Athreos, Shroud-Veiled MTG Card
2020-01-24 - Number 269
2002-06-24 - Number 79979
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Mythic |
| Type | Legendary Enchantment Creature — God |
| Abilities | Indestructible |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 7 |
Key Takeaways
- Athreos enables control and card advantage through coin counter creature revival, influencing battlefield dynamics.
- Though requiring setup, Athreos provides resource acceleration and can recover creatures with cost-reducing abilities.
- Employing a strategic defense against Athreos includes exile removals, countering abilities, and managing graveyard interactions.
Text of card
Indestructible As long as your devotion to white and black is less than seven, Athreos isn't a creature. At the beginning of your end step, put a coin counter on another target creature. Whenever a creature with a coin counter on it dies or is put into exile, return that card to the battlefield under your control.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Athreos Shroud-Veiled’s ability to put coin counters on creatures not only offers a means of indirect control over the battlefield but also secures a potential future card advantage. Whenever a creature with a coin counter dies, it returns under your control, effectively replenishing your resources and depriving your opponent at the same time.
Resource Acceleration: While Athreos itself doesn’t directly generate mana or treasures, the act of reclaiming creatures can be seen as a form of resource acceleration. By regaining creatures that may have mana abilities or other cost-reducing effects, Athreos helps maintain a strong board presence and can indirectly influence your ability to cast more spells or activate abilities sooner.
Instant Speed: Although Athreos’s ability isn’t an instant, its triggered ability can be likened to working at instant speed since it activates whenever a creature dies. This makes Athreos an ever-present threat that opponents must consider when planning attacks or removal, as any creature’s death could immediately bolster your side of the battlefield, often catching opponents off guard.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Unlike other influencing factors in a game of Magic, Athreos Shroud-Veiled necessitates a particular setup to fully capitalize on its ability. To make the most of it, you may need to let go of valuable creatures, a trade-off that some players find less than ideal, especially if their hand is already dwindling.
Specific Mana Cost: This legendary enchantment creature comes with a very specific Orzhov mana cost that can strain your mana base. To play it effectively, you need both white and black mana sources in play, which can be limiting for decks that want to keep their mana options open or operate on a quicker curve.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an investment of six mana to bring Athreos onto the battlefield, it stands on the higher end of the curve. In fast-paced metagames, spending such a significant amount of mana might mean falling behind opponents who are utilizing more efficient creatures or spells quicker. This can be a substantial setback, particularly if Athreos is dealt with swiftly, negating your heavy expenditure.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Athreos, Shroud-Veiled offers a wide-reaching effect that can be a game-changer in a variety of Commander decks. Its ability to bring creatures back under your control can be pivotal, regardless of the archetype you’re playing.
Combo Potential: With Athreos on the battlefield, you can set up multiple combinations that take advantage of creatures dying and returning. This synergizes exceptionally well with sacrifice or ETB – “enter the battlefield” – strategies, allowing for repeated value from your creature cards.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where removals are prevalent, Athreos can keep your critical creatures on the board. This added resilience against opponents’ strategies contributes significantly to your deck’s staying power and can tip the scales in your favor.
How to Beat Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
Athreos, Shroud-Veiled is a compelling legendary enchantment creature in the game, known for its ability to bring back creatures from the graveyard. This card’s coin counter mechanic lets you regain control of your creatures that die and can be particularly challenging to play against. To effectively counter this, focus on removal spells that exile rather than destroy, as this bypasses Athreos’s ability. Moreover, employing graveyard hate cards that continually clear graveyards can prevent Athreos from becoming a recurring problem.
Additionally, consider running counter spells to stop Athreos or its ability from hitting the board in the first place. Manage your resources to keep pressure on an Athreos player and deny them the opportunity to take full advantage of their strategy. Lastly, don’t overlook the power of board wipes that force multiple creatures to perish simultaneously, potentially overwhelming the Athreos player’s ability to retrieve them all.
By understanding Athreos, Shroud-Veiled’s strengths and employing these tactics, you stand a good chance of maintaining dominance over a player using this card and keeping your strategy on the course to victory.
BurnMana Recommendations
Dive deeper into the realm of MTG strategy and enhance your gameplay with Athreos Shroud-Veiled as your trump card. Its unique abilities bring creativity and tactical depth to the battlefield, revitalizing your deck with the prospect of regained creatures and thwarting opponents with cunning resurrection plays. As you craft your deck and ponder your next move, consider the strengths and nuances Athreos offers. For players yearning for an edge in creature-focused strategies or seeking comprehensive insights into formidable combos, visit us for in-depth guides, tips, and expert advice to refine your decks and sharpen your skills for the ultimate conquest.
Cards like Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
Athreos Shroud-Veiled, a formidable card from the Theros Beyond Death set, aligns itself with the likes of Teysa Karlov from the Ravnica Allegiance expansion. Both are influential in decks that capitalize on creatures dying and reanimating. While Athreos has an imposing presence with a unique coin counter mechanic that reclaims creatures after they die, Teysa doubles the value of death triggers, but doesn’t provide a way to ensure creatures return to the battlefield.
Another comparable card is Meren of Clan Nel Toth from Commander 2015. Meren offers a consistent creature recursion each end step based on experience counters, but lacks the protective versatility of Athreos’ ability to preemptively mark creatures for return. In comparison to Athreos, Meren requires building experience to become truly effective, whereas Athreos protects immediately. Animating another strategy is Karador, Ghost Chieftain, enabling the casting of creatures from the graveyard, whereas Athreos’ return trigger is passive and requires no additional mana.
Assessing the unique strategies these commanders offer, Athreos Shroud-Veiled stands out with its direct and robust method of creature control and return mechanism, making it a distinct powerhouse in commander-centric decks that focus on creature recursion.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Athreos, Shroud-Veiled MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Theros Beyond Death, 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 Athreos, Shroud-Veiled and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Athreos, Shroud-Veiled Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-01-24 and 2020-01-24. Illustrated by Igor Kieryluk.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 79979 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Igor Kieryluk | ||
| 2 | 2020-01-24 | Theros Beyond Death | THB | 269 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Igor Kieryluk |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Athreos, Shroud-Veiled has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Athreos, Shroud-Veiled card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-01-24 | As a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color will determine whether any replacement effects that affect creatures entering the battlefield apply to that God. Because replacement effects are considered before the God is on the battlefield, the mana symbols in its mana cost won’t be counted when determining this. |
| 2020-01-24 | Colorless and generic mana symbols (, , , , , and so on) in mana costs of permanents you control don’t count toward your devotion to any color. |
| 2020-01-24 | Counters put on a God remain on it while it’s not a creature, even if they have no effect. |
| 2020-01-24 | Hybrid mana symbols, monocolored hybrid mana symbols, and Phyrexian mana symbols do count toward your devotion to their color(s). |
| 2020-01-24 | If Athreos and a creature with a coin counter on it are both put into graveyards and/or exiled at the same time, the other creature will be returned to the battlefield. |
| 2020-01-24 | If Athreos leaves the battlefield, creatures with coin counters on them keep them. The counters won’t have any meaning or effect unless another Athreos is on the battlefield later. |
| 2020-01-24 | If Athreos somehow gets a coin counter on itself, its last ability will return it when it dies or is exiled. |
| 2020-01-24 | If a God is attacking or blocking and it stops being a creature, it will be removed from combat. It won’t rejoin combat if it resumes being a creature later during that combat. |
| 2020-01-24 | If a God stops being a creature, it loses the type creature and the creature type God. It continues to be a legendary enchantment. |
| 2020-01-24 | If a creature with a coin counter on it is put into a graveyard or exile but leaves that zone before Athreos’s last ability resolves, that card stays in its new zone, even if that zone is also a graveyard or exile. You don’t return it to the battlefield. |
| 2020-01-24 | If a creature with a coin counter on it stops being a creature, it keeps its coin counter, but Athreos’s last ability won’t trigger when that permanent dies or is exiled unless it’s a creature again by that time. |
| 2020-01-24 | If a creature you don’t own has a coin counter on it, that permanent will return to the battlefield under your control when it dies or is exiled while you control Athreos. In a multiplayer game, if a player leaves the game, all cards that player owns leave as well. If you leave the game, any creatures you control from Athreos’s ability are exiled. |
| 2020-01-24 | If a token with a coin counter on it dies or is exiled, Athreos’s last ability triggers, but won’t return it to the battlefield. |
| 2020-01-24 | If an activated ability or triggered ability has an effect that depends on your devotion to a color, you count the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents you control as the ability resolves. The permanent with that ability will be counted if it’s still on the battlefield at that time. |
| 2020-01-24 | If an effect causes a God to lose all abilities, its ability that causes it to stop being a creature still applies if appropriate. |
| 2020-01-24 | If an effect exiles a creature with a coin counter on it and immediately returns it to the battlefield, Athreos’s last ability triggers but will have no effect. If an effect exiles a creature with a coin counter on it and would return it to the battlefield at a later time, Athreos’s last ability will return that card to the battlefield and it won’t be returned later. |
| 2020-01-24 | If you put an Aura on an opponent’s permanent, you still control the Aura, and mana symbols in its mana cost count towards your devotion. |
| 2020-01-24 | In a two-player game, if both players control an Athreos when a creature with a coin counter on it dies, the nonactive player (the one whose turn it isn’t) will return the creature under their control. If that happens in a multiplayer game, the nonactive player closest to the right of the player whose turn it is will return the creature under their control. |
| 2020-01-24 | Mana symbols in the text boxes of permanents you control don’t count toward your devotion to any color. |
| 2020-01-24 | The abilities of Gods function as long as they’re on the battlefield, regardless of whether they’re creatures. |
| 2020-01-24 | The creature returns to the battlefield without a coin counter on it. |
| 2020-01-24 | The type-changing ability that can make a God not be a creature functions only on the battlefield. It’s always a creature card in other zones, regardless of your devotion to its color. It’s always a creature spell while it’s on the stack. |
| 2020-01-24 | When a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color (including the mana symbols in the mana cost of the God itself) will determine if a creature entered the battlefield or not for abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield. |
| 2020-01-24 | Your devotion to two colors is the number of mana symbols among mana costs of permanents you control that are the first color, the second, or both. If an effect counts your devotion to two colors, a hybrid symbol that is both of those colors is counted just once. |
