Spiritual Asylum MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	2000-02-14
Set symbol
Set name	Nemesis
Set code	NEM
Number	23
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Matt Cavotta

Key Takeaways

Spiritual Asylum offers board-wide protection, crucial for safeguarding non-creature permanents against targeting threats.
While not directly increasing mana, preserving permanents indirectly accelerates resource stability.
The card’s protective capability is a strategic tool, hampered by a steep mana investment and hand sacrifices.

Text of card

Creatures and lands you control can't be the target of spells or abilities. When a creature you control attacks, sacrifice Spiritual Asylum.

Trapped in safety is still trapped.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Spiritual Asylum offers a unique type of card advantage in the form of protection. It safeguards all your non-creature permanents from being the targets of spells or abilities, allowing you to retain critical components of your deck unscathed.

Resource Acceleration: While Spiritual Asylum does not directly produce additional mana or tokens, by preventing your resources from being destroyed or targeted, it effectively acts as a form of acceleration because you maintain access to your lands and other permanents and can continue to develop your board without setbacks.

Instant Speed: Though Spiritual Asylum isn’t an instant, its blanket protection can be strategically equivalent. You have the ability to cast it at a moment that is most detrimental to your opponent’s plans, particularly in response to a widespread destruction event or targeted removals, ensuring an unanticipated preservation of your key assets.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Spiritual Asylum necessitates the sacrifice of critical hand cards to maintain your creatures and enchantments safe from harm, posing a dilemma when your hand is already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting demands, which include both white mana and generic mana, make it less flexible and might strain mana bases not tailored to accommodate such requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a four mana investment to activate its protective abilities, players might find the initial setup cost steep, especially when faced with faster-paced games where efficiency is paramount.

Reasons to Include Spiritual Asylum in Your Collection

Versatility: Spiritual Asylum offers protection for your creatures and enchantments, shielding them from targeted spells or effects that could lead to their destruction. This broad-ranging safeguard can be pivotal in various deck types that favor long-term plays or rely heavily on key permanents.

Combo Potential: This card fits seamlessly into decks that utilize a lot of enter-the-battlefield effects or require complex setups. By protecting the components of your combo until you’re ready to execute, Spiritual Asylum ensures that your strategy can be deployed without interruption.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where single-target removal or enchantment destruction is prevalent, Spiritual Asylum provides an essential layer of defense. It keeps your valuable creatures and enchantments in play longer, allowing you to outpace opponents relying on removal to disrupt your board.

How to beat

Spiritual Asylum is a unique card within MTG that offers your creatures and lands immunity from being the targets of spells or abilities. This protection can be pivotal in maintaining board presence against targeted removal. However, the card’s downside is that it prevents your creatures from attacking, which can hamstring your offensive capabilities.

Overcoming the protections afforded by Spiritual Asylum requires a few strategic shifts. Board wipes that don’t target, like Wrath of God, can effectively clear creatures protected by the Asylum. Similarly, using mass bounce spells such as Cyclonic Rift sidestep the targeting restriction entirely. It’s also worth noting enchantment removal spells like Disenchant don’t target creatures or lands, and can thus directly remove the Asylum itself without needing to break through its protective barrier.

Ultimately, while Spiritual Asylum can pose a significant challenge, employing non-targeting board control measures and focusing on removing the enchantment itself are effective tactics. By adapting your play style to the constraints imposed by Spiritual Asylum, you can dismantle your opponent’s defenses and turn the tide of the game.

Cards like Spiritual Asylum

Spiritual Asylum is an intriguing enchantment in the world of MTG, offering protection to your creatures and lands from being the targets of spells or abilities. In this aspect, it might remind players of the card Greater Auramancy, which also shields your enchantments by granting them shroud. However, Spiritual Asylum extends this safeguarding coverage beyond just enchantments, providing a shelter for all your permanents, albeit with the drawback that those creatures can’t attack.

Another comparable card is Sterling Grove, which not only gives other enchantments you control shroud but also provides a utility to search your library for an enchantment card. Despite its lower mana cost, Sterling Grove doesn’t protect your creatures or lands, which is a significant strategic consideration. Asceticism is also worth mentioning, as it grants your creatures hexproof and the ability to regenerate, allowing for a more aggressive playstyle compared to the passive defense of Spiritual Asylum.

Comparing these options, we realize that Spiritual Asylum has a unique niche, providing a blanket of safety that is unmatched, despite limiting offensive capabilities. For players valuing defense or seeking to secure key board positions, it can be an essential component in the right deck build within MTG.

Cards similar to Spiritual Asylum by color, type and mana cost

Divine Transformation - MTG Card versions

Diversionary Tactics - MTG Card versions

Teleportation Circle - MTG Card versions

Conversion - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)

Divine Transformation - Renaissance (REN)

Teleportation Circle - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Promos (PAFR)

Hallowed Haunting - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Spiritual Asylum MTG card by a specific set like Nemesis, 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 Spiritual Asylum and other MTG cards: