Herald of the Sun MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Herald of the Sun’s flying ability, it asserts aerial dominance over opponents, often necessitating multiple cards from them to handle effectively. Each time an opponent uses more than one card to deal with your single card, you effectively gain card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although Herald of the Sun doesn’t directly produce mana or treasure, its ability to strengthen other creatures on the battlefield can be a form of resource acceleration. By boosting your other creatures, it could lead to faster victories, thus accelerating the resolution of the game in your favor.

Instant Speed: While Herald of the Sun itself isn’t an instant, its activated ability can be used at instant speed. This gives you the flexibility to pump your creatures during combat or at the end of your opponent’s turn, making it a versatile threat that can adapt to changing board states.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As part of its activated ability, Herald of the Sun forces you to put other cards at risk. Such a mandate can be particularly detrimental in scenarios where maintaining card advantage is crucial.

Specific Mana Cost: This angel requires a specific set of mana to cast – two white and four others. This could restrict the card’s inclusion in decks that favor a broader color palette or have a base that isn’t heavily skewed towards white mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of six, Herald of the Sun competes with other high-impact cards in your deck’s curve. Such a requirement may delay your game plan, as there are alternatives with lower costs that provide significant board presence or immediate impact.

Reasons to Include Herald of the Sun in Your Collection

Versatility: Herald of the Sun boasts a flexible role in decks focusing on flying creatures or life gain strategies. Its ability to buff creatures in flight makes it a valuable asset in evasive, air-based assaults.

Combo Potential: With its prowess to strengthen other creatures, this card can enhance synergies within an angelic or cleric tribe, acting as a cornerstone for counters and buffs. Its presence can quickly turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: Considering its adaptability in various decks and the ever-present demand for aerial threats, Herald of the Sun remains a noteworthy contributor against numerous contemporary deck archetypes, holding its own in the dynamic arena of play.

How to beat

Herald of the Sun can be a formidable presence in the late game of Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to bolster itself or other creatures through its flying and lifelink capabilities, facing this angelic creature could be quite the challenge. Strategically, countering this card before it can impact the board state is essential. Removal spells such as Murder or Doom Blade are effective as they can bypass the lifelink by destroying the creature outright. Players may also consider setting up counterspells like Counterspell or Negate to prevent Herald of the Sun from being cast in the first place.

Enchantment removals can be a useful tool as well since Herald of the Sun often relies on aura and equipment cards to enhance its abilities. Naturalize and Disenchant can dismantle these synergies, making it easier to handle the creature through combat or other means. Finally, board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation will reset the playing field, nullifying the accumulated advantages that Herald of the Sun could represent. Planning ahead and having these answers ready in your deck will ensure that this high-flying threat doesn’t dominate the skies or the game.