Thwart the EnemyHow it works & interactions with other cards

What It Does

Thwart the Enemy creates a continuous prevention effect that lasts until the end of the current turn. It specifically targets damage dealt by creatures controlled by your opponents, whether that damage is combat damage or non-combat damage from abilities.

How It Resolves

Step 1: You cast Thwart the Enemy and it is placed on the stack. Step 2: Upon resolution, the game creates a prevention shield for the remainder of the turn. Step 3: Any time a creature an opponent controls would deal damage, that damage is reduced to zero. This does not prevent the creatures from attacking or using abilities; it simply negates the resulting damage.

Common Mistakes

A common misconception is that this card functions like a traditional Fog by preventing all combat damage. However, Thwart the Enemy is asymmetrical; your creatures still deal damage as normal. Additionally, it does not prevent damage from non-creature sources like Sorceries or Artifacts, nor does it protect your creatures from 'destroy' effects.

When to Play It

The ideal time to cast this is during the Declare Blockers step of your opponent's combat phase. This ensures you can block aggressively to destroy their creatures without losing your own. It is also effective in response to abilities that allow creatures to deal damage directly to you or your permanents.

Interaction examples

Surviving a Beast Attack

Beast Within

If you use Beast Within to destroy an opponent's land, they receive a 3/3 Beast token. If they attack with that token later in the turn, casting Thwart the Enemy will prevent the 3 damage the token would deal to you, while your blockers can still deal damage back to the Beast.

Layering Defenses

Heroic Intervention

If an opponent attacks and follows up with a spell that causes their creatures to deal damage to yours, Heroic Intervention makes your permanents Indestructible, but they still take damage (which could matter for Lifelink or Wither). By casting Thwart the Enemy as well, you ensure the damage is never dealt in the first place, providing a complete shield.