Hopeful Eidolon MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment Creature — Spirit
Abilities	Bestow,Lifelink
Released	2013-09-27
Set symbol
Set name	Theros
Set code	THS
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	19
Frame	2003
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Min Yum

Key Takeaways

Dual function as a creature or enchantment provides significant card advantage and strategic depth.
Lifelink ability helps maintain resource resilience, vital for sustaining board presence in tight matchups.
While not instant, the Bestow ability adds surprise lifelink during combat, potentially swaying the game.

Text of card

Bestow (If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.) Lifelink (Damage dealt by this creature also causes you to gain that much life.) Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has lifelink.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hopeful Eidolon offers dual functionality as both an enchantment and a creature. When used as a Bestow enchantment, it can lead to potential two-for-one scenarios, effectively providing card advantage if your opponent removes the augmented creature.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly serving as resource acceleration, the lifelink ability on Hopeful Eidolon can contribute to a more resilient board state, indirectly allowing for a preservation of resources by gaining life with each attack, which can be crucial in race situations.

Instant Speed: The flexibility offered by Hopeful Eidolon lies in its Bestow feature. While not at instant speed itself, it can be bestowed onto an unblocked attacker during the declare blockers step, catching an opponent by surprise and creating unanticipated lifelink opportunities. This can turn the tides of a game, providing immediate impact similar to instant speed interactions.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hopeful Eidolon can be a dead draw in the late game when your hand is nearly empty, making its Bestow cost difficult to justify without a discard mechanic in play to mitigate this disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Hopeful Eidolon requires white mana to cast or Bestow. This necessity can limit deck-building options, as incorporating it into multicolor decks may require a tailored mana base to ensure consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering its Bestow cost of four mana, Hopeful Eidolon may not be the most mana-efficient enchantment creature available. There are other creatures and auras which could provide a similar lifelink ability or better stats for the same, if not lower, mana investment.

Reasons to Include Hopeful Eidolon in Your Collection

Versatility: Hopeful Eidolon isn’t just a simple creature; it’s an enchantment creature with the Bestow mechanic, allowing it to either be cast as a creature or attached as an Aura to enhance another creature. This dual nature gives it great flexibility in both aggressive and defensive roles.

Combo Potential: This card becomes an asset when paired with creatures that benefit from enchantments. Thanks to its Lifelink ability, it can turn any creature into a source of life-gain, crucial for outlasting opponents in prolonged matches and synergizing with strategies that capitalize on life total changes.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames where aggressive strategies are prevalent, the ability to gain life while developing your board presence can be a game changer. Hopeful Eidolon fits into enchantment-themed decks and is particularly useful in matchups that require a steady source of life gain to mitigate damage from fast-paced opponents.

How to beat

Hopeful Eidolon offers tactical versatility in MTG decks, serving dual purposes as both an early game creature and a late game enchantment with its bestow mechanic. When facing this persistent spirit, removing it can be a challenging task due to its ability to return as an aura after the enchanted creature dies. One effective strategy against Hopeful Eidolon is implementing a combination of exile effects, such as with cards like Path to Exile or with enchantment removals like Naturalize, which counteracts its tendency to linger on the battlefield.

Timing is also key when confronting this enchanting creature. Engaging in combat when the opponent is tapped out minimizes the risk of them utilizing bestow effectively. This can prevent the tangible life gain benefits that come with its lifelink ability. Additionally, leveraging sweepers like Wrath of God can clear the board including the Eidolon, irrespective of its current form, whether standalone or bestowed. While this latter approach may affect your own creatures, it disrupts the opponent’s game plan revolving around their ethereal ally.

Ultimately, recognizing and exploiting the moments before bestow can be activated on Hopeful Eidolon is crucial. By managing those moments and deploying targeted removal or broad board wipes, you can effectively neutralize the resilience and longevity it adds to an opponent’s side.

Cards like Hopeful Eidolon

Hopeful Eidolon presents a unique pacing for lifelink strategies within Magic: The Gathering. It shares lifelink attributes with other creatures such as Soul Warden, yet it distinguishes itself as an enchantment creature. This dual nature enables it to serve as both an attacker and a buff for other creatures, unlike Soul Warden which is primarily a source of life increment.

Alseid of Life’s Bounty also wields the power of lifelink at a low mana cost but offers a protective ability instead of Hopeful Eidolon’s enchantment bonus. Lifelink is a prized attribute, and while Alseid of Life’s Bounty provides instant defense, Hopeful Eidolon can enhance a creature’s impact over time. One might also consider Nyx-Fleece Ram in this discussion, a creature known for its defensive prowess and steady life gain each turn, distinct from Hopeful Eidolon’s aggressive enchanting capability.

Ultimately, Hopeful Eidolon holds its ground among the enchantment creatures of MTG. Its versatility in lending lifelink and its potential to escalate an offensive provides a valuable asset in gameplay, particularly in decks poised to capitalize on enchantment synergies and creature buffs.

Alseid of Life's Bounty - MTG Card versions

Alseid of Life's Bounty - Theros Beyond Death (THB)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hopeful Eidolon MTG card by a specific set like Theros, 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 Hopeful Eidolon and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hopeful Eidolon has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2013-09-15	Auras attached to a creature don't become tapped when the creature becomes tapped. Except in some rare cases, an Aura with bestow remains untapped when it becomes unattached and becomes a creature.
2013-09-15	If a permanent with bestow enters the battlefield by any method other than being cast, it will be an enchantment creature. You can't choose to pay the bestow cost and have it become an Aura.
2013-09-15	On the stack, a spell with bestow is either a creature spell or an Aura spell. It's never both, although it's an enchantment spell in either case.
2013-09-15	Unlike other Aura spells, an Aura spell with bestow isn't countered if its target is illegal as it begins to resolve. Rather, the effect making it an Aura spell ends, it loses enchant creature, it returns to being an enchantment creature spell, and it resolves and enters the battlefield as an enchantment creature.
2013-09-15	Unlike other Auras, an Aura with bestow isn't put into its owner's graveyard if it becomes unattached. Rather, the effect making it an Aura ends, it loses enchant creature, and it remains on the battlefield as an enchantment creature. It can attack (and its abilities can be activated, if it has any) on the turn it becomes unattached if it's been under your control continuously, even as an Aura, since your most recent turn began.