Mirror-Shield Hoplite is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Vigilance Whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a backup ability, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy. This ability triggers only once each turn.
Complete guide
Mirror-Shield Hoplite is a versatile two-drop that rewards you for utilizing the backup mechanic. By doubling the impact of your backup abilities, this Human Soldier ensures your battlefield scales rapidly with counters and temporary keyword boons. Understanding the timing and targeting of these copied abilities is key to maximizing your tactical advantage.
Doubling Down on Backup
Mirror-Shield Hoplite features a triggered ability that watches for your creatures becoming the target of a backup ability. When a creature with backup enters the battlefield and its ability targets a creature you control, the Hoplite triggers to create an exact copy of that backup ability. This copy includes the +1/+1 counter and any abilities printed below the backup keyword on the original creature. Note that this trigger only occurs once per turn, so choose your timing carefully.
Resolution Step by Step
First, a creature with backup enters the battlefield, and you put its triggered ability on the stack targeting a creature. Second, Mirror-Shield Hoplite’s ability triggers and goes on top of the stack. Third, as the Hoplite's ability resolves, you create a copy of the backup ability and may choose a new target for it. The copy resolves first, granting a +1/+1 counter and abilities to its target, followed by the original backup ability resolving on its own target.
Strategic Targeting and Constraints
If you target the creature that originally had the backup ability with the copy, it receives the +1/+1 counter but does not gain extra abilities, as backup only grants abilities to 'another' creature. If you target a single creature with both the original and the copy, that creature receives two counters and two instances of the granted abilities. Remember that the backup ability only grants abilities actually printed on the card below the backup text; it won't copy abilities gained from other spells or equipment.
When to Deploy the Hoplite
Since the Hoplite has Vigilance, it serves as an excellent early-game attacker that can still defend. You should aim to play it before your creatures with backup enter the battlefield. Because the ability triggers only once per turn, it is often best used during your first main phase to boost an attacker or during an opponent's turn if you have a way to flash in a creature with backup.
Interaction examples
Esper SentinelIf a creature with Backup 1 and Flying enters the battlefield and targets Esper Sentinel, Mirror-Shield Hoplite triggers. You copy the backup ability and target Esper Sentinel again. The Sentinel receives two +1/+1 counters total. Because Esper Sentinel's tax ability scales with its power, it now requires the opponent to pay 3 mana (its base 1 power plus two counters) for their first noncreature spell.
Professional Face-BreakerSuppose you play a creature with Backup 1 and an 'End of combat' triggered ability while both the Hoplite and Professional Face-Breaker are on board. You target the Face-Breaker with the backup ability and the copy. Professional Face-Breaker now has two +1/+1 counters and two instances of the granted triggered ability. If the Face-Breaker deals combat damage, it creates a Treasure from its own ability, and later in the turn, the two granted abilities will trigger separately, providing even more value.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Mirror-Shield Hoplite
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent enters the battlefield as a copy of a card with a backup ability or a token is created that is a copy of that card, the order of the printed abilities is maintained.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Backup confers only abilities that are actually printed below it. Any abilities that are gained by the permanent are ignored, including abilities gained due to a resolving spell or ability or copy effects.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
The abilities that backup grants to the target creature are determined only once, at the time the ability triggers. They won’t change if the permanent with backup loses any abilities before the backup ability resolves.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
The source of the copy is the same as the source of the original backup ability. If the creature that ends up as the target of the copy is that original creature with backup, it will get a +1/+1 counter, but it won’t gain any abilities. If it’s a creature other than that original creature, it will get a +1/+1 counter and gain abilities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature other than the creature with backup ends up as the target of both the backup ability and the copy, it will end up with two +1/+1 counters and it will gain the non-backup abilities twice. In some cases, the duplicate abilities will be redundant (two instances of flying, for example). However, if it picks up two triggered abilities, for example, those abilities trigger independently.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
If a backup ability targets the creature with backup, that creature will get +1/+1 counters, but it won’t gain additional abilities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If a backup ability causes another creature to gain abilities, the creature with backup will still have those abilities.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Mirror-Shield Hoplite
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