Thassa's Emissary MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment Creature — Crab
Abilities	Bestow
Released	2013-09-27
Set symbol
Set name	Theros
Set code	THS
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	68
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Sam Burley

Key Takeaways

Thassa’s Emissary offers draw power every time it inflicts combat damage, enhancing strategic depth in gameplay.
Bestow ability allows it to serve as both a creature or an enchantment, offering valuable board presence flexibility.
While powerful, Thassa’s Emissary requires careful mana planning due to its blue mana-intensive casting cost.

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.) Whenever Thassa's Emissary or enchanted creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card. Enchanted creature gets +3/+3.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Thassa’s Emissary enhances your grip on the game by granting card draws every time it deals combat damage to a player. This consistent draw mechanism can be an engine for card advantage, keeping your hand stocked with options.

Resource Acceleration: As a creature with bestow, Thassa’s Emissary can double as an enchantment, offering flexibility and the potential for a two-for-one deal in terms of board presence. This can indirectly speed up your resource deployment by having one card perform two roles—either as a creature or enhancing another.

Instant Speed: Although Thassa’s Emissary itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, the card advantage it provides can lead to a hand filled with instant-speed interactions. Drawing into these options keeps you reactive and ready to respond to opponents’ threats or capitalize on their end step.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Thassa’s Emissary itself does not impose a discard requirement, when considering deck synergy, it might not fit in strategies that require discard as a resource, thereby limiting its effectiveness in those deck types.

Specific Mana Cost: Thassa’s Emissary has a specific mana cost that includes two blue mana symbols. This can restrict its inclusion to decks that have a strong blue mana base or focus heavily on blue spells and abilities.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, including two from the blue spectrum, Thassa’s Emissary may compete for space with other four-mana spells that can provide more immediate impact on the game state, especially in decks where mana efficiency is critical.

Reasons to Include Thassa’s Emissary in Your Collection

Versatility: Thassa’s Emissary serves a dual purpose on the battlefield. As an enchantment creature with an affinity for the sea, it not only provides a consistent form of card draw but also buffs a creature when needed, truly a valuable asset for blue-centered decks focusing on control or mid-range tactics.

Combo Potential: Its bestow ability allows for dynamic play, offering the chance to create powerful combinations with other creatures. When paired with evasive creatures, this card ensures you’re drawing cards while putting pressure on your opponents, making it a linchpin in decks that are about synergy and incremental advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where the right card can turn the tide, Thassa’s Emissary holds its weight, especially against decks that lack enchantment removal. In environments where resilience and card advantage go hand-in-hand, this card becomes a strategic piece to outlast and outplay your opponents.

How to beat

Thassa’s Emissary is a card with nuances that require a strategic approach to counter effectively in MTG. This blue enchantment creature shines in decks that capitalize on card advantage and continuous creature buffs. Its ability to draw a card upon dealing combat damage makes it a persistent threat that demands a prompt answer.

When facing Thassa’s Emissary, one effective tactic is to limit its chances of dealing combat damage. This can be done by maintaining a strong line of defense with creatures that have high toughness or by using removal spells to dispatch the Emissary before it gets enchanted or becomes enchanting with a bestow mechanic. Counterspells are also excellent preemptive measures, ensuring it never hits the board. Additionally, spells that strip enchantments or pacifism effects will neutralize its abilities, curtailing its card-drawing capability and making it less of a concern. Paying attention to these strategies will help to manage and overcome the challenge posed by Thassa’s Emissary.

Understanding the dynamics of enchantment creatures allows players to anticipate the threats they may face and craft a deck or sideboard options to subvert those possible advantages. Thassa’s Emissary, while powerful, can be outplayed with careful planning and timely responses.

Cards like Thassa's Emissary

Thassa’s Emissary holds a unique place within blue creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It stands shoulder to shoulder with enchantment creatures like Omen Speaker, which also offers utility through scrying. However, Thassa’s Emissary brings its own flavor to the game with the added ability to draw a card each time it deals combat damage to a player. This provides not just foresight but also card advantage over time.

The sea-born emissary could be considered akin to the likes of Curiosity, an aura that bestows a similar card-drawing ability upon a creature when it does damage to an opponent. Yet, Curiosity lacks the standalone creature capability and has to piggyback on another creature for effect. There’s also Military Intelligence, which is another blue enchantment granting you card draw once per turn when you attack with two or more creatures. However, Thassa’s Emissary allows the draw with just itself, simplifying the condition to reap the benefit.

Comparing it to other MTG cards, Thassa’s Emissary offers a blend of aggression and card draw, deeming it a powerful tool for those looking to maintain card advantage while pressing the attack. Its synergy within blue devotion decks further highlights its strategic play value in the game.

Military Intelligence - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Thassa's Emissary 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 Thassa's Emissary and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Thassa's Emissary has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Thassa's Emissary 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.