It’s no secret that Magic: The Gathering has evolved dramatically over the 33 years it’s existed. Some of these changes, like card frame redesigns and Universes Beyond, are pretty stark and obvious. Others, like the evolution of design sensibilities over time, however, are a much more subtle process.
Thanks to this gradual evolution, it’s not uncommon for classic long-forgotten MTG cards to suddenly become relevant once again. Whether it’s due to a new legend unlocking old synergies or simply players digging through their collection, forgotten cards rarely stay that way for long. This is exactly what has happened to Spirit of Resistance recently, a classic five-color-focused MTG card from 26 years ago.
Spirit of Resistance MTG
First released way back in Invasion, Spirit of Resistance is a bit of an odd MTG card. On the surface, it looks pretty great, actually, especially for three mana. After all, all you have to do is get each color into play, and you’re potentially safe for the rest of the game.
While this is a pretty small hurdle to jump through already, modern MTG cards have made it even easier. Thanks to cards like Leyline of the Guildpact, you can have the requirement covered from turn zero. On top of this, Wizards is printing tons of five-color Commanders recently, massively boosting Spirit of Resistance’s consistency.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder that MTG content creators like ChillCanMagic recently pointed out the card’s potential. At the very least, this card can be an auto-include within any five-color Commander deck, since protection is always valuable. Technically, this isn’t a bad shout; however, it’s worth remembering that this protection ability only goes so far.
As much as Spirit of Resistance will stop your opponent’s from attacking you, your creatures don’t get the same protection. The same is also true for your hand, graveyard, and library, so you’re hardly completely protected from interaction. In fact, opponents can still kill you with life-draining effects, like Blood Artist, so you’re definitely not untouchable.
When you factor in the ever-present threat of enchantment removal, Spirit of Resistance feels like a very hard sell. In theory, it does have a fairly high ceiling, but that depends on your opponents running combat-focused decks with no relevant removal. This could be fine for bracket three, depending on your pod, but it’s hardly a super-secret Stax powerhouse.
A Not-So-Budget Not-So-Bomb
If there is any one upside to Spirit of Resistance in MTG, it’s that five-color Commanders are everywhere nowadays. It feels like every new Universes Beyond set gets at least one of these once scarce cards, so Spirit of Resistance has tons of homes. Even then, however, giving up a slot in the 99 for this only sometimes useful card feels pretty rough.
Sadly, the dubious playability of Spirit of Resistance doesn’t even mean it’s a cheap MTG card. Thanks to it being a decades-old rare card, near-mint copies of Spirit of Resistance sell for around $6.30. This, however, is just a drop in the bucket compared to the staggering $51 price tag on near-mint foils.
As much as I’m admittedly pretty cold on Spirit of Resistance, this MTG card isn’t inherently awful. If your opponents aren’t prepared, it’s definitely possible to catch them off guard, so it might be worth trying out. Just don’t expect this to be a silver bullet that’ll have you winning every single match from now on.
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