Enhanced Awareness MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2015-01-23
Set symbol
Set name	Fate Reforged
Set code	FRF
Number	33
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Ryan Alexander Lee

Key Takeaways

Enhanced Awareness enables drawing three cards, optimizing hand content and maintaining pressure in the game.
Instant speed allows strategic responses and can swing the game’s momentum in your favor.
Despite its mana cost and discard requirement, it can efficiently pivot games by finding key cards.

Text of card

Draw three cards, then discard a card.

"Study the topography of your enemies, and you will have a map to victory." —Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Enhanced Awareness delivers a significant card advantage by letting you draw three cards. It’s an excellent way to refill your hand and keep the pressure on your opponents.

Resource Acceleration: While playing Enhanced Awareness, it allows you to untap up to two lands. This can lead to resource acceleration, especially when you manage to play additional spells or set up defenses within the same turn.

Instant Speed: Since Enhanced Awareness can be cast at instant speed, this flexibility enables you to adapt to the board state, respond to opponents’ actions, and make decisions with the most current information. Playing your cards at right the moment can often be the difference between winning and losing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the limitations of Enhanced Awareness is its demand that a player discards a card upon casting. This could be a drawback, especially in cases where the player’s hand is already minimal, subtracting from their range of strategic options and potentially leading to a loss of momentum within the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Enhanced Awareness has a specific mana requirement that includes blue mana, which might not fit seamlessly into multicolored decks that aren’t heavily weighted towards blue resources. This can restrict its versatility and make it a less than ideal choice for decks that don’t have a consistent means to produce blue mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that might be seen as steep for the effect it provides, Enhanced Awareness can be compared unfavorably with other cards in the same mana range that may provide similar or better utility without the immediate drawback of discarding a card. Decks aiming for a tight curve of mana to effect ratio might bypass this selection for more economically designed alternatives.

Reasons to Include Enhanced Awareness in Your Collection

Versatility: Enhanced Awareness offers both card draw and the flexibility to fine-tune your hand, making it a strong inclusion in decks that prize card selection and digging deeper into the library.

Combo Potential: This card allows players to draw into combo pieces more effectively and could be a critical element in setting up game-winning conditions, especially in decks that thrive on card synergies.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the pace and structure of the current game environment, Enhanced Awareness holds its ground by providing the resources to keep pace with various opponent strategies, particularly those relying on maintaining card advantage.

How to Beat Enhanced Awareness

Enhanced Awareness stands out in the realm of card advantage tools available for players in Magic: The Gathering. As a card that allows you to draw three cards and then discard one, it offers a balance between refilling your hand and tailoring your next moves. This significant draw effect can pivot the game by finding the right answers or combo pieces when most needed.

However, when facing Enhanced Awareness, the key is to apply pressure and make every card drawn less valuable. Disruptive spells that target an opponent’s hand, like Thoughtseize or Duress, can preemptively remove Enhanced Awareness or significant threats that your opponent may draw. Counterspells are also your ally here, allowing you to deny the spell before it resolves and the card advantage is gained. Aggressive strategies that keep the opponent on the back foot can also reduce the impact of Enhanced Awareness by shortening the game, giving them less time to capitalize on their fuller hand.

Ultimately, countering the card advantage granted by Enhanced Awareness involves a mix of pre-emptive disruption, timely counters, and relentless pressure, preventing opponents from effectively using the additional resources they’ve gained.

Cards like Enhanced Awareness

Enhanced Awareness sits in the realm of card advantage strategies within Magic: The Gathering. It runs parallel to cards like Concentrate, which also allows a player to draw three cards. What sets Enhanced Awareness apart is the added benefit of allowing a player to select and discard a card, fine-tuning their hand. Unlike Concentrate, this process facilitates a sort of hand refinement.

In the same sphere, there’s Jace’s Ingenuity which matches the card draw volume and instant speed of Enhanced Awareness but lacks the discard mechanism, trading hand filtering for straightforward bulk draw. Meanwhile, Comparative Analysis plays a similar role. Although this card only allows a player to draw two cards, it can be more accessible thanks to its Surge cost, offering a cost-effective alternative in fast-paced games or multiplayer scenarios.

Ultimately, Enhanced Awareness claims its niche among card drawing spells in Magic: The Gathering. By balancing card draw with strategic discard, it provides a nuanced option for players looking to optimize their plays and maintain hand advantage.

Comparative Analysis - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Enhanced Awareness by color, type and mana cost

Mysteries of the Deep - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Enhanced Awareness MTG card by a specific set like Fate Reforged, 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 Enhanced Awareness and other MTG cards: