Umbra Mystic 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
Auras attached to permanents you control have umbra armor. (If an enchanted permanent you control would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy an Aura attached to it.)
Complete guide
Umbra Mystic is a unique Human Wizard that provides a layer of magical protection to all of your enchanted permanents. By granting every Aura attached to your permanents the 'umbra armor' keyword, it ensures that your most valuable cards can survive even the deadliest spells.
What it Does
Umbra Mystic creates a static effect that grants the 'umbra armor' ability to every Aura attached to permanents you control. If a permanent you control would be destroyed—whether by lethal damage or a 'destroy' effect—the umbra armor acts as a replacement effect. Instead of the permanent being put into the graveyard, all damage is removed from it, and one Aura attached to it is destroyed instead.
How it Resolves Step by Step
When a destruction event is about to happen, the game checks for replacement effects. First, if the permanent is enchanted, umbra armor applies immediately. If the permanent has multiple Auras, you, the controller of the permanent, choose one to be destroyed. Second, the chosen Aura is destroyed, and all damage is cleared from the permanent. Third, the permanent remains on the battlefield, and because this is not regeneration, it does not tap or leave combat.
Common Mistakes
A common misconception is that umbra armor protects against all ways a card can leave the battlefield. It only prevents destruction. It will not save a permanent from being sacrificed, being exiled, or having its toughness reduced to zero or less. Additionally, if the permanent already has indestructible, umbra armor won't trigger at all because the permanent cannot be destroyed in the first place.
When to Play It
Umbra Mystic is best played in 'Voltron' style decks where you plan to stack multiple Auras on a single powerful creature. Since it grants protection to Auras regardless of who controls the Aura, it is also effective at turning an opponent's negative Auras (like Pacifism effects) into extra 'lives' for your creatures.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you enchant Solemn Simulacrum with any Aura while Umbra Mystic is on the battlefield, the Simulacrum gains a safety net. If an opponent tries to destroy the Simulacrum, the Aura is destroyed instead. Note that because the Simulacrum did not die, you do not get to draw a card from its triggered ability.
Roaming ThroneImagine Roaming Throne is enchanted by an Aura. If an opponent casts a spell to destroy all creatures, Umbra Mystic ensures the Aura is destroyed while Roaming Throne survives. Even though the Mystic itself might be destroyed by the same spell, the umbra armor effect still applies to save the Throne simultaneously.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Umbra Mystic
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Umbra armor's effect is mandatory. If the enchanted creature would be destroyed, you must remove all damage from it (if it has any) and destroy the Aura that has umbra armor instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Umbra armor's effect is applied no matter why the enchanted creature would be destroyed: because it's been dealt lethal damage, or because it's being affected by an effect that says to "destroy" it (such as Breathe Your Last). In either case, all damage is removed from the creature and the Aura is destroyed instead.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature you control is enchanted with multiple Auras that have umbra armor, and the enchanted creature would be destroyed, one of those Auras is destroyed instead—but only one of them. You choose which one because you control the enchanted creature.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #4· Wizards of the Coast
Umbra armor's effect is not regeneration. Specifically, if umbra armor's effect is applied, the enchanted creature does not become tapped and is not removed from combat as a result. Effects that say the enchanted creature can't be regenerated won't prevent umbra armor's effect from being applied.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #5· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell or ability says that it would "destroy" a creature enchanted with an Aura that has umbra armor, that spell or ability is what causes the Aura to be destroyed instead. Umbra armor doesn't destroy the Aura; rather, it changes the effects of the spell or ability. On the other hand, if a spell or ability deals lethal damage to a creature enchanted with an Aura that has umbra armor, the game rules regarding lethal damage cause the Aura to be destroyed, not that spell or ability.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #6· Wizards of the Coast
Umbra armor has no effect if the enchanted creature is put into a graveyard for any other reason, such as if it's sacrificed, if the "legend rule" applies to it, or if its toughness is 0 or less.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #7· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature enchanted with an Aura that has umbra armor has indestructible, lethal damage and effects that try to destroy it simply have no effect. Umbra armor won't do anything because it won't have to.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #8· Wizards of the Coast
Some printings of this card refer to the ability "totem armor". This ability's name has been replaced with "umbra armor". This change does not affect the gameplay function of this card.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #9· Wizards of the Coast
If a creature enchanted with an Aura that has umbra armor would be destroyed by multiple state-based actions at the same time (most likely because a creature with deathtouch has dealt damage to that creature greater than or equal to its toughness), umbra armor's effect will replace all of them and save the creature.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #10· Wizards of the Coast
If a spell or ability would destroy both an Aura with umbra armor and the creature it's enchanting at the same time, umbra armor's effect will save the enchanted creature from being destroyed. Instead, the spell or ability will destroy the Aura in two different ways at the same time, but the result is the same as destroying it once.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #11· Wizards of the Coast
Say you control a permanent that's enchanted by an Aura you control, and that Aura is itself enchanted by an Aura. If the permanent would be destroyed, instead the first Aura is destroyed... but since that Aura would be destroyed, instead the second Aura is destroyed.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #12· Wizards of the Coast
All _Rise of the Eldrazi_ cards printed with umbra armor are Auras with "enchant creature." But Umbra Mystic grants umbra armor to Auras attached to any permanent you control, not just creatures. The ability works the same way even if the Aura is enchanting a land, an artifact, or any other permanent.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #13· Wizards of the Coast
Umbra Mystic grants umbra armor to Auras attached to permanents you control, regardless of who controls those Auras. Conversely, it doesn't grant umbra armor to Auras you control that are attached to permanents controlled by other players.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #14· Wizards of the Coast
If a permanent you control would be destroyed, and it's enchanted by an Aura with umbra armor, it doesn't matter who controls that Aura. The umbra armor effect is mandatory. If that permanent is enchanted by multiple Auras, you choose which one is destroyed, regardless of who controls them.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #15· Wizards of the Coast
Multiple instances of umbra armor on the same Aura are redundant.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
Commentaires
- Sois le premier à commenter cette carte.
Read next
Meta decks with Umbra Mystic
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.