Benalish Knight MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Knight
Abilities First strike, Flash
Power 2
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Flash ability offers surprise attacks and defense, creating unpredictability in the game.
  2. Benalish Knight’s specific mana cost demands strategic deck building and mana management.
  3. The card’s flexibility and synergy make it a worthwhile addition for knight-themed decks.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

First strike You may play Benalish Knight whenever you could play an instant.

"We called them 'armored lightning.'" —Gerrard of the *Weatherlight*


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The flash ability on Benalish Knight lets you keep up the pressure while not diminishing your hand, maintaining a robust resource in play and in hand.

Resource Acceleration: As a creature with a moderate mana cost, Benalish Knight fits seamlessly into decks striving for an efficient mana curve, further expediting your threat deployment.

Instant Speed: With its flash ability, Benalish Knight can be cast during your opponent’s turn, providing unexpected battlefield presence and surprising blockers, crucial for disrupting opponent strategies.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Benalish Knight card doesn’t have a discard requirement, but it’s something to be aware of when considering card advantages and disadvantages. Cards requiring discards affect your hand, impacting your strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Benalish Knight requires a specific mana allocation, one white and two of any color, to be cast. This makes it less flexible, limiting its inclusion to mainly white decks or those with a reliable mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Benalish Knight comes with a relatively high mana cost for its creature type. Considering its stats and abilities, other cards might provide more gameplay impact at a lower cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Benalish Knight, with its flash ability, allows you to keep mana open for other spells and play mind games with your opponent. Moreover, this flexibility also enables surprise blocking, making it a useful card in various decks that prioritize tactical plays and defense.

Combo Potential: The knight synergizes exceptionally well with decks that capitalize on the Knight tribal theme or cards that benefit from creatures entering the battlefield unexpectedly. Its flash mechanic can be essential to enable combat tricks or to boost other knights you control.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame fluctuates, having reliable combat-ready creatures becomes increasingly critical. Benalish Knight is especially potent in a meta where combat interactions are frequent, allowing you to swing the tide of battle in your favor at a moment’s notice.


How to beat

The Benalish Knight card is a trusty creature with flash, allowing it to surprise opponents during combat. Its presence in a match adds a layer of strategic depth in Magic: The Gathering (MTG). To effectively neutralize this knight’s impact on the game, you’ll want to limit its advantageous ability to swing battles in your opponent’s favor. One approach is to maintain board control with removal spells or tactics that manage creature threats at instant speed, such as Counterspell or Shock, ensuring the knight never becomes a disruptive force.

Ensuring that you keep your removal spells for key moments can be crucial. In games where you expect such combat tricks, it’s wise to play conservatively, with mana kept open to respond to the Benalish Knight and similar threats. Another tactic is to use cards that restrict your opponent’s ability to cast spells at instant speed, such as Teferi, Time Raveler. Anticipating the sudden appearance of the Benalish Knight and being prepared to respond accordingly will ensure that this valiant warrior does not tip the scales of the battlefield against you.

Ultimately, staying one step ahead and reacting swiftly in MTG often determines victory, and this is particularly true when facing off against creatures with flash, like the Benalish Knight. Understanding and preparing for your opponent’s potential moves will make the Benalish Knight far less daunting.


Cards like Benalish Knight

The Benalish Knight holds a place in the roster of creature cards with flash in Magic: The Gathering. When looking for cards with similar mechanics, one might consider the Silver Knight, which not only shares the flashy entrance but also brings protection abilities against specific colors. However, Benalish Knight offers a flexibility in combat scenarios that Silver Knight lacks due to its surprise play style.

Another analogous card is Knight of Cliffhaven, which, while not having flash, possesses the level up ability, allowing it to grow in power and toughness over time. This presents a different strategic angle compared to the immediate board impact Benalish Knight could have. Then, there are cards like Leonin Skyhunter, a creature card of similar mana value but with flying, offering an aerial advantage but without the option to enter the battlefield at any time like the Benalish Knight.

To sum up, in the universe of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering, the Benalish Knight stands out for its surprise factor during battle. It may not have the evolving potential of a level up card or the continuous threat of a flyer, but its tactical flexibility makes it a noteworthy option for players who value instant-speed interaction.

Silver Knight - MTG Card versions
Knight of Cliffhaven - MTG Card versions
Leonin Skyhunter - MTG Card versions
Silver Knight - Scourge (SCG)
Knight of Cliffhaven - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Leonin Skyhunter - Mirrodin (MRD)

Cards similar to Benalish Knight by color, type and mana cost

Argivian Blacksmith - MTG Card versions
Jamuraan Lion - MTG Card versions
Snow Hound - MTG Card versions
Elvish Healer - MTG Card versions
Femeref Knight - MTG Card versions
Border Guard - MTG Card versions
Stern Marshal - MTG Card versions
Soltari Crusader - MTG Card versions
Town Sentry - MTG Card versions
Regal Unicorn - MTG Card versions
Wild Griffin - MTG Card versions
Pianna, Nomad Captain - MTG Card versions
Dogged Hunter - MTG Card versions
Sanctum Prelate - MTG Card versions
Diving Griffin - MTG Card versions
Faithful Squire // Kaiso, Memory of Loyalty - MTG Card versions
Kitsune Palliator - MTG Card versions
Freewind Equenaut - MTG Card versions
Sanctum Guardian - MTG Card versions
Skyhunter Cub - MTG Card versions
Argivian Blacksmith - Antiquities (ATQ)
Jamuraan Lion - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Snow Hound - Ice Age (ICE)
Elvish Healer - Ice Age (ICE)
Femeref Knight - Mirage (MIR)
Border Guard - Portal (POR)
Stern Marshal - Portal (POR)
Soltari Crusader - Tempest (TMP)
Town Sentry - Portal Second Age (P02)
Regal Unicorn - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Wild Griffin - Starter 2000 (S00)
Pianna, Nomad Captain - Odyssey (ODY)
Dogged Hunter - Odyssey (ODY)
Sanctum Prelate - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Diving Griffin - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Faithful Squire // Kaiso, Memory of Loyalty - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Kitsune Palliator - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Freewind Equenaut - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Sanctum Guardian - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Skyhunter Cub - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Benalish Knight MTG card by a specific set like Weatherlight and Tenth Edition, 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 Benalish Knight and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Benalish Knight Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-06-09 and 2007-07-13. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11997-06-09WeatherlightWTH 91997normalblackZina Saunders
22007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 112003normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
32007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 11★2003normalblackZoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Benalish Knight has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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