Blessed Alliance MTG Card
2016-07-22 - Number 13
2023-03-21 - Number 14
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Instant |
| Abilities | Escalate |
Key Takeaways
- Versatility in modes allows for strategic plays, including life gain, untapping creatures, and forced sacrifices.
- Instant speed provides a strong defensive option and disrupts opponent’s combat strategies abruptly.
- Mana cost can be restrictive, but the card’s utility can outweigh the deck-building constraints it imposes.
Text of card
Escalate (Pay this cost for each mode chosen beyond the first.) Choose one or more — • Target player gains 4 life. • Untap up to two target creatures. • Target opponent sacrifices an attacking creature.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Blessed Alliance offers multiple modes that provide versatility and the potential for card advantage. Players can force an opponent to untap creatures they control, gain life, or make an opponent sacrifice an attacking creature, often leading to advantageous exchanges.
Resource Acceleration: Although Blessed Alliance doesn’t directly accelerate resources, the ability to untap up to two target creatures can be pivotal in maintaining board presence and maximizing your mana efficiency, indirectly leading to accelerated resource utilization.
Instant Speed: The power of Blessed Alliance is magnified by its instant speed, allowing players to respond adaptively to an opponent’s actions. This can disrupt an opponent’s strategy, provide surprise blocks, or affect combat outcomes unpredictably, which can be a decisive factor in a game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Although Blessed Alliance doesn’t have a discard requirement, it’s important to mention for balance that reliance on specific cards can lead to strategic disadvantages if they become unusable or if your hand is forced empty.
Specific Mana Cost: Blessed Alliance comes with a white mana cost that may not seamlessly fit into decks without a strong white mana base, potentially limiting its inclusion to only white or white-splashed decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an escalating mana cost for its multiple effects, Blessed Alliance can become expensive. While versatile, other cards may provide similar effects or greater flexibility at a lower mana cost, which is essential for deck efficiency.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Blessed Alliance offers a wide range of options, fitting seamlessly into various control or midrange decks. Its flexible casting cost also allows players to adapt to many situations, whether it’s gaining life, untapping creatures, or compelling an opponent to sacrifice an attacking creature.
Combo Potential: This card is a utility player in many combos, particularly in decks that synergize with lifegain or require a sudden untap to respond to threats or to surprise opponents with an unexpected blocker.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta heavy with aggressive creature decks, Blessed Alliance shines by providing a crucial swing in life totals and board control. Its ability to target players can disrupt strategies reliant on singular, powerful attackers.
How to beat
Blessed Alliance is an intriguing instant card from Magic: The Gathering that offers flexibility and unexpected defensive capabilities to players. This card sets itself apart by being able to untap creatures, gain life, or force an opponent to sacrifice an attacking creature. One way to neutralize its impact is to limit your attacks, forcing the Blessed Alliance player to use the card suboptimally. Timing is also critical; by baiting out the card when its impact would be minimal or when you have the resources to recoup your losses, you can lessen its effectiveness.
Another strategy is to maintain awareness of your opponent’s open mana and potential bluffing. Blessed Alliance costs two mana, including one white, so if your opponent has mana untapped and cards in hand, it’s prudent to consider the possibility that they might be holding onto this card. Finally, remember that Blessed Alliance can be a blowout in multiplayer scenarios, so articulate attacks in such situations or have a plan to deal with the sudden shift in battlefield presence it can cause.
Ultimately, planning, calculated risks, and an understanding of your opponent’s potential responses are your best tools in rendering Blessed Alliance less of a threat in the game. By doing so, you maintain control and push through its defenses effectively.
Cards like Blessed Alliance
Blessed Alliance is an intriguing multi-modal instant in Magic: The Gathering, offering players a suite of options. It closely resembles cards like Healing Salve, which can prevent damage or restore life, yet Blessed Alliance provides additional versatility with choices such as untapping creatures or making an opponent sacrifice an attacking creature. This strategic flexibility can outmaneuver opponents in ways Healing Salve cannot.
Comparably, Celestial Flare serves a similar purpose requiring an opponent to sacrifice an attacking or blocking creature. Although it shares the sacrifice element, Blessed Alliance’s potential to untap multiple creatures or gain life without the constraint of targeting only attacking or blocking creatures sets it apart. It grants a wider range of defensive tactics and lifegain opportunities.
Wing Shards is another card that forces sacrifice upon an attacking creature but is limited to storm mechanic to multiply its effect. Blessed Alliance doesn’t rely on other spells being cast beforehand to maximize its potential, illustrating its standalone strength.
When considering the adaptability and immediate impact Blessed Alliance can have in a match, it shines in comparison to its counterparts, positioning itself as a valuable tool in a player’s arsenal for dealing with a variety of combat scenarios.
Cards similar to Blessed Alliance by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Blessed Alliance MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Shadows over Innistrad Remastered, 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 Blessed Alliance and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Blessed Alliance Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Johann Bodin.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-07-22 | Eldritch Moon | EMN | 13 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Johann Bodin | |
| 2 | 2023-03-21 | Shadows over Innistrad Remastered | SIR | 14 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Johann Bodin |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Blessed Alliance has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Blessed Alliance card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2016-07-13 | Additional costs don’t affect a spell’s mana value. |
| 2016-07-13 | Effects that reduce the cost of spells reduce the total cost, including any escalate costs added. |
| 2016-07-13 | If an effect allows you to cast a spell that has escalate without paying its mana cost, you pay escalate costs for that spell if you choose more than one mode. |
| 2016-07-13 | If one target of an escalate spell becomes illegal, the other targets will still be affected. If all of the targets become illegal, the spell won’t resolve. |
| 2016-07-13 | If two of the chosen modes of an escalate spell target a creature, you may choose the same creature for each mode’s target, or choose different creatures. The same is true if the chosen modes target a player (or opponent). |
| 2016-07-13 | The targeted opponent chooses which of their attacking creatures to sacrifice, not you. |
| 2016-07-13 | Untapping an attacking creature doesn’t cause it to be removed from combat. |
| 2016-07-13 | You can’t choose any one mode multiple times. |
| 2016-07-13 | You choose all of your modes at once. You can’t wait to perform one mode’s actions and then decide to choose more modes. |
