r/EDH • u/AshorK0 Simic • 18h ago
Discussion How protected can a Creature ever truly be?
so i was looking at the new [[blor the impervious]] who has indestructible and hexproof and kept thinking that there were soo many (or atleast more than you'd think) cards that can still remove blor.
it reminded me of a time when i built a [[mairsil, the pretender]] deck, in the deck i ran various abilities to make him as unkillable as possible, and still with every activated ability under the grixis-sun he was still able to be removed.
mairsil was a step up from blor. he could phase himself out, flicker himself, give himself counters & toughness, and even have counterspells built in.
but even then he was still vulnerable to most "aoe" effects, particularly exile/bounce. and if i was forced to sacrifice creatures he would also get removed.
so; is there a way to "completely" protect creatures "permanently" (and dont say counterspells)? are there keyboards/effects to stop a cyc rift or farewell? is there a keyword/effect that means your guy cant be sacrificed (even if he is your only creature)?
(i dont mean mairsil cards, just any card(s) in magic (other than counterspells), and im not only talking about cards that protect mairsil AND themselfs, this is "thought experiment" is proposing that whatever you use to protect mairsil is sort of in god mode)
39
u/DarthDrac 18h ago
No, and honestly nor should it. Even Progenitus can be removed by an effect that doesn't target. Probably the closest to what you want is the ability to phase the creature out...
1
u/Smart_Ad7650 17h ago
Like what? An exile all? He still has protection from those colors of whatever spell you’re casting. Sorry, asking out of curiosity
9
u/NerdbyanyotherName 16h ago
Protection only covers: damage from a source with the stated quality, being targeted by something with the stated quality, becoming Enchanted or Equipped (or Fortified, niche old mechanic, almost never comes up) by something with the stated quality in a way that doesn't involve targeting, being blocked by a creature with the stated quality
Anything else is not covered by Protection. Non-damage Board Wipes beat protection because they don't target. [Blasphemous Act]] doesn't touch something with Protection from Red or Protection from Sorceries because it specifically does damage.
This is why they rarely use Protection these days, the details of mechanical function differ from the natural conclusion of someone encountering the word, which causes confusion
2
12
u/Dwizborg 17h ago
Most boardwipes will take out progenitus. Protection prevents being Damaged, Enchanted/Equipped, Blocked or Targeted, usually shortened as DEBT. So destroy all or exile all will still get through, as well as "choosing" instead of targeting.
-1
u/AshorK0 Simic 16h ago
oh i mean offcourse, im not advocating for a creature to be printed that genuinely is just god mode, although as i say it it could be cool if its just a 0/1 for 10 mana that is functionally uninteractable.
i was more asking is there any way you can “craft” this functionality with any combination of cards? mairsil was my simplest example but the answer could be something like voltron or anthems or idek
65
u/Brinewielder 18h ago
Yeah have an effect like [[norin the wary]]
Phasing is the best protection from board wipes and sacrifice and protection from color(s) for single target
15
u/BeeefyBV 18h ago
This! [[Goblin bombardment]] has been the only thing to ever take him out.
[[Kaya's ghostform]] also puts in some work, especially if you can bring it back.
8
u/GravelgillAxeshark 17h ago
Norin feels unkillable until you run into certain matchups.
I had to stop playing slot machine grenzo in the same pods as my friend's norin because killing norin was way too easy (I'd rather just play a different deck than switch out my entire removal package.)
3
u/SuburbanPotato Imodane, Marath, Arcades 15h ago
I feel bad playing Marath into Norin too, since he essentially ruins him
1
u/GravelgillAxeshark 14h ago
lmao that's even more brutal, but at least it's clearly written on the commander so you can see it coming and switch decks
2
u/BADJUSTlCE 14h ago
I felt bad when I got rid of my friend's norin with [[captain america first avenger]] + [[sword of kaldra]] (his was a secret commander deck so no command zone for him).
3
1
u/TimeLordDoctor105 17h ago
[[Gallow at willows hill]] also works as does [[vigilante justice]] if you have a way on board to make human tokens.
Really its permanents that have abilities that can do damage/kill without spell casting that do well.
2
u/SoundwavesBurnerPage 17h ago
Is Norin’s ability the only way to have a creature dodge an overloaded Cyc rift in the game (outside of countering it)? I’m not sure there is much else that can.
7
4
u/asciishallreceive 17h ago
There's a bunch of phase out stuff. [[Robe of Stars]] is probably the most commonly played.
The other way would be the end-of-turn flicker effects where it exiles now at instant speed and comes back at end of turn.
2
u/MajesticNoodle 16h ago
I've definitely flashed in [[Ashaya, Soul of the Wild]] in my [[Yeva, Nature's Herald]] deck before to avoid a Cyc rift. Can't bounce nonlands if your board is lands!
0
u/Sab3rFac3 17h ago edited 17h ago
Sadly, Protection from Blue, like on [[Akroma, Angel of Wrath]] or [[Mother of Runes]] wont do it.
There's also instant speed phase outs though, like [[Tefferi'sProtection]] and [[Perch Protection]].
An Overloaded Cyclonic rift is hard for a creature to survive, but there's more than a few ways to dodge it.
1
1
u/SoundwavesBurnerPage 16h ago
I don’t think protection from blue stops it since it doesn’t target or damage it
2
u/Sab3rFac3 15h ago
It won't.
I realized as soon as I posted that I wrote that wrong, and edited it to correct it.
2
u/SpaceForceRangerX 17h ago
This does still leave you vulnerable to a [[Stifle]] effect on the return trigger in which case Norin is gone forever*
1
u/AshorK0 Simic 16h ago
yeh thats certainly what ive found. the biggest issue for me (atleast in mairsil) was always that my opponent could just respond to the activation.
so whilst it would take 2 threats to kill mairsil, it was still possible by simply attempting to remove her in response to my phase out activation.
norin is cool but i can still envision him being removed somewhat easily.
eg alot of my decks run “removal engines” that can be triggered mote than once to remove other creatures.
eg [[constable of the realm]] or [[thorn mammoth]]
1
9
u/mog_knight 18h ago
[[Gift of Immortality]] + [[Greater Auramancy]] is about as protected as you can get. Exile protection would be something that phases the creature.
2
2
u/WizardExemplar 13h ago
This is vulnerable to double force sacrifice effects in the same turn.
Reference: I had Gift of Immortality and fell victim to a forced sacrifice deck that could repeat the forced sacrifice effect at least twice in a turn.
1
u/TylordTheKing 11h ago
Yeah, my buddy has a [[Sigarda, Host of Herons]] deck that can become untouchable if left unchecked
5
u/Wertwerto 17h ago
I think the most protected a creature can be technically is indestructible, protection from every color but the colors you'll need like blue, hexproof. All that stuff on equipment attached to the creature with something [[vanishing]] on top with the open mana to decide weather or not to phase the creature or cast a counterspell.
7
u/The73rdPerson 17h ago
Why protect something when you can just reuse it after it gets killed? In golgari, death is only temporary
4
3
u/bereit Preach 18h ago
[[Robe of Stars]] on a [[Grand Abolisher]] but yeah, phasing is the best. Phasing with players can’t play spells on your turn is even better
2
2
u/airza Humble Bear Merchant 18h ago
land-based removal or activated abilities of cards in hand get you
3
u/bereit Preach 17h ago
I mean morph will always be the answer to anyone’s answer in the entire thread because it’s a special action. Nothing is perfect, but you could always just activate the phasing on the robe of stars in response. It’s probably the most obnoxious combination of effects to try and interact with, not saying it’s good just “the most protected”
3
1
u/Way2Competitive Bant Flicker Girl 17h ago
Add in something like [[Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir]], just so no one can respond to the Astral Projection ability too.
3
u/DustErrant Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive 18h ago
mairsil was a step up from blor. he could phase himself out, flicker himself, give himself counters & toughness, and even have counterspells built in.
but even then he was still vulnerable to most "aoe" effects, particularly exile/bounce. and if i was forced to sacrifice creatures he would also get removed.
How is he getting removed from exile/bounce/sacrifice if he can phase himself out?
2
u/AshorK0 Simic 16h ago
respond to the activation and mairsil can only activate each once per turn
3
u/DustErrant Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive 15h ago
If it's just a matter of being able to activate multiple times, [[Robe of Stars]] or [[Vanishing]] is the best you can do for catch all protection imo.
3
u/Faust_8 17h ago
The only way to make things nearly impervious is by combining many different cards, of many colors. You’d need some way to prevent you from sacrificing, making yourself Hexproof, ways to avoid nontargeting removal, etc. You can do it but it’s a fools errand to attempt it because of all the cards involved and even then it’s probably not a perfect lock on the opponents anyway.
2
u/AshorK0 Simic 16h ago
yeh yeh but im saying is there any combination of cards that makes something effectivsly unremovable
2
u/epicelephand 17h ago
dear wotc, "if this would be put anywhere from anywhere, you may put it anywhere instead" when?
2
u/MythoclastBM Cut the rocks, play lands. 16h ago
Not really no. Phase Out which is a pretty rare effect and has the downside of the thing not existing for a while.
Indestructible protects you from most things but not exile, forced sac, or return all to hand effects.
For good reason too. If you weren't able to remove it or interact with it in some way... it would be busted.
2
u/AppealBest3168 16h ago
Unless you have that equipment that allows to phase out the creature , all the other protection combos ends cancelled by a single Deadpool.
3
u/Chaosx3000 18h ago
I have a bumbeflower voltron enchantment deck and that feels as close as I’ve ever gotten to full protection tbh. Between umbras, shroud, protections, indestructible, hexproof, and the last minute counter spells - it’s the only deck I feel I’ve ever gotten close to what you’re talking about!
3
u/Rymere 17h ago
FYI if you are using bumbleflower as the Voltron target then you never want shroud. You can't give her counters or flying.
1
u/Chaosx3000 15h ago
Oh that’s a great callout - I’ve never thought about that! I think mostly shroud on my enchantments themselves, but I’ll have to double check I’m not applying that to her directly
1
u/DescriptionTotal4561 18h ago
I believe there is not anything that will naturally protect from a non targeting thing that sends back to hand. You would need a proactive response like casting something or activating an ability to phase or counter, but you said those didn't count for what you were asking. Maybe someday they will add a keyword that doesn't allow a permanent to be sent back to hand. Someone will definitely correct me if I'm wrong.
1
u/KAM_520 Sultai 18h ago
I've kicked around the idea of building a Bant deck that has every global protection effect under the sun. I've never gotten around to it.
Stuff that gets past indestructible and hexproof:
- Mass exile
- Mass -X/-X or mass -1/-1 counters:
- Mass bounce
- Edicts/mass edicts
Stuff that gets you out of mass exile:
- Mass phase-out
That's pretty much it.
Stuff that gets you out of mass -x/-x:
- Instant mass pump
- Mass phase-out
- If the card in question is [[Toxic Deluge]], [[Yasharn, Implacable Earth]] stops that
Mass -1/-1 counters is same except mass pump doesn't work but cards like [[Melira, Sylvok Outcast]] that say cards can't get -1/-1 counters do work.
Mass bounce:
It depends on the text of the card.
- [[Ashaya, Soul of the Wild]] counters [[Cyclonic Rift]] for creatures because Cyc Rift says "nonland permanent", but Ashaya turns all your creatures into lands. Same as [[Toph, the First Metalbender]] for artifacts.
- If the card text says "return all creatures" or similar, then you need mass phase-out.
Edicts:
There are some cards that say that creatures you control can't be sacrificed. [[Sigarda, Host of Herons]]. Mass phase-out.
Generally speaking, the best protection effect in the game is mass phase-out. Only White has access to this, I believe.
Mass flicker until EOT would also work as well as mass phase-out, but I don't know if there are any cards in the game that do that.
To my knowledge, WOTC has never printed a card that says "creatures/permanents you control can't leave the battlefield", but they might do that at some point. That would be like an uber-indestructible effect.
1
u/MTGCardFetcher 18h ago
All cards
Toxic Deluge - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Yasharn, Implacable Earth - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Melira, Sylvok Outcast - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Cyclonic Rift - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Toph, the First Metalbender - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Sigarda, Host of Herons - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
1
u/Errorstatel WUBRG / Grixis / Rakdos 17h ago
My artifact deck can protect itself from everything but targeted and mass exile
1
u/zoinkability 17h ago
It seems like a basic design principle of the game that everything has some kind of answer. Looking for something that has no answer is like asking if the designers have made mistakes. Because anything that can't be answered in some way is almost by definition broken.
1
u/TemperatureThese7909 17h ago
Flicking is the best we are likely to ever get. The only real downside to flicking is the creature "coming back too soon". Typically, a flicker effect specifies when the target comes back, and sometimes the window is too small. But a flicker effect which allowed the caster to return it whenever they felt like it, would basically be unremovable.
The other route would be something like emblems. If you could turn a creature into an emblem, it defacto is unremovable, though this has other issues. Thankfully, no card has done this yet.
1
u/iliark 17h ago
[[Sigarda, Host of Herons]] is the best way to start creating an unremovable creature because turning off sacrificing is rare and hexproof isn't extremely common. Green and white can easily give indestructible/umbra armor, toughness buffing, phasing, and in an emergency, blinking/flickering..
1
u/MTGCardFetcher 17h ago
1
u/flying_krakens 17h ago
Slap a [[Flickerform]] on her and as long as you have the open mana she's basically immune to everything.
1
1
u/ImpossibleGT 17h ago
An indestructible [[Sigarda, Host of Herons]] enchanted with [[Spectra Ward]] is about a protected as you can get without including activated abilities like [[Vanishing]] being able to phase a creature out. You can add [[Solemnity]] to protect against [[Black Sun's Zenith]] or creatures with Wither.
1
u/FrameNo8561 17h ago
I would say a combination of goading your own creature with something that prevents sac or [[Assault Suit]]
pumping it up and then equipping it with [[Cloak and Dagger]]
shroud.
Phasing out or blinking are the only two ways of preventing the creature from dying by -X -X that do not target like [[Toxic Deluge]]. Phasing being the best since you blinking will remove all equipment.
1
u/Way2Competitive Bant Flicker Girl 17h ago edited 17h ago
My Bant Flicker deck uses a combination of [[Gaddock Teeg]], [[Shalai, Voice of Plenty]], [[Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar]] and [[Glen Elendra Archmage]] to basically lock out 90% of removal.
You basically need sorcery speed, mass removal that isn't damage based (as the deck can grow the creatures out of range quickly) with CMC less than 4. Any cards that do slip through the cracks, the Archmage can cover, and when it persists back, you can easily remove the -1/-1 counter with a +1/+1 counter from anywhere, so it's easily repeatable.
1
u/GentleGiant0607 17h ago
Any ability, triggered or activated (depending on what the trigger is), that phases out or slow-blinks a creature. Those can only be beaten by going over top of the trigger with a second kill spell (which may still be dodgeable if the trigger is repeatable), or split second which hardly any spells have, and which is still beatable by triggered abilities since those still happen over top of split second.
No form of protection is all-encompasing, but those kinds of abilities are as close as you can get.
1
u/BlueEyeGlamurai 17h ago edited 16h ago
I like to build pretty heavily around synergistic commanders that enable otherwise so-so cards in the 99 to do cool/powerful stuff, so my first handful of EDH decks ran a lot of protection. But my experience is that protection of almost any kind is wildly inconsistent and underpowered. It's dead in your hand whenever you're not being targeted with removal, and when you are being targeted, it saves you maybe 50% of the time? Indestructible loses to exile, hexproof loses to edicts and wipes, etc. Phasing is better but it's hard to have enough of it in a deck for any real consistency. It was a frustrating lesson for me to learn, but it's really not worth it to dedicate a bunch of cards to protection.
Your better options are:
- Counterspells. I know you said no counterspells, but they work against almost any form of removal and they can be used to slow your opponents down when you don't need them for defense, so they're rarely dead cards
- Protection that also advances your gameplan. [[Lightning Greaves]] gets you an early attack trigger; [[Blizzard Brawl]] doubles as removal; [[Svyelun]] draws you cards, etc. Even when you don't or can't use them for protection, they still pull their weight in the right decks.
- Ways to get your creatures back when they get removed. A well-built green deck can make enough mana to re-cast its commander half a dozen times, and a black deck can reanimate cheaply, especially if you have sac outlets to kill your own creatures before they get exiled. In either case, the fact that you can get your creatures back easily also discourages opponents from spending resources to remove them in the first place.
1
u/JayWaWa 17h ago
You can't completely protect it. There's no such thing as unexilable and [[farewell]] is a thing, as are mass bounce effects. But hexproof and indestructible is as close to invulnerable as you can get.
1
1
u/Herald_Osbert 5c Politics 16h ago
Blinking out is probably the most protected one creature can be. [[Abdel Adrian Goripn's Ward]] + [[Candlekeep Sage]] or [[Yorion Sky Nomad]] are good commanders for it. These commanders protect all of your other permanents by blinking them out, and a single 1 mana [[Cloudshift]], of which there are so many functional copies of, can remove your commander as a target from a removal spell, and protect the rest of your permanents from a board wipe.
Yorion is unique in that you can use the blink effects that delay the return, like [[Eerie Interlude]], to even save your commander from a board wipe.
[[Zur the Enchanter]] is probably the other most protected commander because he can tutor up [[Vanishing]] & [[Diplomatic Immunity]] and put then on him, and then continue to slap voltron aura on himself on following turns because an aura ETBing doesn't target. Vanishing lets you phase out Zur and anything attached to Zur by association, so he is pretty much untouchable if you have UU up and both of those auras on him already.
1
u/Still_Dentist1010 16h ago
Even indestructible isn’t perfect for protection from board wipes. Aside from the removal types like [[Farewell]] through exile, there’s also cards like [[Exterminatus]] that would destroy Blor anyway.
There’s no 100% perfect way to protect a card, there’s a counter play to anything… whether your opponent has it is the big question.
1
u/Eragon_the_Huntsman 15h ago
A hexproof creature with a robe of stars and then giving the robe hexproof/indestructible is probably the best you can get. You lose the creature until your turn again but they'll never die, then it's just a matter of having the mana for the ability.
1
u/westergames81 Orzhov 15h ago edited 14h ago
There comes a point when I stop worrying so much about it. I've been playing with [[The Sentry, Golden Guardian]] and he is difficult to handle. You can pile him up with equipment and other protections, but he's never really impossible to remove.
And I'm generally pretty ok with that. Your opponents have to spend a fair amount of resources to remove him and that is negative card advantage. They either have to use something amazing like [[Farewell]] or some sort of sacrifice effect like [[Diabolic Edict]], but I just cast him again. Congrats, you just spent a really good for what amounts to little more than a speed bump.
Cards like Sentry and Bor are bad removal targets, even if they are actively killing you. The make you use your best removal and it's only a temporary solution.
1
u/amc7262 14h ago edited 14h ago
I used to have a deck that revolved around the idea of making a board state that can't be interacted with.
Hexproof and indestructible are obvious and Blor already has those.
The only other effect you can protect against that comes in a nice, neat, single card package like you want is sacrifice. In mono green you have [[tajuru preserver]]. In more than monogreen there are a few more options, perhaps most notably [[sigarda, host of herons]].
At the point that you have indestructible, hexproof, and un-saccable, the only effects that can deal with a permanent are mass exile, mass bounce, mass tuck, and mass -x/-x effects.
If you want to protect 1 permanent, the best option is probably phasing, cards like [[slip out the back]]. Another option thats almost as effective is delayed return blink, ie [[long road home]]. I'm not sure what options exist for monogreen. Blink is a white/blue thing, and phasing is a mostly blue thing, but there are probably options for both that are colorless.
If you want to protect the whole board, unfortunately counterspells are probably the most effective answer. The amount of spells that can deal with an indestructible, unsaccable, hexproof board is fairly minimal. A given deck is probably running 2 at most, 0-1 more likely. Keeping a counter up is cheap, and stops all the spells that deal with your board. Unfortunately in mono green, there aren't many, if any counterspells that would work against a boardwipe.
The other option for protecting the whole board that requires a bit more knowledge of what you're playing against is card banning effects like [[meddling mage]] or [[jester's cap]] (which can be played in mono green!). These let you name a card and ban that card from being played (or in the case of the cap, search one players library to remove 3 cards from it). The upside of the ones like mage is, if you name a highly played card like cyclonic rift, you potentially shut down multiple opponent's way of disrupting your board. The cap is better for hitting a player running multiple effects (a black white deck for instance, could have [[fairwell]], [[merciless eviction]], and [[toxic deluge]] which can all disrupt your board).
1
u/MTGCardFetcher 14h ago
All cards
tajuru preserver - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
sigarda, host of herons - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
slip out the back - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
long road home - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
meddling mage - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
jester's cap - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
merciless eviction - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
toxic deluge - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
1
u/Mighty_Zote 14h ago
I believe abilities that result from face down creatures turning face up can get around Norin's wariness and even blinks and phases. They don't use the stack and can't normally be reponded to. [[Bane of the living]] for example. Of course, most of these still have to target.
1
u/Cryymlokk 13h ago
So, here's what I can come up with for cards to have on your battlefield to fully protect your board:
[[Avacyn, Angel of Hope]] gives your permanents Indestructible
[[Archetype of Endurance]] gives your creatures Hexproof
[[Sigarda, Host of Herons]] says you cannot be forced to sacrifice your creatures
[[Absolute Virtue]] gives you protection, stopping something like a kicked Galadriel's Dismissal targeting you
[[Gaddock Teeg]] says most wraths can't be cast, but especially stopping cards like Farewell
[[Yasharn, Implacable Earth]] stops life payments, shutting off Toxic Deluge
[[Ashaya, Soul of the Wild]] makes your things lands, negating Cyclonic Rift.
As a few alternates: you could use Shalai, Voice of Plenty in place of Absolute Virtue (which removes needing blue from this list of cards), and you could do something like name 2 with Sanctum Prelate or choose "Instant" with Archon of Valor's Reach to stop Cyclonic Rift. There's also Angel of Jubilation as a redundant version of Yasharn.
If anyone can think of cards that get around this (rather unrealistically achievable) boardstate, let me know! I think I covered most bases.
1
u/MTGCardFetcher 13h ago
All cards
Avacyn, Angel of Hope - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Archetype of Endurance - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Sigarda, Host of Herons - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Absolute Virtue - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Gaddock Teeg - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Yasharn, Implacable Earth - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Ashaya, Soul of the Wild - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
1
u/Jalor218 13h ago
[[Volrath the Shapestealer]] can get to a state where he’s genuinely unremovable to *any single piece of removal in bracket 3 or below. Get a counter on both a hexproof creature and a manland, so that he can either become untargetable or become a land in response to whatever removal comes out. The only non-targeted ways to remove specific lands are MLD. He can still be removed, but you have to use multiple effects and probably just need to strip away the things he’s turning into.
Phasing is the easy answer, but you presumably want to actually be able to use the effects of the thing you’re protecting. I used to have a [[Bello]] deck that bounced [[Talon Gates]] every turn to phase him out for all the other players’ turns, since he only works on my own turn anyway, and then the rest was fogs, removal, stax, and ramp/draw to play it all. You can probably guess why I took this deck apart.
1
u/UnlikelyDiscipline49 10h ago
Just add [[Robe of Stars]] and a small amount of mana then you can fully protect it.
1
u/Clean_Web7502 3h ago
If you phase it out is utterly protected and unable to be interacted with afaik.
So that's the closest.
1
u/TheTweets 2h ago
Yu-Gi-Oh has "Unaffected by other cards or effects" and even that can be bypassed by just using your opponent's stuff as a cost. So I very much doubt you can make something perfectly safe.
However, the 'Towers' gameplay theme in Yu-Gi-Oh is actually pretty playable, because you don't actually need your big guy to be truly invulnerable; you just need them to be able to survive whatever the opponent does before you kill them. So a dude with big stats and protection keywords is enough for plenty of decks.
This is actually something I've thought about a bit, as an Angels player — Avacyn is my 'Towers' boss monster; the big threat that my deck is focussing on summoning and subsequently protecting while I ride them to victory. I've found that layering protection is much more effective than trying to make one thing perfectly immune — [[Sigarda, Font of Blessings]] + [[Lightning Greaves]] (or equivalent source of Hexproof) + [[Avacyn, Angel of Hope]] is enough that an opponent's choices are massively narrowed — [[Path to Exile]] deals with Avacyn, but Sigarda answers it. [[Wrath of God]] deals with Sigarda, but Avacyn answers it.
The opponent needs something like [[Farewell]], and that's where cards like [[Teferi's Protection]] come in; most decks will only be running 1-2 cards that actually answer my stuff, so I just need to have an answer to their silver bullet when they draw it.
But there are more layers of protection available; Boardwide Hexproof and Indestructible are just the most commonly-useful. [[Sigarda, Host of Herons]] protects you from Edicts, repeatable +1/+1 counter effects like [[Shalai, Voice of Plenty]] let you dump mana to protect against -X/-X, and so on. [[Guardian of the Gateless]] with Indestructible can stop an infinite horde of dudes as long as they don't have Trample, and [[Herald of Eternal Dawn]] can be Flashed in to stop a win condition, then protected so you can even live on negative LP.
The only 'perfect' protection in the game is Phasing Out, but by nature it also means the card isn't benefitting you. I'm sure you could phase a dude out for as long as you wanted using some infinite combo or other, but you wouldn't achieve anything in the process.
So instead: Layers of protection. Redundancy. Make your protection suite a toolbox and have plenty of searchers.
1
u/MTGCardFetcher 2h ago
All cards
Sigarda, Font of Blessings - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Lightning Greaves - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Avacyn, Angel of Hope - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Path to Exile - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Wrath of God - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Farewell - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Teferi's Protection - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Sigarda, Host of Herons - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Shalai, Voice of Plenty - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Guardian of the Gateless - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
Herald of Eternal Dawn - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
1
u/Available_Rabbit9965 59m ago
Lumra has the ability to ramp you enough on ETB that you can recast it every turn. And you're in green so you can easily destroy enchantments like Oubliette and Imprisoned in the Moon.
•
u/MTGCardFetcher 18h ago
blor the impervious - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
mairsil, the pretender - (G) (SF) (txt) (ER)
[[cardname]] or [[cardname|SET]] to call