Mask of Intolerance MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact
Released	2001-06-04
Set symbol
Set name	Apocalypse
Set code	APC
Number	138
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Glen Angus

Key Takeaways

Mask of Intolerance offers card advantage by disrupting opponent’s hand and strategic plans.
It can hinder opponents’ mana efficiency, indirectly benefiting your own resource management.
This card demands precision in mana and may require a high cost relative to its impact.

Text of card

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, if there are four or more basic land types among lands that player controls, Mask of Intolerance deals 3 damage to him or her.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mask of Intolerance can disrupt your opponent’s hand, potentially stripping them of crucial cards and garnering a subtle advantage as the match progresses.

Resource Acceleration: By penalizing opponents for tapping certain lands, it indirectly accelerates your resources by inhibiting an opponent’s ability to efficiently curve out their spell costs, potentially leaving you in a better position for the duration of the game.

Instant Speed: Though not an instant itself, Mask of Intolerance can create a scenario equivalent to instant speed interaction by forcing your opponents to consider the cost of tapping lands during times they normally wouldn’t hesitate. This interruption to the flow of the game can give the illusion of interacting at instant speed without having to keep mana open.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mask of Intolerance necessitates players to discard a card, which could lead to a strategic setback, especially when holding critical cards in one’s hand that are essential for upcoming plays.

Specific Mana Cost: This magic card demands a precise combination of mana to cast, specifically colorless and black. This requirement can pose a challenge for players running multicolored or color-fixing constrained decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Competing options may offer similar or more impactful abilities at a lower mana cost, giving players more flexible turns and the ability to utilize mana resources more efficiently throughout the game.

Reasons to Include Mask of Intolerance in Your Collection

Versatility: Mask of Intolerance is an artifact that can be beneficial in various decks, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities. Its ability to impact the board as soon as it lands makes it a valuable addition to any collection looking to adapt to diverse play conditions.

Combo Potential: This card can serve as a key piece in combos, effectively limiting the abilities of opponent’s creatures based on their mana cost. It can be tactically paired with other cards that manipulate mana costs to lock out opponents from playing essential spells, making for powerful synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where certain mana costs dominate the field, Mask of Intolerance can serve as a formidable tool. It can tilt the balance in matches by disrupting common strategies, offering a strategic advantage to players who can predict and exploit the ever-changing MTG landscape.

How to beat

Mask of Intolerance is a unique card in the MTG universe, subtly disrupting opponents’ mana bases by targeting their nonbasic lands. Its ability to penalize players for using lands beyond their initial color choice can add an interesting wrinkle to the metagame, influencing deck construction around basic land utilization.

Tackling Mask of Intolerance effectively requires strategic thinking. First, consider minimizing the impact by incorporating a higher number of basic lands in your deck, thus reducing dependency on nonbasic lands. Additionally, employing enchantment destruction or cards capable of neutralizing artifacts can swiftly eliminate the Mask’s threat. Versatile options like Disenchant become essential, offering a straightforward solution to dismantle the Mask and restore your lands’ full potential.

Whether you’re reconfiguring your land base or keeping enchantment removal at the ready, overcoming the challenge of Mask of Intolerance requires foresight and flexibility. By anticipating its disruptive effect and adapting your strategy accordingly, you navigate a path to victory while undermining its controlling grasp on the game.

Cards like Mask of Intolerance

Mask of Intolerance firmly plants its roots in Magic: The Gathering as a niche artifact with implications on mana curve and opponent resource management. This card echoes the disruption found in artifacts like Damping Matrix and Cursed Totem. Damping Matrix locks down activated abilities that aren’t mana abilities, whereas Cursed Totem takes a more focused approach and shuts down just the creatures’ activated abilities. Mask of Intolerance takes it further by penalizing opponents for the colors they cast, slipping taxation into an already tight mana economy.

And then there’s Blood Moon, another card that alters mana strategies by transforming nonbasic lands into Mountains. While Blood Moon modifies lands themselves, the Mask of Intolerance targets the spectrum of spells played, adding a resistant layer against multicolored decks without altering the board’s foundational structure. Imagine sitting across from a player weaving a tapestry of multicolored spells and having Mask of Intolerance incrementally erode their life total—it’s straightforward, seamless, and silent pressure.

Assessing the tools available for mana and spell control in MTG, Mask of Intolerance finds its unique position. Each card brings its flair to gameplay, but Mask of Intolerance singularly challenges the diversity of spells played, standing out in its domain as a silent overseer of color discipline.

Cards similar to Mask of Intolerance by color, type and mana cost

Water Gun Balloon Game - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mask of Intolerance MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse, 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 Mask of Intolerance and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mask of Intolerance has restrictions

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