Ever-Watching Threshold MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. Ever-Watching Threshold grants card advantage during each opponent’s attack, promoting a richer hand.
  2. The card ensures consistent land drops and play variety from the additional draw it provides.
  3. While offering benefits, specific mana requirements and potential passivity can limit its effectiveness.

Text of card

Whenever an opponent attacks, if they attacked you and/or a planeswalker you control, draw a card.

"You think they know we're here?" —Orlo, goblin raider


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ever-Watching Threshold lets you draw a card whenever an opponent attacks you with one or more creatures. This continuous access to extra cards can outpace your opponents, keeping your hand full and options open.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating your mana resources, the additional cards drawn from Ever-Watching Threshold can lead to a wider array of plays and an increased likelihood of hitting land drops consistently.

Instant Speed: Although Ever-Watching Threshold itself is an enchantment that operates at sorcery speed, the card benefit it provides can be leveraged during your opponent’s attack phase, similar to instant-speed interactions. This allows for smarter and more efficient planning of your defense and strategy during each turn cycle.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Ever-Watching Threshold doesn’t require you to discard cards, it does require constant vigilance as its benefit only triggers when an opponent attacks. This condition can be restrictive, especially if you’re facing a more passive opponent who doesn’t initiate combat frequently.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a particular combination of blue and generic mana, which can be challenging to gather, especially in the early stages of the game or in multicolor decks where mana resources are more stretched.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including one that’s color-specific, Ever-Watching Threshold is a mid-range enchantment. Some players might find this cost on the higher side when considering other cards that could be played proactively to impact the board state immediately.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ever-Watching Threshold offers an excellent addition to decks that capitalize on their opponents drawing cards. Its ability to observe each opponent’s draw and reward the controller with extra card advantage makes it a flexible choice for decks that aim to outvalue their opponents.

Combo Potential: This enchantment’s capability to generate extra draws could be combined with cards that benefit from card draw or punish opponents for drawing, such as Nekusar, the Mindrazer. It integrates seamlessly into strategies craving for constant card influx.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where keeping a hand filled with options is crucial, Ever-Watching Threshold maintains relevance. It provides continuous card advantage against opponents playing multiple draw spells, ensuring you’re never outpaced in resources in formats where high draw rates are common.


How to Beat Ever-Watching Threshold

Ever-Watching Threshold is a unique enchantment within Magic: The Gathering that rewards players for being targeted by their opponents’ spells. The card allows its controller to draw a card whenever an opponent attacks them and doesn’t attack the enchantment’s controller. This can create a daunting challenge, as it provides the defending player with a consistent flow of new resources.

To overcome this obstacle, it’s essential to adapt strategies that sideline the advantages Ever-Watching Threshold offers. Cards that provide blanket untargetability, like Shalai, Voice of Plenty, prevent opponents from targeting you directly, thus bypassing the trigger of Ever-Watching Threshold. Another strategy involves the use of spells that force the enchantment’s controller to sacrifice it, such as a well-timed Tranquility, negating its effects outright. Additionally, one could opt for an aggressive deck that can deal direct damage to planeswalkers or creatures rather than the player, ensuring your opponent doesn’t benefit from the forced defense condition the Threshold imposes.

Tactful play and smart deck construction are key when facing off against Ever-Watching Threshold. Strategies that minimize your need to attack the player directly, or remove the enchantment from the game entirely, will help you retain the upper hand without allowing your opponent to capitalize on additional draws.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the dynamics of Ever-Watching Threshold is crucial for optimizing your MTG gameplay and deck construction. This enchantment can be the linchpin in a control strategy, acting as both a deterrent to attackers and a catalyst for card advantage. Deck builders should consider integrating synergistic cards that benefit from or complement the draw effect. However, watch out for tempting but non-ideal conditions and strive for balance. Seeking to maximize the potential of Ever-Watching Threshold in your deck? Explore deeper strategies, find perfect synergies, and gauge the metagame’s pulse with us. Dive into our detailed guides to sharpen your skills and harness the full power of your card arsenal.


Cards like Ever-Watching Threshold

In the rich tapestry of Magic: The Gathering enchantments, Ever-Watching Threshold offers a unique benefit for players who prefer a defensive playstyle. Like Ghostly Prison, it presents a barrier, making opponents second-guess before attacking you. Both cards aim to deter incoming attacks, but Ever-Watching Threshold takes it a step further by rewarding you with card draw each time an opponent wallops you with two or more creatures.

Propaganda is another staple in the sphere of defensive enchantments that echos this sentiment. While it doesn’t provide the direct card draw that Ever-Watching Threshold does, it taxes your opponents for each creature they choose to swing your way. Ever-Watching Threshold, however, gifts you an upper hand by refilling your hand, which Propaganda lacks. Conversely, Mystic Remora is known to fish for cards using cumulative upkeep, but this card focuses on noncreature spells, making Ever-Watching Threshold the choice pick for countering creature-heavy strategies.

Understanding the synergy and situational advantages of Ever-Watching Threshold compared to its counterparts is key. Offering both a deterrent and a boon to your card advantage, it positions itself as a formidable option for players looking to defend and capitalize simultaneously amidst the battlefield’s ebb and flow.

Ghostly Prison - MTG Card versions
Propaganda - MTG Card versions
Mystic Remora - MTG Card versions
Ghostly Prison - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Propaganda - Tempest (TMP)
Mystic Remora - Ice Age (ICE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ever-Watching Threshold MTG card by a specific set like Treasure Chest 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 Ever-Watching Threshold and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ever-Watching Threshold Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-11-16 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Ravenna Tran.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-11-16Treasure ChestPZ2 706652015normalblackRavenna Tran
22018-08-09Commander 2018C18 92015normalblackRavenna Tran

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ever-Watching Threshold has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-07-13 You’ll draw only one card for each opponent attacking you or your planeswalkers, no matter how many creatures they’re attacking with. If multiple opponents are attacking you or your planeswalkers at once, you’ll draw one card for each of those opponents.

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