Abuna's Chant MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Abilities	Entwine
Released	2004-06-04
Set symbol
Set name	Fifth Dawn
Set code	5DN
Number	1
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Matson

Key Takeaways

Abuna’s Chant enhances card advantage with artifact recovery or opponent artifact silence options.
Its instant speed allows reaction to threats and strategic interruptions during opponent’s turn.
Despite high mana cost and specific requirements, the card’s versatility can strengthen many decks.

Text of card

Choose one You gain 5 life; or prevent the next 5 damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn. Entwine (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Abuna’s Chant offers an edge in card advantage with its modal ability to either retrieve an artifact card from your graveyard to your hand or to silence an opponent’s artifact, nudging you ahead in the game.

Resource Acceleration: By returning an artifact card from your graveyard, Abuna’s Chant can accelerate your resource pool, providing the potential for a strategic advantage by recasting powerful artifacts without the need for additional draw or search mechanics.

Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of this spell provides strategic flexibility, allowing you to react promptly to an opponent’s actions, ensure optimal timing for artifact retrieval, or disrupt an opponent’s artifact-based strategies during their turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Abuna’s Chant requires the player to discard another card as part of its casting cost. This can be restrictive and can put you at a disadvantage, especially if your hand is already depleted or each card is vital for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise mana combination to cast, specifically white mana. This requirement can be cumbersome in multicolored decks that might struggle with mana consistency, potentially limiting the card’s versatility in various deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a higher casting cost than some other options in the game, Abuna’s Chant can be seen as a costly investment. This may deter some players from including it in their decks when looking for more mana-efficient alternatives that provide similar or better effects.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Abuna’s Chant offers a unique blend of lifegain and prevention that can be a Swiss Army knife in decks built around life manipulation or as a safety net against direct damage decks.

Combo Potential: The card’s flexible modal choices work well with strategies aiming to capitalize on life total changes or those requiring protection of key creatures, handling multiple game states with a single card.

Meta-Relevance: With aggressive strategies commonly circulating in the meta, Abuna’s Chant provides a relevant response to disrupt opponent tempo while stabilizing your board presence and health buffer, making it an astute choice for adaptive play.

How to Beat

Abuna’s Chant is an interesting card in MTG that offers flexibility through its Entwine mechanic, allowing players to choose one or both of its effects at an additional cost. To effectively counter Abuna’s Chant, it’s essential to anticipate and disrupt your opponent’s strategy. One approach is to play spells that can’t be countered, such as Cavern of Souls, to ensure your key creatures hit the battlefield regardless of which mode your opponent selects.

Alternatively, cards that grant hexproof or shroud, like Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves, can protect your creatures from targeting effects, undermining Abuna’s Chant’s ability to remove threats. Hand-disruption tactics can also be effective; Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek used early can remove Abuna’s Chant before it becomes a problem, ensuring your board remains untouched. Remember to be mindful of your resources and to play around potential life-gain or creature removal scenarios depending on the mode chosen by the Abuna’s Chant caster.

In essence, overcoming Abuna’s Chant revolves around a mix of preemptive actions, choosing uncounterable or protected creatures, and savvy hand disruption, keeping you in control of the game state.

Cards like Abuna's Chant

Abuna’s Chant is a versatile card providing an array of options to Magic: The Gathering players. It shares traits with modal spells like Cryptic Command, allowing players to choose their desired effect upon casting. Yet, Abuna’s Chant offers the unique advantage of combining life gain or damage prevention options that Cryptic Command lacks. This can be particularly useful in scenarios where prolonging the game or mitigating incoming harm is crucial.

Another comparable card is Congregate, which also centers on life gain as its primary function. While Abuna’s Chant grants a fixed life boost or shields from damage, Congregate bases its effectiveness on the number of creatures present on the battlefield, potentially leading to a substantial increase in a player’s life total. Conversely, it doesn’t provide the option to negate damage like Abuna’s Chant does.

Finally, we have cards like Healing Salve, an original from Magic’s early days with a similar ethos to Abuna’s Chant’s protective aspects. Though more limited in scope and power, Healing Salve’s straightforward effects resonate with the philosophy engrained in Abuna’s Chant—key defensive strategies that can sway the game’s outcome.

Each of these cards has its place in a strategically built deck, with Abuna’s Chant standing out due to its adaptability and dual utility, factors that solidify its role within the game of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Abuna's Chant by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Abuna's Chant MTG card by a specific set like Fifth Dawn, 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 Abuna's Chant and other MTG cards: