Arbiter of Knollridge MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Giant Wizard
Abilities Vigilance
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Arbiter’s life total reset ability creates opportunities for life-gain synergy and strategic advantages.
  2. The card demands a high mana investment and specific color alignment, posing deck-building challenges.
  3. Incorporating Arbiter can lead to compelling multiplayer dynamics and counter aggressive decks effectively.
Vigilance card art

Guide to Vigilance card ability

In the strategic universe of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the vigilance ability stands out as a powerful tool for players. This potent keyword allows creatures to attack without tapping, keeping them ready and alert to defend against incoming threats. It represents a perfect balance between aggression and defense, offering a dynamic approach to gameplay. Lets dive deeper into how vigilance shapes the battlefield.

Text of card

Vigilance When Arbiter of Knollridge comes into play, each player's life total becomes the highest life total among all players.

Though giants are mortal, they live so long and on such a grand scale that many small folk don't believe they ever truly die.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Arbiter of Knollridge is valuable due to its unique ability to reset players’ life totals, which can often lead to a significant card gain in situations where life gain decks are involved. By having life totals recalibrated, you create scenarios where cards keyed to high life totals become more effective.

Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly accelerating resources, the Arbiter can indirectly contribute to resource acceleration by providing a large life buffer. This allows a player more time to develop their board and draw into additional resources without the immediate pressure of a low life total.

Instant Speed: Although the Arbiter of Knollridge is a creature card and doesn’t operate at instant speed itself, its Vigilance ability allows it to serve as a persistent threat while still being available for defense. Furthermore, if you can flash it in through other card interactions, it can radically shift the game’s state at a pivotal moment, reflecting the strategic use of instant speed plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Arbiter of Knollridge doesn’t have a discard requirement, so let’s explore other areas where the card may present challenges.

Specific Mana Cost: Despite its powerful life equalizing ability, Arbiter of Knollridge requires a specific mana arrangement to cast—seven mana including one white. This can be restrictive as it demands a significant white mana presence, potentially limiting the types of decks that can comfortably incorporate this card.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At seven mana, Arbiter of Knollridge falls on the more expensive end of the spectrum. In the faster-paced matches, where time is of the essence, the mana investment needed to play this card can be a severe drawback, especially when there are more mana-efficient alternatives that could fit into a player’s strategy without requiring such a substantial investment.


Reasons to Include Arbiter of Knollridge in Your Collection

Versatility: Arbiter of Knollridge offers a unique flexibility to control decks, with its life equalizing ability potentially resetting the state of the game. It’s a great fit for any collection that favors life-gain strategies or wants an ace up its sleeve in multiplayer battles.

Combo Potential: This card opens up intriguing combo possibilities, pairing well with effects that damage all players or synergizing with cards that benefit from life total changes. Its flashy entrance from the command zone or late in the game can turn the tides in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment bustling with aggressive tactics, Arbiter of Knollridge can serve as a counterbalance. As it can directly influence life totals, it’s a savvy addition if you’re facing decks that attempt to win through quick damage output or life reduction effects.


How to beat

Arbiter of Knollridge is an impactful card that can dramatically swing life totals in MTG. This potent force cannot be underestimated, as its ability extends the game and gives players a second chance when they are on the brink of defeat. To navigate around this powerful lifeline, it is essential to manage the battlefield effectively. Control decks that can counter the Arbiter before it resolves or removal tools to dispatch it quickly before the end of the turn are key.

Another strategy is to focus on reducing your opponent’s life total to zero in a single turn, bypassing the Arbiter’s lifegain trigger. This can be achieved through combos or overwhelming board presence. Alternatively, graveyard-based strategies, which are less reliant on life totals and more on recurring threats, can render the Arbiter’s ability less significant. Remember, timing is crucial; disrupting your opponent’s plans before they can leverage the Arbiter’s full potential will give you the upper hand in the match.

In essence, overcoming the Arbiter requires understanding its mechanics and building a game plan that is either swift and decisive or operates on a different axis altogether. By aligning your deck and strategy accordingly, you can mitigate the Arbiter’s impact and secure your victories.


BurnMana Recommendations

When we consider the intricate dynamics of MTG, Arbiter of Knollridge emerges as a compelling card for its life-total mediating prowess, essential for game-changing moments. It’s an outstanding card for those who thrive in crafting unexpected comebacks or revel in the strategic upheaval of multiplayer encounters. While it does carry a notable casting cost, its ability to sway the tides of battle cannot be overlooked. If you’re on the hunt for cards that can shift the course of a game with just one maneuver or seeking to fortify your life-gain themed decks, delve further into our content. Discover strategies, card interactions, and deck builds that harness the true potential of Arbiter of Knollridge and elevate your MTG play. Set forth on this journey with us for deeper insights and smart gameplay.


Cards like Arbiter of Knollridge

Arbiter of Knollridge is a unique life point manipulator in Magic: The Gathering. A direct comparison can be made with cards like Beacon of Immortality, which also has the potential to dramatically increase a player’s life total. However, Arbiter of Knollridge offers a different approach by equalizing everyone’s life total to the highest current life total, bringing an element of surprise and strategy to the game. Beacon of Immortality instead doubles life points but only for one player, providing a more singular advantage.

Likewise, Reverse the Sands is another card that allows for intricate life point swaps. Albeit it allows players to redistribute life totals in a more controlled manner, the Arbiter impacts the entire table in one swift move without targeting specific players, emphasizing his communal effect. This trade-off between tactical control and broad influence is key when considering the impact of life-total-affecting cards.

In evaluating the varied effects of life altering cards in the game, Arbiter of Knollridge stands out for its capacity to alter the dynamics of a multiplayer game, potentially erasing a player’s effort to whittle down opponents’ life totals with a single, unexpected act.

Beacon of Immortality - MTG Card versions
Reverse the Sands - MTG Card versions
Beacon of Immortality - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Reverse the Sands - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Arbiter of Knollridge MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn and Commander 2011, 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 Arbiter of Knollridge and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Arbiter of Knollridge Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2007-10-12 and 2018-06-08. Illustrated by Brandon Dorman.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-10-12LorwynLRW 22003normalblackBrandon Dorman
22011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 62003normalblackBrandon Dorman
32015-11-13Commander 2015C15 592015normalblackBrandon Dorman
42018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 172015normalblackBrandon Dorman

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Arbiter of Knollridge has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2007-10-01 Abilities that trigger when a player gains life may trigger as a result of this ability.
2007-10-01 In other multiplayer formats, each player’s life total is set to the highest life total within their range of influence. These changes happen at the same time. For example, if each player has a range of influence of one, and the players in the game are Alice (4 life), Barry (8 life), Carrie (11 life), and Doug (7 life), in that order, then Alice’s life total will become 8 and Barry and Doug’s life totals will each become 11.
2010-06-15 In a Two-Headed Giant game, each team chooses one person on that team to gain the appropriate amount of life. This basically means that the triggered ability will set the life total of each team to that of the team with the highest life total.

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