Horn of Plenty MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Artifact
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Number	298
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Brian Despain

Key Takeaways

The Horn of Plenty enables card advantage, ensuring a constant stream of new cards for strategic plays.
Instant speed activation adds tactical depth, allowing crafty responses and advantageous surprise moves.
Resource acceleration through additional card draws leads to faster, more powerful spell casting possibilities.

Text of card

Whenever a player plays a spell, he or she may pay o1. If that player does, he or she draws a card at end of turn.

"This horn is an exact replica of the fabled Horn of Ramos, except mine is more lavish." —Mercadian magistrate

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Horn of Plenty helps MTG players by refilling their hand each time a spell is cast. This constant replenishment can tip the scales of a match by providing a steady flow of options and strategies throughout the game.

Resource Acceleration: When leveraging the Horn of Plenty, a player can experience a surge in resource acceleration. By drawing additional cards on spell casts, players increase their chances of hitting land drops and accessing more mana which, in turn, enables them to play more impactful spells sooner in the match.

Instant Speed: The artifact’s activation at instant speed has another layer of tactical depth to gameplay. This allows players to respond to an opponent’s actions or end-of-turn scenarios, maximizing flexibility and maintaining the element of surprise, which can be pivotal in high-stakes situations.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: When activating Horn of Plenty, having to discard a card could pose a problem when your hand is already running low on valuable cards.

Specific Mana Cost: Equipping Horn of Plenty to your deck means you’re committing to a specialized mana allocation that could potentially disrupt the mana curve and color balance of your deck.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost being on the higher side for its type of effect, players might find alternatives that cost less and fit more smoothly into their deck strategy.

Reasons to Include Horn of Plenty in Your Collection

Versatility: Horn of Plenty is a card that remarkably fits into various deck archetypes. Whether you are running a ramp-heavy deck that needs consistent resources or a creature deck that can benefit from its trigged ability every turn, this artifact has a place.

Combo Potential: This card can be an essential combo piece in machine-gun style decks. Its ability to draw cards each time a player casts a spell can be exploited with cheap spells, chaining them together to draw multiple cards in a single turn.

Meta-Relevance: In the ever-shifting landscape of competitive play, Horn of Plenty holds significance. Decks that focus on spell-slinging or ones that need to dig deep into the library to find key pieces can leverage the consistent draw that this card provides, ensuring it remains relevant.

How to Beat

The Horn of Plenty is an intriguing Magic: The Gathering artifact that might look beneficial, granting card advantage and resource accessibility to its controller. Yet, there are strategies to mitigate its effects or even turn them to your favor. One straightforward method is card removal such as Naturalize or Disenchant which directly destroys artifacts. This can disrupt your opponent’s game plan and leave them with a costly investment that didn’t pay off.

A more strategic move involves countermagic. Counter spells like Negate or Dovin’s Veto can prevent the Horn of Plenty from ever hitting the battlefield. This preemptive approach is suitable for decks that can hold up mana and wait for the perfect moment to act. Alternatively, leveraging discard effects to force the artifact out of your opponent’s hand before they can cast it can be impactful. Thoughtseize and Duress are prime examples of such tactics that lead to resource denial.

Understanding the Horn of Plenty’s mechanism is key. It benefits from card types, hence adjusting your play to minimize the variety of card types you cast can also limit the draw potential of your opponent, making the artifact less daunting. Moreover, always keep an eye for synergy with other cards that can transform its downside into an upside for you.

Cards like Horn of Plenty

Horn of Plenty is an intriguing artifact in Magic: The Gathering that feeds into the theme of resource growth. It shares similarities with other cards that bolster mana availability and card advantage, such as Gilded Lotus. Both amplify mana resources; however, Gilded Lotus provides an immediate and substantial mana influx, whereas Horn of Plenty’s effect builds up gradually over time.

Mirroring Horn of Plenty’s conditional mana generation is the card Mana Flare. It doubles the amount of mana that each player’s lands produce. The difference lies in Mana Flare’s symmetrical effect, which benefits all players, while the Horn of Plenty is more restrained but exclusive to its controller. Then there’s the Cornucopia, another artifact that scales with your investment, offering flexible mana acceleration on par with Horn of Plenty’s incremental growth.

Evaluating the intricacies of each, Horn of Plenty establishes a subtle, continuous engine that can be a cornerstone in decks that thrive on casting numerous spells. In a realm where the right resources can tilt the duel in your favor, Horn of Plenty secures a unique position among MTG artifacts focused on the long game strategy.

Cards similar to Horn of Plenty by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Horn of Plenty MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Horn of Plenty and other MTG cards: