Equinox MTG Card


Equinox - Legends
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant
Released1994-06-01
Set symbol
Set nameLegends
Set codeLEG
Number13
Frame1993
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred bySusan Van Camp

Key Takeaways

  1. Equinox ensures lands double as powerful defensive tools, fortifying your game presence significantly.
  2. Instant speed usage of Equinox allows for reactive plays, adding depth to in-game tactics.
  3. Though providing stout defense, the drawbacks of specific mana and card discards must be weighed.

Text of card

Tap land enchanted with Equinox to counter a spell that destroys one or more of your lands. This ability is played as an interrupt.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Equinox offers a unique approach to protective measures by adding spell counters to your lands, which in turn can secure your position over the game. This strategic aspect allows you to safeguard your investments, ensuring that your key spells are not only played but also preserved, thereby maintaining a solid grip over the game’s pace. By ensuring your lands are potent defense mechanisms, you’re indirectly setting yourself up for long-term advantages.

Resource Acceleration: By embedding the potential for spell counters within your lands through Equinox, you accelerate your resources in terms of defense. It’s an investment that matures as the game progresses, constantly adding a layer of deterrence against threats. Through this, you accelerate not just your mana base, but the very utility of your land cards, potentially keeping opponents at bay and allowing you to dictate the flow of interactions.

Instant Speed: The very nature of Equinox contributes to tactical flexibility. The enchantment works at instant speed, meaning you can react swiftly to developing threats during your opponent’s turn. This adaptability allows you to commit to the board while still retaining the option to counteract any sudden changes in the game state without compromising your other strategies or revealing your hand prematurely.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The demand to discard a card to fully utilize Equinox’s effect could hinder strategic planning, especially when your hand is already depleted.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Equinox, you need to tap for white mana, potentially restricting its compatibility with multicolored or non-white decks that would otherwise benefit from enchantment protection.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Priced at a single white mana, Equinox might seem cost-effective, but the card’s utility, which is limiting enchantments from being destroyed only on your turn, often doesn’t justify even this modest mana investment when compared to other white spells that offer broader protection or benefits.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Equinox thrives in environments where land-based strategies are pivotal. It fits seamlessly into decks that capitalize on land synergies, protecting key terrain from destruction that could otherwise upend your game plan.

Combo Potential: This card serves as a linchpin in combos that involve lands with activated abilities. By ensuring that your lands remain untapped, you can strengthen your defense while maintaining the threat of instant-speed responses.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where control decks and destroy land effects are prevalent, Equinox offers a defensive measure, making it a tactical inclusion. It’s particularly effective against strategies that hinge on setting you back by targeting your mana base.


How to Beat Equinox

The Equinox enchantment brings a unique element to the table in MTG, by offering protection for lands under targeted spells if you have a spell on the stack. Navigating around this card involves strategy and foresight. One method to overcome Equinox’s defense is to employ instant-speed removal spells when the opponent’s stack is clear, bypassing the protective clause it grants. Another effective approach is to utilize spells that don’t target, such as mass removal or global effects, to sidestep its condition.

Additionally, cards that force the player to sacrifice a permanent can be key, as Equinox does not guard against sacrifices. Deck strategies that don’t heavily rely on spells to disrupt lands can also naturally evade Equinox’s protection mechanisms. Thus, adapting your strategy to include non-targeting or sacrifice-inducing plays can be an efficient way to neutralize the benefits that Equinox provides in a game, preserving the flow of your strategy and maintaining the upper hand.


Cards like Equinox

Equinox is a unique enchantment within the pantheon of Magic: The Gathering. This card protects lands from being destroyed by spells as long as they’re tapped. In comparison, Safe Haven is another protective card, though it focuses on safeguarding creatures instead. It allows creatures to dodge removal and then re-enter the fray later on.

Terra Eternal is also a kin to Equinox, providing blanket indestructibility to all lands you control, offering a broader shield without the need for tapping. However, it comes at a higher mana cost, highlighting the efficiency of Equinox for players dedicated to land preservation strategies. Conversely, Equinox requires a bit more setup, asking the player to commit to tapping a land to ensure its safety.

In evaluating the protective elements of these cards, Equinox offers a specific yet powerful effect for those who prefer strategic play and resource management. Its ability to selectively guard vital lands can be instrumental in outmaneuvering opponents in Magic: The Gathering, particularly in formats where land destruction is prevalent.

Safe Haven - MTG Card versions
Terra Eternal - MTG Card versions
Safe Haven - The Dark (DRK)
Terra Eternal - Worldwake (WWK)

Cards similar to Equinox by color, type and mana cost

White Ward - MTG Card versions
Green Ward - MTG Card versions
Holy Strength - MTG Card versions
Lance - MTG Card versions
Consecrate Land - MTG Card versions
Animate Wall - MTG Card versions
Black Ward - MTG Card versions
Blue Ward - MTG Card versions
Holy Armor - MTG Card versions
Red Ward - MTG Card versions
Land Tax - MTG Card versions
Brainwash - MTG Card versions
Green Scarab - MTG Card versions
Blue Scarab - MTG Card versions
Spirit Link - MTG Card versions
Armor of Faith - MTG Card versions
Kithkin Armor - MTG Card versions
Flickering Ward - MTG Card versions
Limited Resources - MTG Card versions
Mask of Law and Grace - MTG Card versions
White Ward - Revised Edition (3ED)
Green Ward - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Holy Strength - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Lance - Revised Edition (3ED)
Consecrate Land - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Animate Wall - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Black Ward - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Blue Ward - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Holy Armor - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Red Ward - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Land Tax - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)
Brainwash - The Dark (DRK)
Green Scarab - Ice Age (ICE)
Blue Scarab - Ice Age (ICE)
Spirit Link - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Armor of Faith - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Kithkin Armor - Weatherlight (WTH)
Flickering Ward - Tempest (TMP)
Limited Resources - Exodus (EXO)
Mask of Law and Grace - Urza's Destiny (UDS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Equinox MTG card by a specific set like Legends, 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 Equinox and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Equinox has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 Equinox will not counter a spell that deals damage to an animated land, even if it would deal more damage than the land’s toughness. This is because the spell itself does not destroy the land directly. The land is destroyed by a game rule.
2004-10-04 Equinox will not counter a spell that has a random chance of destroying a land.
2004-10-04 Equinox will not counter a spell which requires sacrificing land when it enters the battlefield, or one that requires sacrificing land as part of the cost to cast it.
2004-10-04 Equinox will not counter a spell which would indirectly cause destruction of one of your lands.
2004-10-04 The ability can target any spell, even one that would not destroy a land.
2008-10-01 Will not counter a spell which would destroy a land only if a choice is made.
2013-09-20 When the activated ability resolves, determine whether the targeted spell would destroy a land if it resolved right then. If it would, then counter that spell. Otherwise, it is not countered, even if the spell could, under other circumstances, destroy a land.

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