Keldon Halberdier MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Warrior
Abilities First strike,Suspend
Power 4
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Suspend offers a delayed, yet impactful creature entry, posing a looming threat to opponents.
  2. Efficient red mana use enables strategic plays, keeping other resources available.
  3. Instant speed suspension increases mana efficiency and maintains gameplay pressure.

Text of card

First strike Suspend 4— (Rather than play this card from your hand, you may pay and remove it from the game with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When you remove the last, play it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)


Card Pros

When looking at the strengths of Keldon Halberdier in your MTG deck, several aspects stand out making it a potential asset during gameplay.

Card Advantage: Unlike cards that offer direct draw, Keldon Halberdier excels in a different type of card advantage. Once suspended, it demands an answer from your opponent. If they can’t deal with it, you receive a hefty 4/1 creature without spending a card from your hand, shaping the battlefield in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: Keldon Halberdier may not generate mana or treasure, but its suspend mechanic is a form of resource acceleration. By paying a single red mana initially, you effectively set the stage for a powerful creature to come into play without the need for further mana investment at that time, leaving your resources free for other strategic plays.

Instant Speed: While Keldon Halberdier itself isn’t an instant, its suspend ability gives you strategic flexibility akin to instant-speed interactions. You can suspend it during your opponent’s end step or after their key plays, ensuring you stretch your mana efficiently across turns and keeping up the pressure.

Overall, Keldon Halberdier can be a strategic card in your arsenal, offering benefits that can give you the upper hand in the resource management and tempo aspects of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Keldon Halberdier requires you to either suspend it for four turns or cast it for its full mana cost, which can be a serious tempo setback if you’re aiming for an aggressive start.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a strictly red mana cost, making it less flexible for multi-colored decks and potentially problematic in mana-scarce situations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Commanding five mana for a 4/1 creature, Keldon Halberdier may be inefficient compared to other creatures that provide more bang for your buck or come with additional abilities.


Reasons to Include Keldon Halberdier in Your Collection

Versatility: Keldon Halberdier can be a game-changer in decks that maximize the use of instants and sorceries. As a 4/1 first striker for five mana, it has the potential to be a considerable threat on the board. However, its real strength lies in its suspend ability, allowing you to play it for a single red mana and wait out four turns for a potent surprise attacker or defender.

Combo Potential: This card works well with strategies that manipulate time counters or directly benefit from suspended cards. Its presence keeps opponents on their toes, wary of the turn it will come into play and the immediate impact it can have, making it a great piece in strategies aiming to outpace and outmaneuver the opponent.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where early game board presence isn’t heavily punished, the suspending of Keldon Halberdier can set you up for mid to late-game dominance. Its first strike ability makes it an excellent defender against aggressive creatures and a formidable foe in combat, particularly if the battlefield is not crowded with high-powered creatures.


How to beat

Keldon Halberdier stands as a formidable card choice for players looking to bolster their early game in Magic: The Gathering. This card’s unique suspend mechanic allows for an aggressive early play, by paying just one red mana to set up a significant threat for the mid-game. It is especially valuable in matches where board presence and tempo are critical.

To counter the impact of Keldon Halberdier, it is essential to have removal spells at the ready. Cards with instant-speed removal such as Path to Exile or Doom Blade can disrupt the Halberdier before it becomes active on the board. Similarly, counter magic like Counterspell or Negate can prevent it from even being suspended. Additionally, imposing early pressure with your own creatures or using hand disruption tactics to remove the Halberdier from your opponent’s grip can thwart your adversary’s plans thereby securing your game position.

Understanding the dynamics of play and turn sequences is crucial in mitigating the threat posed by Keldon Halberdier. By adjusting strategies and maintaining a responsive hand, players can navigate around this potential stumbling block and maintain control of the game’s outcome.


Cards like Keldon Halberdier

Keldon Halberdier is a unique warrior in the realm of red creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. This card invites comparison to other red creatures known for their suspend ability, such as Rift Bolt. While Rift Bolt is primarily a direct damage dealing spell, Keldon Halberdier differs as it’s a creature that can be suspended and brought into play as a significant threat later on.

Another similar card worth mentioning is Jhoira’s Timebug, which also utilizes suspend and can actually manipulate time counters. Even though it doesn’t present an immediate threat as a creature, it does provide more control over when your suspended cards come into action. In contrast, Keldon Halberdier offers a more aggressive approach once it’s on the battlefield with a substantial power level.

Grapeshot Catapult aligns with Keldon Halberdier in terms of mana cost, offering an alternative for players seeking direct damage but with the added utility of reaching flying creatures. However, the Catapult lacks the imposing presence of Keldon Halberdier when it enters the fray.

Amidst these comparisons, Keldon Halberdier shines for players who strategize for the future with powerful creatures, marking its place as a strong and tactical choice in specific MTG setups.

Rift Bolt - MTG Card versions
Jhoira's Timebug - MTG Card versions
Grapeshot Catapult - MTG Card versions
Rift Bolt - Time Spiral (TSP)
Jhoira's Timebug - Time Spiral (TSP)
Grapeshot Catapult - Antiquities (ATQ)

Cards similar to Keldon Halberdier by color, type and mana cost

Fire Elemental - MTG Card versions
Earth Elemental - MTG Card versions
Eron the Relentless - MTG Card versions
Balduvian War-Makers - MTG Card versions
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Heartless Hidetsugu - MTG Card versions
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Fire Elemental - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Earth Elemental - Salvat 2011 (PS11)
Eron the Relentless - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Balduvian War-Makers - Alliances (ALL)
Hivis of the Scale - Mirage (MIR)
Hulking Cyclops - Visions (VIS)
Flame Spirit - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Flowstone Salamander - Tempest (TMP)
Ma Chao, Western Warrior - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Covetous Dragon - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Dwarven Strike Force - Odyssey (ODY)
Volatile Arsonist // Dire-Strain Anarchist - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)
Tephraderm - Onslaught (ONS)
Avarax - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Bonethorn Valesk - Scourge (SCG)
Frost Ogre - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Heartless Hidetsugu - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Shard Phoenix - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Soul of Magma - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Hunted Dragon - The List (PLST)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Keldon Halberdier MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and Iconic Masters, 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 Keldon Halberdier and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Keldon Halberdier Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Paolo Parente.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12006-10-06Time SpiralTSP 1672003normalblackPaolo Parente
22017-11-17Iconic MastersIMA 1352015normalblackPaolo Parente
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 9882015normalblackPaolo Parente
42020-09-26The ListPLST IMA-1352015normalblackPaolo Parente
52021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 1732015normalblackPaolo Parente

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Keldon Halberdier has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-06-18 A creature cast using suspend will enter the battlefield with haste. It will have haste until another player gains control of it. (In some rare cases, another player may gain control of the creature spell itself. If this happens, the creature won’t enter the battlefield with haste.)
2021-06-18 As the second triggered ability resolves, you must cast the card if able. You must do so even if it requires targets and the only legal targets are ones that you really don’t want to target. Timing permissions based on the card’s type are ignored.
2021-06-18 Cards exiled with suspend are exiled face up.
2021-06-18 Exiling a card with suspend isn’t casting that card. This action doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.
2021-06-18 If an effect refers to a “suspended card,” that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
2021-06-18 If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2021-06-18 If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card’s owner’s next upkeep.
2021-06-18 If the second triggered ability is countered, the card can’t be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2021-06-18 If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it’s exiled.
2021-06-18 If you can’t cast the card, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it’s no longer suspended.
2021-06-18 If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” such as with suspend, you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those if you want to cast the card.
2021-06-18 Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that causes you to cast the card when the last time counter is removed. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of that creature (or, in rare cases, you lose control of the creature spell while it’s on the stack).
2021-06-18 The mana value of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn’t paid.
2021-06-18 When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) triggers. It doesn’t matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
2021-06-18 You are never forced to activate mana abilities to pay costs, so if there is a mandatory additional mana cost (such as from Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), you can decline to activate mana abilities to pay for it and hence fail to cast the suspended card, leaving it in exile.
2021-06-18 You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage’s ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.

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