeong-Hao Han

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Winterthorn Blessing has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-09-24	"Flashback -ost]" means "You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying -ost] rather than paying its mana cost" and "If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack."
2021-09-24	A spell cast using flashback will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way.
2021-09-24	If a card with flashback is put into your graveyard during your turn, you can cast it if it's legal to do so before any other player can take any actions.
2021-09-24	To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a flashback cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
2021-09-24	You can cast a spell using flashback even if it was somehow put into your graveyard without having been cast.
2021-09-24	You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions, including those based on the card's type. For instance, you can cast a sorcery using flashback only when you could normally cast a sorcery.