Safe Passage MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Safe Passage effectively prevents crucial combat damage, maintaining board presence without additional mana costs.
  2. Instant speed enables surprise defense, making it a flexible tool in preserving valuable creatures.
  3. Limited by specific mana costs and potentially high mana investment for one-turn protection.

Text of card

Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you and creatures you control this turn.

With one flap of her wings, the angel beat back the fires of war.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Though not directly providing card draw, Safe Passage efficiently preserves your battlefield presence by preventing damage to creatures you control. This protective measure can maintain or even tilt card advantage in your favor during multi-creature combat scenarios.

Resource Acceleration: While Safe Passage itself doesn’t accelerate resources in terms of mana, it can result in an indirect resource boost. By safeguarding your creatures during a crucial turn, it allows you to sustain a strong board state without needing additional mana investment to replace lost creatures.

Instant Speed: Safe Passage operates at instant speed, offering flexible defensive options. You can navigate the turn with untapped mana, keeping opponents guessing and thwart their battle strategies by casting Safe Passage when most impactful, preserving your strategic assets for future turns.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not a card that demands discard on its own, Safe Passage’s effectiveness could be diminished when facing discard-centric strategies, as it requires holding onto it until the right moment, potentially making it a liability instead of a safeguard.

Specific Mana Cost: Safe Passage needs a precise mana alignment, one colorless and two white, which may not be easily attainable in multicolor or mana-constrained decks, limiting its versatility across various playstyles.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For three mana, Safe Passage offers a one-turn protection from damage, a cost that might be steep given that other protective spells or permanents could provide more continuous or flexible defense options at a similar or even lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include Safe Passage in Your Collection

Versatility: Safe Passage isn’t just restricted to one type of deck. Siding it in against aggressive strategies can be the difference between a loss and a win. It’s useful in any deck that seeks to stall the board and build towards a powerful late game.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key component in combos that aim to create one-sided damage scenarios. Particularly in Commander, it can protect your entire board during pivotal turns, enabling you to safely set up for your own win conditions.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment filled with brutal sweepers and combat tricks, Safe Passage can ensure survival through heavy assault or crucial battle phases. It offers a tactical advantage during games where damage prevention can determine the victor.


How to beat Safe Passage in MTG

When you’re up against Safe Passage in Magic: The Gathering, it’s crucial to plan your strategy around this defensive spell. Safe Passage is known for its ability to prevent all damage that would be dealt to you and creatures you control for a turn, which can utterly disrupt combat outcomes and foil your aggressive moves. To efficiently overcome this obstacle, consider timing your removal spells for before or after your opponent’s use of Safe Passage. Holding off on playing powerful damage-dealing cards until the threat of Safe Passage has passed can be pivotal.

Another effective approach is utilizing non-damage based removal or exile effects that circumvent Safe Passage’s protection. Setting up plays that don’t rely strictly on combat damage ensures that you maintain control over the board state, regardless of combat trickery. It’s also beneficial to play around with counter spells that negate Safe Passage before it’s ever cast, stripping away your opponent’s sense of safety and leaving them vulnerable to your strategic assaults. By outmaneuvering Safe Passage, you retain the upper hand and keep the flow of the game in your favor.


Cards like Safe Passage

Safe Passage stands as a unique protective spell in Magic: The Gathering, reminding players of spells like Make a Stand and Eerie Interlude, which offer protection to creatures. Unlike Make a Stand, which grants indestructibility, Safe Passage prevents all damage to your creatures for a turn. Thus, Safe Passage doesn’t provide the lasting defensive stance that Make a Stand does, but it covers more ground by shielding players from damage as well.

Comparably, Eerie Interlude also aims to protect, but it does so by exiling creatures temporarily. This can avoid damage and trigger beneficial ‘enter the battlefield’ effects upon their return. While Eerie Interlude offers a more versatile defensive strategy, Safe Passage’s immediate blanket of safety can be a game-saver against overwhelming attacks or board-wide damage effects.

Evaluating their place in a strategic lineup, Safe Passage can be an unexpected pivot during critical combat phases or in response to direct damage spells, making it a valuable tool for safeguarding your presence on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering.

Make a Stand - MTG Card versions
Eerie Interlude - MTG Card versions
Make a Stand - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)
Eerie Interlude - Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed (DDQ)

Cards similar to Safe Passage by color, type and mana cost

Reverse Damage - MTG Card versions
Army of Allah - MTG Card versions
Holy Light - MTG Card versions
Morale - MTG Card versions
Blood of the Martyr - MTG Card versions
Piety - MTG Card versions
Martyrdom - MTG Card versions
Harsh Justice - MTG Card versions
Kor Chant - MTG Card versions
Just Fate - MTG Card versions
Waylay - MTG Card versions
Warrior's Honor - MTG Card versions
Radiant's Judgment - MTG Card versions
Abolish - MTG Card versions
Restrain - MTG Card versions
Prismatic Strands - MTG Card versions
Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Protection - MTG Card versions
Generous Gift - MTG Card versions
Oblation - MTG Card versions
Reverse Damage - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Army of Allah - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Holy Light - Masters Edition (ME1)
Morale - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Blood of the Martyr - Chronicles (CHR)
Piety - Renaissance (REN)
Martyrdom - Alliances (ALL)
Harsh Justice - Portal (POR)
Kor Chant - The List (PLST)
Just Fate - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Waylay - Urza's Saga (USG)
Warrior's Honor - Anthologies (ATH)
Radiant's Judgment - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Abolish - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Restrain - Invasion (INV)
Prismatic Strands - Commander 2019 (C19)
Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Teferi's Protection - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Generous Gift - Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander (ONC)
Oblation - Commander 2011 (CMD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Safe Passage MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2010 and Magic 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 Safe Passage and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Safe Passage Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2009-07-17 and 2012-07-13. Illustrated by Christopher Moeller.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-07-17Magic 2010M10 282003normalblackChristopher Moeller
22010-07-16Magic 2011M11 262003normalblackChristopher Moeller
32012-03-30Duel Decks: Venser vs. KothDDI 292003normalblackChristopher Moeller
42012-07-13Magic 2013M13 302003normalblackChristopher Moeller

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Safe Passage has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2009-10-01 Safe Passage doesn’t prevent damage that would be dealt to planeswalkers you control.
2009-10-01 Safe Passage has no effect on damage that’s already been dealt.
2009-10-01 Safe Passage prevents all damage, not just combat damage, that would be dealt to you and creatures you control this turn.
2009-10-01 Safe Passage will prevent damage dealt to creatures that weren’t on the battlefield at the time it resolved.

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