Hand of HonorHow it works & interactions with other cards

Understanding Protection and Bushido

Hand of Honor possesses two distinct keywords that define its role on the battlefield. Protection from black means it cannot be damaged, enchanted, equipped, blocked, or targeted by anything black. Bushido 1 is a triggered ability that activates during the declare blockers step, providing a temporary power and toughness boost whenever it engages in combat.

Step-by-Step Combat Resolution

When Hand of Honor is declared as an attacker and an opponent chooses a blocker, or when Hand of Honor is declared as a blocker itself, the Bushido 1 ability triggers and goes on the stack. This happens before combat damage is dealt. Once the ability resolves, Hand of Honor gains +1/+1 until the end of the current turn. This makes it effectively a 3/3 creature in combat, even though its base stats are 2/2.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A frequent error is forgetting that protection only covers the 'DEBT' acronym (Damage, Enchant/Equip, Block, Target). It does not protect against board wipes like Damnation that do not target. Additionally, remember that Bushido only triggers once per combat phase regardless of how many creatures are blocking it; it does not stack per enemy creature involved in the block.

When to Play Hand of Honor

This creature is most effective in metas dominated by black removal or black-based aggressive decks. Because it cannot be blocked by black creatures, it can safely chip away at an opponent's life total while being immune to spells like Murder or Doom Blade. It is a solid early-game play that remains relevant in combat thanks to the Bushido buff.

Interaction examples

Boosting the Sentinel's Tax

Esper Sentinel

While Hand of Honor doesn't directly buff other creatures, its Bushido 1 ability increases its own power to 3 during combat. If you have an effect that scales based on your strongest creature's power or if you use a combat trick to swap stats, you can make the tax on Esper Sentinel much harder for your opponent to pay.

Aerial Defense and Mana Fixing

Ornithopter of Paradise

If your opponent attacks with a black creature with flying, Hand of Honor cannot block it. However, you can tap Ornithopter of Paradise for white mana to cast a spell that gives Hand of Honor flying. Once it blocks that black creature, Bushido 1 triggers, making it a 3/3, and its protection from black prevents it from taking any combat damage from the attacker.

Static Stats and Combat Triggers

If Hand of Honor blocks a 2/2 creature, its Bushido 1 ability triggers immediately. It becomes a 3/3 before damage is dealt. It will deal 3 damage to the attacker and take 2 damage back. Since it is now a 3/3, it survives the encounter with 1 toughness remaining until the cleanup step when the Bushido bonus wears off.