Ember Gale MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2008-05-02
Set symbol
Set name	Shadowmoor
Set code	SHM
Number	91
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Steve Prescott

Key Takeaways

Ember Gale grants card advantage by replacing itself in hand, pivotal for maintaining strategic options.
Its instant speed allows for adaptable and surprising plays, disrupting opponents effectively.
While versatile within red archetypes, its specific mana cost can limit deck integration.

Text of card

Creatures target player controls can't block this turn. Ember Gale deals 1 damage to each white and/or blue creature that player controls.

"Terrible wind. It whipped sparks into our skin, then stoked them even hotter!" —Bowen, Barrenton guardcaptain

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ember Gale not only impacts the board by potentially removing threats but also replaces itself by drawing a card. This helps in keeping your hand filled with options, a crucial aspect in outmaneuvering opponents.

Resource Acceleration: While Ember Gale doesn’t directly produce resources, the ability to clear a path for your creatures can lead to accelerated damage and pressure against opponents, effectively hastening your win condition.

Instant Speed: The power of Ember Gale is amplified by its instant speed nature, providing flexibility to disrupt your opponent’s strategy at the most opportune time. This feature allows you to efficiently manage your resources while keeping the element of surprise on your side.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ember Gale requires players to discard a card to activate certain abilities. This can lead to a decrease in hand advantage, making it challenging if you’re already behind on cards or if you need to maintain specific cards in your hand for strategic purposes.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Ember Gale includes red mana, which restricts its integration exclusively to red or multicolored decks. Players running decks without red mana sources will find it impossible to use this card, therefore limiting its versatility across different deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost demanding a significant investment of resources, Ember Gale competes with other spells at the same mana range that may provide more immediate or impactful effects. This can often result in Ember Gale being a less appealing option when building a deck, especially in formats where mana efficiency is crucial for a deck’s performance.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ember Gale is an adaptable card that can be integrated into numerous deck archetypes. Its capacity to disrupt opponents’ plays while offering a defensive buffer makes it a valuable addition to any player’s arsenal.

Combo Potential: This card can be a linchpin in combinations, particularly in decks that capitalize on tapping or untapping creatures. It also opens up avenues for cards that benefit from opponents’ creatures being unable to block.

Meta-Relevance: Given its nature to skew combat phases in your favor, Ember Gale holds its ground in metas where creature-based strategies dominate. This card allows you to stay ahead on the board and dictate the pace of interactions.

How to beat

Ember Gale presents a fiery challenge on the battlefield with its ability to push through for significant damage in the late game. As avid MTG enthusiasts, we know the best counter strategies can pivot a game. The key to subduing Ember Gale lies in understanding its mechanics; it forces tapped creatures to stay put, restricting your opponents’ defensive capabilities. To outplay this, it’s crucial to manage the timing of your creature’s exertions. Hold back on tapping them unnecessarily and focus on summoning creatures with vigilance who remain untapped as they attack.

Another strategy is to keep instant speed removal spells in hand. This gives you the power to react swiftly, taking out key creatures before Ember Gale can fully impact the game state. Similarly, countering Ember Gale with negation spells nullifies the threat before it can even begin. Last but not least, don’t overlook the advantage of enchantment removal cards. They can efficiently dismantle problematic cards like Ember Gale, allowing your strategies to unfold unimpeded.

Ultimately, outmaneuvering Ember Gale requires a blend of strategic patience, precise card choice, and reactive play. By keeping a cool head and playing smartly around its constraints, players can mitigate its impact and maintain control over the game.

Cards like Ember Gale

Ember Gale presents itself as a versatile tool for red mages in Magic: The Gathering, finding parallels with other cards that control the battlefield tempo. It bears likeness to the classic Pyroclasm for its potential to clear multiple creatures off the board with its area-of-effect damage. Both can be crucial in tilting the scales of a game where the board is crowded with small creatures. Yet, Ember Gale offers an edge with its ability to prevent those creatures from blocking.

When we consider cards like Electrickery, the comparison intensifies. Electrickery can also deal damage to multiple creatures, but it’s more restrictive, impacting only creatures with one toughness unless its overload cost is paid. Ember Gale, conversely, does not discriminate on toughness and includes the additional benefit of block prevention. Another comparison can be drawn with Blazing Volley, which, like Ember Gale, damages all enemy creatures, however, it falls short by lacking the strategic component of affecting combat.

Assessing Ember Gale alongside its counterparts, we see it as a particularly effective spell in red decks aiming to maintain offensive momentum and manipulate combat dynamics, standing out for its dual functionality in creature control and combat manipulation.

Cards similar to Ember Gale by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ember Gale MTG card by a specific set like Shadowmoor, 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 Ember Gale and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ember Gale has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-05-01	Ember Gale will deal damage only to white and/or blue creatures the targeted player controls at the time it resolves. However, it will prevent all creatures that player controls from blocking that turn, even if those creatures enter the battlefield later.