Kirtar's Desire MTG Card


Kirtar's Desire - Odyssey
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant,Threshold
Released2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set nameOdyssey
Set codeODY
Number27
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byPete Venters

Key Takeaways

  1. Slows opponents early on, indirectly leading to card advantage and controlled board states.
  2. Preserves resources like life and mana, allowing for flexibility and strategic spell casting.
  3. Adaptable with its flash-like madness ability, responding to threats at instant speed.

Text of card

Enchanted creature can't attack. Threshold Enchanted creature can't block. (You have threshold as long as seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Kirtar’s Desire is well-suited to slow down your opponent’s early game creatures and can potentially strand cards in your opponent’s hand, leading to an indirect card advantage. By limiting their offensive options, you maintain a more controlled board state.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing resource acceleration, Kirtar’s Desire allows you to preserve your life total and other resources by neutralizing a threat without spending additional mana later in the game. This saving can accelerate your game plan by freeing up mana for other spells and abilities.

Instant Speed: Given that Kirtar’s Desire is an enchantment, its instant-like flash ability when cast using its madness mechanic gives it an edge, allowing you to respond to threats unexpectedly. This adaptability is especially valuable in formats where timing is crucial to success.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Kirtar’s Desire may seem lightweight, but it carries the opportunity cost of being slotted into your deck over other options. Each card counts and if this enchantment doesn’t align with your strategy, its presence could be more of a restriction than a boon.

Specific Mana Cost: This Aura requires white mana, which can be a hurdle in multicolored decks that may not prioritize white sources. In such cases, drawing Kirtar’s Desire at an inopportune moment could disrupt your mana curve and delay more impactful plays.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While only costing a single white mana might appear economical, it’s imperative to consider the card’s overall impact. Some players find that investing even that minimal resource into an effect that simply prevents a creature from attacking – without dealing with the creature itself – can be a strategic misstep when more comprehensive solutions are available.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Kirtar’s Desire is a low-cost enchantment that can be slotted into numerous deck archetypes. Its ability to tap a target creature adds tactical advantage whether you’re running control strategies or simply need to neutralize key threats on the board.

Combo Potential: As a cheap Aura, Kirtar’s Desire works well in synergy with cards that capitalize on enchantments entering the battlefield, or those that benefit from having a high count of enchantments, such as ethereal armor.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta dominated by creature-based decks, the ability to incapacitate opponent creatures at a low mana cost can be crucial. This makes Kirtar’s Desire an effective sideboard card particularly in environments where disabling potential blockers or attackers can turn the tide of the game.


How to beat

Kirtar’s Desire is an enchantment aura that, upon hitting the battlefield, can sideline your creatures by preventing them from attacking. Its low cost and Flashback ability make it a handy tool for control strategies in MTG. The key to outmaneuver Kirtar’s Desire lies in versatile removal spells or abilities that can target enchantments, such as Naturalize or Disenchant. These allow you to eliminate Kirtar’s Desire directly, freeing your creatures to partake in combat once more.

Another method is to prioritize creatures with abilities that function beyond mere attack declarations, such as tapping for an effect or offering static benefits to your board state. This way, even when they’re disabled from attacking by Kirtar’s Desire, they can still contribute to your game plan. Additionally, playing around Kirtar’s Desire by baiting your opponent to use it inopportunely can set them back, wasting their resources on less critical targets. Always remember, outpacing their available mana can also render Kirtar’s Desire less effective, allowing your barrage of threats to overwhelm their defenses.

In summary, Kirtar’s Desire poses a low threat in most games if properly anticipated and with the right answers at hand. Managing your threats and being adaptable with your strategy can ensure this enchantment doesn’t derail your path to victory.


Cards like Kirtar's Desire

Kirtar’s Desire is a white aura spell that appeals to players looking to control opponents’ creatures without investing heavily in mana. Like Kirtar’s Desire, Pacifism is another aura that restricts creatures from attacking or blocking. However, Kirtar’s Desire goes a step further by only allowing the creature to be blocked if its controller has a threshold of seven or more cards in the graveyard.

Bonds of Faith is another card worth comparing to Kirtar’s Desire, as it offers versatility. It can either buff a Human creature or act as a control measure against non-Human creatures, similar to how Kirtar’s Desire suppresses creature abilities. On the other hand, Ethereal Armor grants not only a power boost but also the all-important first strike ability based on the number of enchantments controlled, which highlights a more aggressive strategy compared to Kirtar’s Desire’s defensive nature.

When evaluating these options, Kirtar’s Desire finds its strength as a tactical play for early game advantage, especially in decks aiming to fulfill graveyard threshold conditions quickly. Its lower mana cost and additional threshold effect make it unique among enchantment control cards.

Pacifism - MTG Card versions
Bonds of Faith - MTG Card versions
Ethereal Armor - MTG Card versions
Pacifism - Mirage (MIR)
Bonds of Faith - Innistrad (ISD)
Ethereal Armor - Return to Ravnica (RTR)

Cards similar to Kirtar's Desire by color, type and mana cost

White Ward - MTG Card versions
Green Ward - MTG Card versions
Holy Strength - MTG Card versions
Lance - MTG Card versions
Consecrate Land - MTG Card versions
Animate Wall - MTG Card versions
Black Ward - MTG Card versions
Holy Armor - MTG Card versions
Blue Ward - MTG Card versions
Land Tax - MTG Card versions
Brainwash - MTG Card versions
Green Scarab - MTG Card versions
Blue Scarab - MTG Card versions
Spirit Link - MTG Card versions
Armor of Faith - MTG Card versions
Kithkin Armor - MTG Card versions
Flickering Ward - MTG Card versions
Limited Resources - MTG Card versions
Mask of Law and Grace - MTG Card versions
Shield of Duty and Reason - MTG Card versions
White Ward - Revised Edition (3ED)
Green Ward - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Holy Strength - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Lance - Revised Edition (3ED)
Consecrate Land - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Animate Wall - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Black Ward - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Holy Armor - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Blue Ward - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Land Tax - Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting Tales (WOT)
Brainwash - The Dark (DRK)
Green Scarab - Ice Age (ICE)
Blue Scarab - Ice Age (ICE)
Spirit Link - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Armor of Faith - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Kithkin Armor - Weatherlight (WTH)
Flickering Ward - Tempest (TMP)
Limited Resources - Exodus (EXO)
Mask of Law and Grace - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Shield of Duty and Reason - Apocalypse (APC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Kirtar's Desire MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Kirtar's Desire and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Kirtar's Desire has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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