Where Ancients Tread MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. It rewards playing high-powered creatures with direct damage, enhancing player’s board presence.
  2. Deck synergy is crucial for this enchantment’s full potential, making it a specialized tool.
  3. Enchantment removal or aggressive play are viable tactics to counter Where Ancients Tread’s impact.

Text of card

Whenever a creature with power 5 or greater comes into play under your control, you may have Where Ancients Tread deal 5 damage to target creature or player.

"Never subtle nor cryptic is the reckoning of the mighty." —Mayael the Anima


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Where Ancients Tread offers continuous value as it can deal damage each time a creature with power 5 or greater enters the battlefield under your control. This repeated effect can lead to card advantage by eliminating opponents’ creatures without expending additional cards from your hand.

Resource Acceleration: This enchantment synergizes well with ramp decks that accelerate resources, as it turns your large creatures into both threats on the board and direct damage sources. It essentially converts resource acceleration directly into board impact, allowing you to pressure your opponent on multiple axes.

Instant Speed: While Where Ancients Tread does not operate at instant speed itself, it interacts favorably with creatures that can enter the battlefield at instant speed. This allows for surprise damage during an opponent’s turn, disrupting their strategy and creating unexpected combat math that can benefit you greatly.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While ‘Where Ancients Tread’ doesn’t specifically ask for a card discard, it is important to consider that deploying such enchantments typically necessitate having other cards in hand to maximize the benefit, indirectly causing a resource strain.

Specific Mana Cost: The enchantment’s casting cost includes red mana, which restricts its inclusion to decks that can produce that type of mana, potentially limiting its versatility across the various MTG archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, including one red, it’s a significant investment, especially considering that players must wait for additional high-powered creatures to come into play to utilize its ability, which can be a slow return on investment in faster paced games.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Where Ancients Tread is an enchantment that offers great flexibility in large creature-based decks. Its ability to deal damage whenever a creature with power 5 or greater enters the battlefield makes it suitable for decks that aim to deploy big threats consistently.

Combo Potential: The card opens up possibilities for combos with creature token generators or duplication effects. Pairing it with ways to multiply your creatures’ presence can turn into a strategy that overwhelms opponents with both a board presence and direct damage.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where big creatures can dominate, Where Ancients Tread resonates well with the format’s dynamics. It can alter the game’s outcome with its repetitive damage ability, making it a staple in Commander and other formats that allow for heavy-hitting playstyles.


How to Beat

Tackling the challenge of Where Ancients Tread on the battlefield requires a strategic approach. This enchantment can turn the tide in favor of those who command formidable creatures. Triggered whenever a creature with power 5 or more enters the battlefield, it deals 5 damage to any target. This ability poses a significant threat to your life total and can eliminate key pieces on your board.

To minimize the impact of Where Ancients Tread, control decks can lean on counter spells to prevent it from ever hitting the board. Additionally, enchantment removals like Naturalize or Disenchant are efficient ways to remove it after it lands. For more proactive measures, keeping the opponent’s creatures in check can stifle the activation of this powerful enchantment. Control decks again shine here, utilizing board wipes such as Wrath of God to keep the battlefield clear. Aggressive strategies also have merit, with a focus on quickly reducing the opponent’s life before their game plan fully manifests. Lastly, when playing against Where Ancients Tread, always consider the potential for sudden damage, and plan accordingly to protect your key assets or preserve your life total.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of MTG means not only understanding your cards but also effectively countering your opponent’s strategy. Where Ancients Tread showcases the power of high-impact creatures and the thrill of turning them into direct damage dealers. With strategic ramp and surprise battlefield entries, this enchantment could be the cornerstone of your deck’s offense. If you’re keen to harness the raw might of Where Ancients Tread, or efficiently dismantle such strategies when you’re up against them, we have insights that can sharpen your skills. Dive deeper with us and discover strategies to dominate the game with mighty creatures and smart plays.


Cards like Where Ancients Tread

Where Ancients Tread is a distinctive red enchantment from the Shards of Alara set within Magic: The Gathering, reflecting its flair for impactful creature-based strategies. Cards like Warstorm Surge stand in close relation, also dealing damage when creatures enter the battlefield. Though comparable, Warstorm Surge carries a key difference— it can target creatures, players or planeswalkers, offering broader scope and flexibility.

Looking at another kindred spirit, we encounter the card Impact Tremors. Though more mana-efficient at only two mana and sharing a similar damage-dealing trigger upon creature entry, it deals a fixed one damage to all opponents, as opposed to Where Ancients Tread’s potentially more substantial five damage to any target of your choosing. This makes Where Ancients Tread well-suited for decks with larger creatures.

In weighing these analogs, it’s evident that Where Ancients Tread can be a game-changer in the right build, especially in a deck replete with hulking behemoths. The ability to harness the power of towering creatures and turn them into sources of direct damage renders this particular enchantment a force to be reckoned with in the right MTG deck.

Warstorm Surge - MTG Card versions
Impact Tremors - MTG Card versions
Warstorm Surge - MTG Card versions
Impact Tremors - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Where Ancients Tread MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Commander 2013, 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 Where Ancients Tread and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Where Ancients Tread Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2013-11-01. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12008-10-03Shards of AlaraALA 1222003NormalBlackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
22013-11-01Commander 2013C13 1302003NormalBlackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Where Ancients Tread has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2008-10-01 The ability checks that creature’s power only once: when that creature enters the battlefield. The trigger checks a creature’s initial power upon being put on the battlefield, so it will take into account counters that it enters the battlefield with and static abilities that may give it a continuous power boost once it’s on the battlefield (such as the one on Glorious Anthem). After the creature is already on the battlefield, boosting its power with a spell (such as Giant Growth), activated ability, or triggered ability won’t allow this ability to trigger; it’s too late by then. Once the ability triggers, it will resolve no matter what the creature’s power may become while the ability is on the stack.

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