How Does Encore Work in MTG?
Overview
Encore is an ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) that allows players to revive creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield, turning a seemingly lost board advantage into a powerful game-swinging opportunity. This ability is found on numerous cards throughout the game’s history and continues to be an exciting element of MTG.
Direct Answer: What Does Encore Do?
In simple terms, when you play a card with the Encore ability, you get to bring the targeted creature back from your graveyard to the battlefield at a cost, which can then be attacked or interacted with like any other creature on the board. To illustrate this, here are some key points about the Encore ability:
• Ability Trigger: You activate Encore by paying a creature’s "Encore" cost, which typically consists of discarding additional cards.
• Resurrects Creature: You take the creature from your graveyard and place it under your control on the battlefield, treating it as a newly-minted creature with no history on the field.
• Purge of Graveyard Effects: Creatures revived by Encore gain their creature type (be it human, giant, zombie, etc.) again, removing any previous graveyards effects that affected their gameplay (like sacrifice tokens).
Encore Cards Overview
Some notable Encoure cards include:
- Snapcaster Mage from Lorwyn (2007)
- Relic of Progenitus from Time Spiral (2006)
- Ghost Council of Orzhova from Guildpact (2006)
When designing your deck with Encoure cards, you want to focus on creature-types with significant impact in mid-game to late-game board stalls. These creature tokens become more valuable due to the Encore ability and enhance overall board presence. However, this also adds risks in maintaining a sustainable presence for long-term gain while staying ahead of counter strategies. Keep reading below to understand the differences with goad and for examples
When Do Creatures Become ‘Targeted’?
Now that we know Encore, it’s important to highlight the difference in which cards can be Targeted. Let’s briefly cover this fundamental rule to clarify the concepts below.
Target A Targeted card/character must be chosen actively from an eligible pool within its environment (e.g., board, hand). Not everyone or everything might fulfill criteria. Remember, all effects that manipulate numbers only refer to affected target/s unless otherwise described (some cards have other words!).
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