Bear Umbra MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant,Totem armor

Key Takeaways

  1. Bear Umbra enhances every attack phase with a potential mana doubling effect, maximizing resource utility in MTG.
  2. Its ability to untap all lands provides a tactical advantage, allowing for responsive play and strategy adaptability.
  3. Despite its power, Bear Umbra is susceptible to specific mana restrictions and might be less effective in low-card scenarios.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has "Whenever this creature attacks, untap all lands you control." Totem armor (If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Bear Umbra isn’t a direct line to more cards, but it certainly amplifies card usefulness. With it, you turn every land into a card advantage engine, as each attack phase frees up your mana base, essentially doubling your abilities for every turn.

Resource Acceleration: Bear Umbra MTG card offers unmatched resource acceleration. Each attack not only nudges you that much closer to winning but also untaps all your lands. This essentially doubles your mana per round, providing a significant advantage in the battle of resources.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Bear Umbra allows for instant speed-like responsiveness. By untapping all lands every attack phase, you’ll have ample mana to respond to threats on your opponent’s turn, keeping your strategy functional and adaptable at all times.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The enchantment of Bear Umbra requires you to be cautious with your card resources. Although it enables you to untap all lands when the creature attacks, you may face a challenge if your deck is running low, limiting your gameplay strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Bear Umbra calls for a certain type of mana specifically, green. This might hinder its versatility by confining its use to green decks predominantly. Players with a diverse or off-colour deck might find it challenging to utilize Bear Umbra to its maximum potential.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Shelling out four mana for activating Bear Umbra might seem a little taxing in some gameplay situations. While the card offers substantial benefits, there are other alternatives that might provide effective resource generation or card draw at a lesser mana cost. Weighing the pros and cons is crucial before you decide to play this card.


Reasons to Include Bear Umbra in Your Collection

Versatility: Bear Umbra is great for various deck builds especially those revolving around creature-heavy and green mana-reliant strategies. Its untap-all-lands ability provides valuable mana resources, allowing for more flexibility in deploying strategies.

Combo Potential: This card harbors potent combo potential with its combination of land untapping and protection clause for the equipped creature. It synergizes well with strategies that aim at utilizing massive amounts of mana in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the prevalent control, mid-range, and ramp strategies in the current meta, the value of Bear Umbra rises. The advantage it grants in the form of defensive and offensive utility could turn tables in these matchups.


How to Beat

Bear Umbra is an enticing mtg card especially in green-oriented decks, lending its strength to the potent character that the color green in Magic: The Gathering provides. The ability of this card to untap all lands when that creature attacks gives the player a potential advantage, granting plenty of mana resources during the combat phase.

Cards such as Stasis, which prevents untapping during an untap step, can inhibit Bear Umbra’s potential. While Stasis holds its own issues, specifically a costly upkeep, it’s a quick answer to the Bear Umbra problem. This will halt the attacking player in their tracks, forcing them to rethink their strategy.

Counter spells like Counterspell and Negate can also be handy tools against Bear Umbra. They allow you to stop the attack before it begins, providing a preemptive approach. Artifact removals like Disenchant are also a suitable solution. It directly targets and destroys Bear Umbra due to its Aura subtype.

By analyzing these alternatives, it’s clear that though Bear Umbra is a strong card, it’s not unbeatable. With strategic planning and clever deck building, it’s possible to outmaneuver and ultimately beat Bear Umbra in Magic: The Gathering.


BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re looking to enhance your green deck’s performance, Bear Umbra offers a substantial boost. This card’s ability to double your mana with each attack invites game-changing tactics and deeper strategic gameplay. It encourages clever deck construction, especially when combined with creatures that capitalize on the increased resource pool. The potential for explosive turns should not be overlooked, and understanding the finer aspects of resource management becomes crucial. Dive into the intricacies of MTG, discover new synergies, and refine your deck to take full advantage of the formidable power Bear Umbra can unleash. Ready for a deeper exploration? Come learn more and unlock the secrets to mastering your deck’s true potential.


Cards like Bear Umbra

Bear Umbra sits confidently in the pantheon of powerful auras in Magic: The Gathering. It finds parallels with cards like Sword of Feast and Famine, given both provide resources in an unconventional manner. While Bear Umbra offers the boon of untapping all your lands whenever the enchanted creature attacks, Sword of Feast and Famine gives a similar benefit only when it deals combat damage to a player but also forces them to discard a card.

Another comparison can be made to Nature’s Will, a compelling enchantment spell. Like Bear Umbra, it untaps all your lands, but this occurs after one of your creatures deals combat damage to a player. It also has the added advantage of tapping all lands of the damaged player. However, with Bear Umbra, the land-untapping benefit attaches to a single creature which can be potentially be more vulnerable.

While comparing various aspects, Bear Umbra distinctly hold its own among resource-liberating cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its unique mechanics and tactical advantages indisputably make it a fascinating pick in any green deck strategy.

Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions
Nature's Will - MTG Card versions
Sword of Feast and Famine - Grand Prix Promos (PGPX)
Nature's Will - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bear Umbra MTG card by a specific set like Rise of the Eldrazi and Commander 2018, 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 Bear Umbra and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bear Umbra Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2010-04-23 and 2023-09-08. Illustrated by Howard Lyon.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-04-23Rise of the EldraziROE 1772003normalblackHoward Lyon
22018-08-09Commander 2018C18 1312015normalblackHoward Lyon
32022-02-18Neon Dynasty CommanderNEC 1132015normalblackHoward Lyon
42023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine CommanderWOC 1212015normalblackHoward Lyon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bear Umbra has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2010-06-15 When the enchanted creature attacks, all lands controlled by that creature's controller (who is not necessarily the Aura's controller) untap.
2018-07-13 If a permanent enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor has indestructible, lethal damage and effects that try to destroy it simply have no effect. Totem armor won't do anything because it won't have to.
2018-07-13 If a permanent enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor would be destroyed by multiple state-based actions at the same time (most likely because a creature with deathtouch has dealt damage to that creature greater than or equal to its toughness) totem armor's effect will replace all of them and save the creature.
2018-07-13 If a permanent you control is enchanted with multiple Auras that have totem armor, and the enchanted permanent would be destroyed, one of those Auras is destroyed instead — but only one of them. You choose which one because you control the enchanted permanent.
2018-07-13 If a spell or ability (such as Akroma's Vengeance) would destroy both an Aura with totem armor and the permanent it's enchanting at the same time, totem armor's effect will save the enchanted permanent from being destroyed. Instead, the spell or ability will destroy the Aura in two different ways at the same time, but the result is the same as destroying it once.
2018-07-13 If a spell or ability says that it would "destroy" a permanent enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor, that spell or ability is what causes the Aura to be destroyed instead. Totem armor doesn't destroy the Aura; rather, it changes the effects of the spell or ability. On the other hand, if a spell or ability deals lethal damage to a creature enchanted with an Aura that has totem armor, the game rules regarding lethal damage cause the Aura to be destroyed, not that spell or ability.
2018-07-13 Totem armor has no effect if the enchanted permanent is put into a graveyard for any other reason, such as if it's sacrificed, if the "legend rule" applies to it, or if its toughness is 0 or less.
2018-07-13 Totem armor's effect is applied no matter why the enchanted permanent would be destroyed: because it's been dealt lethal damage, or because it's being affected by an effect that says to "destroy" it (such as Putrefy). In either case, all damage is removed from the permanent and the Aura is destroyed instead.
2018-07-13 Totem armor's effect is mandatory. If the enchanted permanent would be destroyed, you must remove all damage from it (if it has any) and destroy the Aura that has totem armor instead.
2018-07-13 Totem armor's effect is not regeneration. Specifically, if totem armor's effect is applied, the enchanted permanent does not become tapped and is not removed from combat as a result. Effects that say the enchanted permanent can't be regenerated (as Putrefy does) won't prevent totem armor's effect from being applied.

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