Brave the Elements MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Brave the Elements offers targeted protection, aiding with board preservation and tactical combat moves.
  2. Its instant speed provides real-time defense or offense, enhancing strategic play and versatility.
  3. Effective in creature-heavy white decks to safeguard valuable board positions or to ensure attacks.

Text of card

Choose a color. White creatures you control gain protection from the chosen color until end of turn.

"Trust me, your lost fingers and toes are nothing compared to the lost treasures of Sejiri." —Zahr Gada, Halimar expedition leader


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While ‘Brave the Elements’ does not directly allow you to draw cards, it strategically protects your creatures from targeted removal or enables an unblockable attack, effectively keeping your board presence and maintaining your advantage.

Resource Acceleration: This card doesn’t directly generate mana or accelerate resources in the traditional sense. However, its low cost and the potential to save multiple creatures can preserve the mana and resources spent on building your battlefield, indirectly contributing to resource acceleration by negating the need for re-casting creatures.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast ‘Brave the Elements’ at instant speed offers exceptional tactical flexibility. It can be used defensively to protect your creatures during your opponent’s turn or offensively to ensure a successful attack, potentially turning the tide of the game in your favor.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other protective spells, Brave the Elements doesn’t require you to discard a card, allowing you to maintain card advantage while using it for strategic plays.

Specific Mana Cost: This card has a specific white mana cost which necessitates a dedicated slot in white-aligned decks and can be restrictive for multicolor deck strategies where mana flexibility is key.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although costing only a single white mana, in fast-paced games, the cost of holding mana open for Brave the Elements versus developing the board can be a significant trade-off. Other lower-cost protection options might allow for a more aggressive playstyle.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Brave the Elements is a versatile tool capable of protecting your creatures from spot removals or enabling them to sneak past blockers. This simply makes it an excellent addition to decks that center around White creatures or themes.

Combo Potential: The potential to create combos with this card is noteworthy. It can be a game-clinching play when paired with aggressive White strategies or used in conjunction with cards that benefit from creatures connecting with an opponent.

Meta-Relevance: As certain metagames evolve to prioritize creature-based tactics, Brave the Elements has remained particularly relevant. Its ability to safeguard key creatures or enable a decisive attack can completely alter the momentum in favor of the White deck.


How to beat

Brave the Elements is a key card that offers protection and can turn the tide of battle in Magic: The Gathering. This white instant allows you to choose a color and then grant protection to all creatures you control of that color from the chosen color until the end of the turn. This can make your creatures unblockable by opponents’ creatures of the selected color or protect them from spells or abilities of that color.

To strategically outplay this card, consider using colorless creatures or spells, as Brave the Elements only provides protection from a chosen color, not from colorless sources. Board wipes that don’t target individual creatures or specify a color, like “All is Dust” or “Ugin, the Spirit Dragon” can also bypass the protection granted by Brave the Elements. Another tactic is to wait for the spell to be cast before playing your removal or damage spells, ensuring your opponent doesn’t have the mana to cast Brave the Elements a second time in the turn.

Adapting your approach to handle Brave the Elements can significantly bolster your defense and offense, allowing you to maintain control over the game’s flow and outmaneuver your opponents even when they attempt to shield their army.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the strategic depth of MTG involves not only knowing your cards but also understanding how they interact within the broader context of the game. Brave the Elements excels in moments where board protection is pivotal. Whether you’re looking to fend off targeted spells or claim victory with an unstoppable assault, this card is a must-have for white-centric decks. It’s vital to keep an eye on evolving metagames, which can shift the value of such niche cards. For enthusiasts aiming to refine their strategy and secure a competitive edge, diving deeper into how Brave the Elements impacts gameplay is crucial. Deepen your knowledge with us and expand your MTG prowess.


Cards like Brave the Elements

Brave the Elements is an intriguing strategic tool for players in Magic: The Gathering, carving a niche for itself within the protection spells category. It shares similarities with cards such as Gods Willing, which also grants protection to a single creature. Yet, Brave the Elements distinguishes itself by extending protection to all creatures of a chosen color. While Gods Willing allows scrying and is applicable to any creature, Brave the Elements’ potential to shield a wider swathe of your battlefield can be game-changing.

Unbreakable Formation is another card with comparable protect and buff features, offering indestructibility and a counter boost, but its versatility as a combat trick or main phase enhancement is offset by a higher mana cost. Then we have Eerie Interlude, focusing on evasion rather than direct protection. It exiles any number of target creatures you control, then returns them to the battlefield, effectively dodging numerous threats or harmful effects at once. This, however, is at the temporary cost of board presence.

To sum up, Brave the Elements stands out amongst its peers for its unique ability to protect multiple creatures simultaneously, ensuring that it remains a powerful choice for players looking to safeguard their armies from the myriad threats that lurk within the realms of Magic: The Gathering.

Gods Willing - MTG Card versions
Unbreakable Formation - MTG Card versions
Eerie Interlude - MTG Card versions
Gods Willing - Theros (THS)
Unbreakable Formation - Ravnica Allegiance (RNA)
Eerie Interlude - Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed (DDQ)

Cards similar to Brave the Elements by color, type and mana cost

Death Ward - MTG Card versions
Blaze of Glory - MTG Card versions
Healing Salve - MTG Card versions
Purelace - MTG Card versions
Swords to Plowshares - MTG Card versions
Guardian Angel - MTG Card versions
Righteousness - MTG Card versions
Indestructible Aura - MTG Card versions
Glyph of Life - MTG Card versions
Warning - MTG Card versions
Heal - MTG Card versions
Anoint - MTG Card versions
Reaping the Rewards - MTG Card versions
Rally the Troops - MTG Card versions
Enlightened Tutor - MTG Card versions
Orim's Touch - MTG Card versions
Pollen Remedy - MTG Card versions
Sacred Rites - MTG Card versions
Pay No Heed - MTG Card versions
Path to Exile - MTG Card versions
Death Ward - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Blaze of Glory - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Healing Salve - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Purelace - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Swords to Plowshares - Fallout (PIP)
Guardian Angel - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Righteousness - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Indestructible Aura - Chronicles (CHR)
Glyph of Life - Legends (LEG)
Warning - Ice Age (ICE)
Heal - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Anoint - Tempest (TMP)
Reaping the Rewards - Exodus (EXO)
Rally the Troops - Portal Second Age (P02)
Enlightened Tutor - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Orim's Touch - Invasion (INV)
Pollen Remedy - Planeshift (PLS)
Sacred Rites - The List (PLST)
Pay No Heed - Torment (TOR)
Path to Exile - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Brave the Elements MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Zendikar, 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 Brave the Elements and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Brave the Elements Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 2009-10-02 and 2022-12-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 378572003normalblackKekai Kotaki
22009-10-02ZendikarZEN 42003normalblackGoran Josic
32011-01-01Magic Player Rewards 2011P11 22003normalblackKekai Kotaki
42013-07-19Magic 2014M14 102003normalblackGoran Josic
52014-11-07Commander 2014C14 662015normalblackGoran Josic
62022-12-13Explorer Anthology 2EA2 42015normalblackGoran Josic

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Brave the Elements has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Brave the Elements 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 Only white creatures you control at the time Brave the Elements resolves gain the protection ability. Creatures that come under your control later in the turn, or that turn white later in the turn, won’t have it.
2009-10-01 You choose a color as Brave the Elements resolves. Once the color is chosen, it’s too late for players to respond.

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