Spore Flower MTG Card

Fallen Empires (FEM)
1994-11-01 - Number 73

Masters Edition II (ME2)
2008-09-22 - Number 177

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Fungus
Power	0
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Utilize Spore Flower’s fog effect to control combat pace and protect your life total strategically.
Prevent damage at instant speed, preserving resources and disrupting the opponent’s aggressive plays.
Balance its activation foresight with its potential to tilt games by stalling opponent’s attacks.

Text of card

During your upkeep, put a spore counter on Spore Flower. : Remove three spore counters from Spore Flower. No creatures deal damage in combat this turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spore Flower stands out in games focused on control and stalling, as amassing spore counters can lead to a decisive advantage over time. Controlling the duration of games through its repeatable fog effect translates into a strategic edge by dictating the pace of combat and preserving your life total while establishing your board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While Spore Flower itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources in the form of mana, it plays a crucial role in resource preservation. By preventing damage during key turns, it allows players to invest their mana into developing their board or casting pivotal spells without fear of an immediate counterattack, effectively stretching their resources further.

Instant Speed: Spore Flower’s ability to activate at instant speed makes it an invaluable asset when facing aggressive opponents. The capability to delay incoming damage without preemptively committing to a play gives you the flexibility to better manage your mana and react to your opponent’s threats, keeping them constantly guessing and disrupting their strategy.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Spore Flower’s key ability comes with a need for foresight since it must be tapped in advance to prevent damage in the following turn. While preparing for hostile moves is strategic, in a fast-paced game, delaying your capacity to bolster defense immediately could leave you vulnerable.

Specific Mana Cost: Spore Flower demands green mana exclusively, making it a less flexible choice for multi-colored decks. Green mana decks might be able to incorporate this card smoothly, but others might struggle with the added constraint, reducing its overall versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Spore Flower itself is not costly, its upkeep ability to accumulate spore counters requires a maintained investment over several turns to be effective. This can prove inefficient compared to other cards that offer immediate or more substantial defensive benefits for a similar or lesser mana investment.

Reasons to Include Spore Flower in Your Collection

Versatility: Spore Flower offers a unique defensive option for any deck that can generate and utilize +1/+1 counters. Capable of preventing all combat damage for a turn, it can be particularly effective when timed correctly in various gameplay scenarios.

Combo Potential: With its ability to accrue spore counters, Spore Flower synergizes well with cards that take advantage of counter mechanisms or those that benefit from activated abilities. This could allow for strategic plays that stall your opponents or protect key creatures.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where aggressive strategies prevail, Spore Flower becomes a valuable asset. It can blunt the assault of creature-heavy decks, giving control or combo decks the time they need to stabilize the board and turn the tides in their favor.

How to beat

Spore Flower is a unique card in the landscape of MTG that provides a distinctive defensive mechanism. As a low-cost creature card with the ability to prevent all combat damage in a given turn, Spore Flower can be a thorn in the side of aggressive strategies. It’s important for players facing off against this card to adopt a multi-faceted approach, targeting not only the battlefield but also the stack and hand.

One way to circumvent Spore Flower’s ability is to utilize removal spells that can swiftly eliminate it prior to the bloom of its preventive power. After all, it is a creature with modest toughness, making it susceptible to a wide range of commonly played removal cards. In addition, players can also deploy countermeasures against Spore Flower’s ability itself, using cards with counteractive abilities or spells to nullify its effect, keeping the path clear for subsequent attacks.

Ultimately, beating Spore Flower requires a mix of timely removal, strategic planning, and maintaining pressure to exhaust the resources of the opponent. By combining these elements and keeping the board clear of this protective plant, victory is within reach for skilled MTG players.

Cards like Spore Flower

Spore Flower is a unique creature in MTG, offering a distinctive defensive mechanism that can be pivotal in the right deck. It shares a thematic link with cards like Wall of Blossoms, as both involve plant elements that can influence the board state. However, Spore Flower stands out by allowing players to prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn, which can turn the tide of battle significantly.

Another card worth considering in relation to Spore Flower is Fog. While Fog serves a single-use purpose with a similar effect of preventing combat damage, Spore Flower provides a repeatable option as long as it has spore counters. This can deter opponents from attacking over multiple turns. Then there’s Moment’s Peace, which pushes the concept further by offering a flashback ability, giving it a second life beyond the initial casting.

Ultimately, Spore Flower’s ability to continuously shape the flow of combat places it among the interesting choices for players who favor a control style approach. Its place in the ecosystem of MTG card abilities is cemented by the strategic depth it brings to the table.

Cards similar to Spore Flower by color, type and mana cost

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Wren's Run Vanquisher - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spore Flower MTG card by a specific set like Fallen Empires and Masters Edition II, 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 Spore Flower and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Spore Flower Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1994-11-01 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Margaret Organ-Kean.