Ajani Steadfast Emblem MTG Card
2014-07-18 - Number 13
2023-08-04 - Number 77
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Type | Emblem — Ajani |
Key Takeaways
- Gain consistent card advantage and bolster your hand each time you cast a spell with the emblem.
- Ajani’s Emblem enhances your permanents’ power, offering instant speed impact and resource acceleration.
- Understanding emblem cons enables better strategy to optimize its powerful late-game effects.
Text of card
If a source would deal damage to you or a planeswalker you control, prevent all but 1 of that damage.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When considering the strategic boon of Ajani Steadfast’s emblem, one immediate benefit is the potential for consistent card advantage. Every time a spell is cast, players gain the opportunity to bolster their hand, cementing their lead with the selection of appropriate cards.
Resource Acceleration: The emblem obtained from Ajani Steadfast can serve as a form of resource acceleration by effectively enhancing the value of all your permanents. With this emblem in play, the defensive strength of your creatures and planeswalkers increases, acting as an indirect way to expedite your game plan.
Instant Speed: Although the emblem itself is a result of a planeswalker’s ability and not cast, the inherent advantage it confers operates much like an enchantment with instant speed impact. Once it is active, the emblem immediately alters the board state without waiting for sorcery speed timing, allowing for sharper and more unforgiving plays.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Leveraging Ajani Steadfast’s emblem effect in your game requires a series of prerequisites that may lean towards discarding valuable cards. This emblem emerges only after using Ajani Steadfast’s ultimate loyalty ability, a process that can become a setback if your hand is already depleting.
Specific Mana Cost: The setup to access Ajani’s emblem hinges on a particular mana cost distribution, including white. Notably, this can hinder the emblem’s incorporation into a multi-colored deck or ones that don’t prioritize white mana – typically seen as a necessity for such a powerful late-game effect.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Ajani Steadfast’s ultimate loyalty ability, which creates the emblem, comes with a comparably high mana cost considering the card’s overall impact. Other planeswalkers or cards may offer more immediate board presence or utility without the steep requirement of achieving an ultimate ability for a lasting effect.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Ajani Steadfast Emblem offers multiple gameplay benefits, enhancing your creatures’ abilities and bolstering your life total, thus integrating seamlessly into a diverse array of decks, particularly those focused on defense and resilience.
Combo Potential: With its power to amplify loyalty abilities of planeswalkers, this emblem serves as a potent combo enabler. It can significantly escalate the effects of various planeswalker abilities, setting the stage for game-changing plays.
Meta-Relevance: Given that planeswalkers consistently play a pivotal role across various MTG metas, holding an Ajani Steadfast Emblem elevates the potency of these integral cards in your arsenal, providing an advantage in numerous competitive settings.
How to beat
The Ajani Steadfast Emblem from Magic: The Gathering is a testament to enduring power, offering an impressive advantage that’s difficult to reverse. Obtaining this emblem through Ajani’s ultimate ability requires a deliberate strategy to conquer. One effective method is by prioritizing the removal of Ajani Steadfast before its loyalty reaches its zenith, preventing its controller from ever achieving the emblem. Counterspells, direct damage spells, or creature combat are formidable tools against this planeswalker.
Should the emblem be activated, adjusting your approach becomes necessary. Incrementing your own life total, focusing on indirect means of victory like milling your opponent, or leveraging alternative win conditions can outpace the emblem’s benefits. Utilizing unorthodox strategies, perhaps favoring cards that incur life loss instead of damage, can neutralize the emblem’s defensive stronghold.
Ultimately, the key lies in preemptive measures and adaptability. By keeping Ajani Steadfast’s loyalty under control and having a versatile deck capable of pivoting its path to victory, you can mitigate the emblem’s impact and maintain the upper hand in your Magic: The Gathering confrontations.
Cards like Ajani Steadfast Emblem
Ajani Steadfast’s emblem is one of the powerful long-term benefits a player can gain in Magic: The Gathering. It mirrors effects found on cards like Elspeth, Knight-Errant’s emblem, which also provides a formidable boost to your creatures and a layer of protection. However, Ajani’s emblem takes it up a notch by increasing the loyalty counters on other planeswalkers you control each time you activate a loyalty ability. This isn’t a feature you’ll find with Elspeth’s emblem.
Looking closely at other options, there’s Sorin, Solemn Visitor, whose emblem creates a constant life gain effect with each creature attack. This generates a different type of advantage but doesn’t interact with planeswalkers the way Ajani’s does. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar also offers an emblem that boosts up your creature army, but it lacks the synergistic multi-planewalker support that makes Ajani Steadfast’s emblem stand out.
Considering these comparisons, Ajani Steadfast’s emblem holds a unique position. It enhances the staying power of your planeswalkers which can be decisive in long games where their abilities turn the tide of battle. Ajani’s emblem is a testament to its strength in a planeswalker-centric strategy in the game.
Cards similar to Ajani Steadfast Emblem by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ajani Steadfast Emblem MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2015 and Commander Masters, 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 Ajani Steadfast Emblem 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
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Printings
The Ajani Steadfast Emblem Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2014-07-18 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Chris Rahn.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014-07-18 | Magic 2015 | M15 | 13 | 2015 | Emblem | Black | Chris Rahn | |
| 2 | 2023-08-04 | Commander Masters | CMM | 77 | 2015 | Emblem | Black | Chris Rahn |
