Equal Treatment MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2002-02-04
Set symbol
Set name	Torment
Set code	TOR
Number	4
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Key Takeaways

Provides defense against wide attacks and is a valuable asset at instant speed.
Promotes mana efficiency and protects your board, fostering resource optimization.
Potential sideboard staple for countering prevalent aggro strategies in the meta.

Text of card

If any source would deal 1 or more damage to a creature or player this turn, it deals 2 damage to that creature or player instead. Draw a card.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Equal Treatment provides a unique approach towards card equity, offering an enhanced defense mechanism that simultaneously neutralizes an opponent’s wide attacks and amplifies your own strategic moves. You can effectively handle swarming strategies and ensure your key creatures withstand the onslaught, potentially safeguarding your lead in the card count.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly a tool for resource acceleration, Equal Treatment can indirectly influence your mana efficiency by protecting your board presence, leading to resource preservation. This allows for a more effective deployment of spells and creatures in subsequent turns, setting you up to optimize your mana usage and advance your board position without setback.

Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of Equal Treatment is a significant strategic asset. This versatility ensures that you can adapt to the dynamic landscape of the battlefield instantaneously, offering a surprise element that can disrupt your adversary’s plans. Whether to deter a lethal attack or to alter the outcome of combat, the timely intervention that this card affords can be pivotal in the tide of a match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Equal Treatment is that you must discard another card to utilize its flashback ability. While this gives the card a second life, it could also lead to a decrease in hand advantage, which is often crucial for maintaining options and flexibility during the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Equal Treatment requires both white mana and generic mana, making it potentially restrictive in decks that aren’t heavily invested in white, or that have a more complex mana base. This limitation could deter players from adding it to multicolored decks needing a tighter mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To cast Equal Treatment, players need to invest two mana. When comparing this to other options in the game that either prevent damage or enhance creatures, the cost may seem high for the effect it provides. This can make it less appealing in environments where mana efficiency and tempo play a significant role.

Reasons to Include Equal Treatment in Your Collection

Versatility: Equal Treatment is a versatile card, capable of being slotted into various deck types. Its ability to provide a unique defensive boost can be a game-changer in formats where damage-based spells or abilities are prevalent.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations with strategies that benefit from the redirection or prevention of damage. It pairs well with effects that trigger upon damage being prevented, turning potential harm into a strategic advantage for your game plan.

Meta-Relevance: Given that aggro decks frequently rise to prominence, Equal Treatment can serve as a critical sideboard card to help balance the playing field. In metas dominated by burn strategies or decks that rely on small, rapid damage outputs, it offers a unique countermeasure that can turn the tide in your favor.

How to beat Equal Treatment

Equal Treatment is an intriguing card offering a layer of defensive capabilities uncommonly seen. Its power lies in neutralizing damage from multiple sources to a mere two damage, altering the usual dynamics of combat or burn strategies.

To gain the upper hand against Equal Treatment, one must adapt their strategy. Relying on spells or creatures that deal damage in large chunks, such as Lava Axe or the evasive Shivan Dragon, can effectively circumvent the card’s limiting effect. It’s crucial to recognize that Equal Treatment only skews the math within a narrow band, so deploying heavy hitters to deliver impactful blows is a definitive path to triumph. Moreover, playing around the card by focusing on non-damage-based win conditions, like mill or alternate victory cards, completely sidesteps its effect. Tailoring your play to the situation at hand and keeping versatile answers in your deck will ensure that Equal Treatment doesn’t keep you on the back foot.

In short, while Equal Treatment can pose a hurdle, it’s one that can be surmounted with thoughtful selection of cards and a flexible approach to your game plan, ensuring that the scales of victory tip in your favor.

Cards like Equal Treatment

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Equal Treatment presents itself as a unique player in the scope of damage prevention and card draw mechanics. When casting Equal Treatment, any damage targeted toward a player or creature is halted at a flat rate, unlike the more traditional damage prevention cards such as Healing Salve that prevent only a defined amount of damage.

Similarly, Riot Control takes the stage as another card that shields your life total. Riot Control, however, goes one step further, providing you with life gain for each attacking creature. While it doesn’t have the draw component of Equal Treatment, it can quickly become a game-changer in the crucial moments of defending against overwhelming assaults. Another point of comparison would be Ethereal Haze, which prevents all damage that would be dealt by creatures this turn, a broader guard than Equal Treatment yet without the added benefit of drawing a card.

Assessing these alternatives, Equal Treatment stakes its claim within MTG’s varied strategies for protection and card advantage. Its combined capabilities of controlling damage and refreshing your hand renders it a versatile choice for players looking to maintain an edge in tight situations.

Cards similar to Equal Treatment by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Equal Treatment MTG card by a specific set like Torment, 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 Equal Treatment and other MTG cards: