Defiler of Dreams MTG Card


Defiler of Dreams boosts card advantage by revealing the deck’s top card and enabling quicker plays of blue permanents. It accelerates resource deployment by reducing the cost of blue spells, supporting faster board development. Despite its advantages, it requires careful decision-making, as discarding cards is an essential part of its activation.
Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Phyrexian Sphinx
Abilities Flying
Power 4
Toughness 3

Text of card

Flying As an additional cost to cast blue permanent spells, you may pay 2 life. Those spells cost less to cast if you paid life this way. This effect reduces only the amount of blue mana you pay. Whenever you cast a blue permanent spell, draw a card.


Cards like Defiler of Dreams

The Defiler of Dreams occupies a unique space among blue creatures in Magic: The Gathering. When considering this card’s abilities, it bears similarities with creatures such as Dream Eater and Sphinx of Foresight. Like the Defiler of Dreams, these creatures offer both significant board presence and additional strategic depth to gameplay.

Dream Eater brings a powerful battlefield interaction with its surveil ability, allowing for deck manipulation similar to the Defiler of Dreams, which grants bonus effects for playing blue spells. However, the Defiler of Dreams offers a more passive bonus by potentially reducing spell costs. On the other side of the spectrum, Sphinx of Foresight provides an opening game advantage by allowing a scry before the game starts, a subtler yet considerable edge over the Defiler’s in-game cost reduction.

Comparing these cards, each brings a distinct element to blue strategies, with the Defiler of Dreams particularly enhancing spell-based decks by reducing mana costs. This can lead to a domino effect of casting multiple spells in a single turn, possibly tilting the game in favor of the Defiler’s controller. In the realm of MTG, each card finds its niche, and the Defiler of Dreams is no exception, shaping the flow of the match with its unique cost efficiency.

Dream Eater - MTG Card versions
Sphinx of Foresight - MTG Card versions
Dream Eater - MTG Card versions
Sphinx of Foresight - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Defiler of Dreams by color, type and mana cost

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Infiltrator il-Kor - MTG Card versions
Mulldrifter - MTG Card versions
Chasm Drake - MTG Card versions
Belltower Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Vesuvan Doppelganger - MTG Card versions
Water Elemental - MTG Card versions
Air Elemental - MTG Card versions
Sandbar Crocodile - MTG Card versions
Pirate Ship - MTG Card versions
Segovian Leviathan - MTG Card versions
Sun Ce, Young Conquerer - MTG Card versions
Mawcor - MTG Card versions
Timin, Youthful Geist - MTG Card versions
Geology Enthusiast - MTG Card versions
Coastal Hornclaw - MTG Card versions
Meloku the Clouded Mirror - MTG Card versions
Azami, Lady of Scrolls - MTG Card versions
Cloudhoof Kirin - MTG Card versions
Drelnoch - MTG Card versions
Adarkar Windform - MTG Card versions
Infiltrator il-Kor - MTG Card versions
Mulldrifter - MTG Card versions
Chasm Drake - MTG Card versions
Belltower Sphinx - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Defiler of Dreams comes with a powerful ability to manipulate draws. With its capacity to peek at the top card of your deck at any time, it facilitates card selection and improves your odds of drawing critical spells or lands when necessary. Moreover, upon casting a blue permanent, it grants you the chance to exile the top card of your library with the option to play that card this turn, securing a stream of additional resources and maintaining a hand full of options.

Resource Acceleration: The Defiler of Dreams assists in accelerating resources by providing a cost reduction for blue spells. This reduction effectively increases the efficiency of your mana and permits the rapid deployment of multiple threats or answers in a single turn. It escalates the pressure on your opponent by allowing you to overcommit on the board without depleting your mana reserves too quickly.

Instant Speed: Although Defiler of Dreams itself is not an instant, it propels your instant-speed blue interactions by reducing their casting costs. This synergizes well with counterspells and instant-speed draw effects, enabling more flexible and potent responses during your opponent’s turn. It keeps them guessing, making it more difficult to play around your potential answers.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To unlock the potential of Defiler of Dreams, players must discard another card. This can be a risky trade-off, especially in game situations where maintaining hand advantage is crucial. When your hand is running dry, having to let go of precious cards can set you back significantly.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Defiler of Dreams requires a precise mana combination, including blue mana. This necessity can restrict the card’s integration into multicolored decks or those that don’t focus on blue mana. Decks that aren’t tailored to accommodate such mana demands may find this card less flexible to include.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that demands a significant mana investment, Defiler of Dreams may not always be the most mana-efficient choice for your deck strategy. Considering the pace of the game and the prevalence of lower-cost alternatives that offer similar benefits, weighing the cost against the card’s impact is essential for optimizing your deck’s performance.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Defiler of Dreams offers flexibility across a multitude of deck themes, making it a perfect fit for players who enjoy crafting varied strategies. Its ability to filter through the deck ensures you’re always drawing into action.

Combo Potential: This card excels at enabling powerful interactions with other cards that capitalize on casting spells from the top of the library or those that benefit from non-creature spells being played – a combo enthusiast’s dream.

Meta-Relevance: As the meta shifts towards decks that need to consistently deliver powerful plays, Defiler of Dreams stands out as a card that can consistently apply pressure and resource advantage in such environments.


How to beat

Defiler of Dreams possesses the formidable ability to manipulate the flow of a game by granting colorless spells a kick of extra power. With such potential for card synergy, especially in colorless or blue-focused decks, the key to countering this creature lies in disrupting the mana base it fuels. Targeting the permanents that generate the colorless mana, which is crucial for this creature to function optimally, can greatly reduce its threat level.

Removal spells that specifically address creatures of its kind are set to work well. Instant-speed interaction makes it possible to deal with Defiler of Dreams before it can leverage its power, thus denying the advantage it provides. Moreover, countering it upon casting is an effective measure, preventing the card from ever impacting the battlefield. Considering the card’s impact on late-game strategies, any deck prepared with timely removal or counter spells stands a good chance of negating the benefits Defiler of Dreams brings to the opponent.

In essence, maintaining control over the board and acting swiftly with appropriate responses will ensure that Defiler of Dreams does not dictate the pace of the game, thereby keeping its potential influence in check.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the strengths and intricacies of Defiler of Dreams can significantly enhance your MTG gameplay. With its unique abilities to sift through your deck and reduce mana costs on key spells, incorporating this card strategically into your blue-centric or spell-heavy decks could turn the tides of battle in your favor. As you ponder on adding this multifaceted card to your collection, reflect on how it aligns with your gaming style and the current meta. For those keen on optimizing their decks with the potential that Defiler of Dreams holds, or exploring new combos and synergies, we’re here to help you chart a course towards victory. Dive deeper into the realm of MTG with us, and unlock the full potential of your deck and your skills as a player.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Defiler of Dreams MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Dominaria United, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Defiler of Dreams and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Defiler of Dreams Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2022-09-09 and 2022-09-09. Illustrated by Ryan Pancoast.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 1034102015NormalBlackRyan Pancoast
22022-09-09Dominaria UnitedDMU 3932015NormalBlackRyan Pancoast
32022-09-09Dominaria UnitedDMU 462015NormalBlackRyan Pancoast
42022-09-09Dominaria United PromosPDMU 46s2015NormalBlackRyan Pancoast
52022-09-09Dominaria United PromosPDMU 46p2015NormalBlackRyan Pancoast

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Defiler of Dreams has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Defiler of Dreams card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2022-09-09 Some players may make the mental shortcut that the Defilers effectively turn one of the colored mana symbols in the spell’s cost into a Phyrexian colored mana symbol. Despite the similarity in function, this ability does not cause the spells to have Phyrexian mana symbols in their costs. Sorry, Rage Extractor!
2022-09-09 You may only pay the additional cost once per permanent spell.