SolidarityHow it works & interactions with other cards

A Wall of Toughness

Solidarity is a mass-buff spell that targets your entire board, providing a +0/+5 increase to toughness. Unlike many white combat tricks that focus on power, Solidarity is purely defensive, ensuring your creatures can withstand high-power attackers or effects that deal non-lethal damage. It only affects creatures you control at the time the spell resolves; any creatures entering the battlefield later in the turn will not receive the bonus.

Step-by-Step Resolution

When you cast Solidarity, it goes on the stack like any other instant. Upon resolution, the game checks which creatures you currently control. Each of those creatures gains +0/+5. This effect creates a continuous layer that lasts until the end of the current turn. If a creature leaves the battlefield and returns during the same turn, it is considered a new object and will no longer have the Solidarity buff.

Timing and Strategy

The best time to cast Solidarity is during the declare blockers step. By waiting until your opponent has committed to their attacks, you can surprise them by making your creatures tough enough to survive combat while still dealing their own combat damage back. It is also an effective response to 'damage-based' board wipes, allowing your creatures to survive spells that would normally destroy them.

Common Pitfalls

A common mistake is forgetting that Solidarity does not grant a power boost. Your creatures will not deal any extra damage to the opponent or their blockers. Additionally, because the spell does not target, it bypasses Shroud or Hexproof on your own creatures, but it also means you cannot 'save' a creature that you lose control of before the spell resolves.

Interaction examples

Defensive Reinforcements

Generous Gift

If your opponent casts Generous Gift to destroy one of your lands, you receive a 3/3 Elephant token. If you then cast Solidarity, that 3/3 Elephant becomes a 3/8 for the rest of the turn, allowing it to block much larger threats effectively.

Phasing Interactions

Teferi's Protection

If you cast Solidarity and it resolves, your creatures gain +0/+5. However, if you subsequently cast Teferi's Protection in response to a threat, your creatures phase out. While phased out, they are treated as though they do not exist. When they phase in during your next untap step, the 'until end of turn' effect from Solidarity will have already expired.

Survival of the Fittest

Imagine you control three 1/1 creatures and your opponent attacks with three 5/5 creatures. By casting Solidarity after you declare your 1/1s as blockers, they become 1/6s. They will survive the 5 damage dealt to them, remaining on the battlefield to fight another turn.