Hallowed Moonlight MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Instant
Released	2015-07-17
Set symbol
Set name	Magic Origins
Set code	ORI
Number	16
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Mike Bierek

Key Takeaways

While not a direct draw card, Hallowed Moonlight’s ability to counter nonstandard creature plays provides virtual card advantage.
Its instant speed is crucial, enabling on-the-fly disruption of opponents’ carefully laid plans and combos.
Despite mana specificity and casting cost, its utility in sideboards and against certain metas makes it valuable.

Text of card

Until end of turn, if a creature would enter the battlefield and it wasn't cast, exile it instead. Draw a card.

Creatures of darkness instinctively hide from the light.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hallowed Moonlight may not directly allow you to draw cards, but its ability to prevent opponents from flooding the battlefield with creatures through alternative means acts as a virtual card advantage. It ensures that key plays from your opponent end up negated, keeping the number of threats you face to a minimum.

Resource Acceleration: While Hallowed Moonlight doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it acts as a preventive measure against opponents who rely on using their graveyard or library to cheat creatures into play, therefore slowing them down and keeping the pace of the game to your advantage.

Instant Speed: The power of Hallowed Moonlight comes in its instant speed, allowing you to react swiftly to your opponent’s strategies. It lets you wait until the crucial moment when your opponent attempts to execute a combo or cheat a creature into play, disrupting their plan and maintaining control over the course of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Hallowed Moonlight does not directly require you to discard a card, it could potentially cause you to discard if it’s drawn late game or when it has minimal impact, leading to missed opportunities or resource inefficiencies.

Specific Mana Cost: The need for white mana to cast Hallowed Moonlight can restrict its incorporation into decks, particularly those that do not run white or have a limited mana base, potentially limiting its utility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two mana for a single-use effect that prevents the use of any creatures entering the battlefield that turn, it may not always align with an advantageous cost-to-effect ratio, especially when considered against other options that could permanently alter the game state.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Hallowed Moonlight offers flexibility in deck building by acting as a powerful sideboard card. It can be slotted into various decks that need to counter strategies reliant on creature tokens or graveyard mechanics.

Combo Potential: While primarily disruptive, Hallowed Moonlight has the ability to work with cards that capitalize on an opponent’s failed creature summonings, allowing savvy players to turn a simple countermove into an advantageous play.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where decks that cheat creatures into play or use token generators are prevalent, including Hallowed Moonlight can provide a critical edge. Its potential to disrupt key plays makes it a card worth considering for competitive play.

How to beat

Hallowed Moonlight is a unique and versatile card in Magic: The Gathering, offering players a way to disrupt opponents’ strategy to utilize creature tokens and reanimate tactics. As a card that can nullify the effects of spells or abilities that would put creatures onto the battlefield without being cast, it poses a solid defense against decks that rely heavily on these mechanics.

To effectively counteract Hallowed Moonlight, a player can adjust their strategy to avoid setting off its trigger. This means switching focus towards casting creatures traditionally, investing in noncreature spells, or employing direct removal spells to bypass the card’s effect. Additionally, paying close attention to your opponent’s mana availability and choosing the right moment when they are unable to cast Hallowed Moonlight can also turn the tide in your favor, allowing your creatures to hit the field uninterrupted.

Strategically, sideboarding options can be employed post-game one. Cards like Duress or Thoughtseize can preemptively remove Hallowed Moonlight from an opponent’s hand before it becomes a threat. In essence, understanding the key timings and maintaining adaptability in your playstyle are crucial in gaining the upper hand against this particular card.

Cards like Hallowed Moonlight

Hallowed Moonlight is a unique card within the MTG universe, standing among a niche group of white instant spells that impact creatures entering the battlefield from anywhere other than a player’s hand. While it prevents opponents from cheating creatures into play with cards like Collected Company or Aether Vial, Hallowed Moonlight also serves up an opportunity to draw a card, thereby mildly cushioning your hand.

It shares space with Containment Priest, another card with a similar spirit. Containment Priest doesn’t offer the card draw but permanently exiles any creature that “sneaks” onto the battlefield, providing a more enduring solution. Then, there’s also Grafdigger’s Cage, a colorless option that restricts creatures from entering from graveyards or libraries, and it’s always “on” as an artifact until removed. However, it lacks the surprise element and the bonus draw that Hallowed Moonlight confers.

Overall, Hallowed Moonlight’s ability to hinder unorthodox summoning while also cycling itself into a new card makes it a valuable tool in MTG events where such strategies are prevalent. Its one-time effect can be sufficient to swing the tempo in your favor while keeping your card advantage secure.

Cards similar to Hallowed Moonlight by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hallowed Moonlight MTG card by a specific set like Magic Origins, 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 Hallowed Moonlight and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hallowed Moonlight has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2015-06-22	After Hallowed Moonlight resolves, if a creature token would be put onto the battlefield, it’s put into exile instead and then ceases to exist. Creature tokens are never cast, even if the spell that created them was.
2015-06-22	Hallowed Moonlight won’t affect any creature that was cast, no matter which zone it was cast from and whether or not its mana cost was paid.