Essence Flare MTG Card


Boosting a creature’s stats, Essence Flare also draws cards, magnifying tempo and board presence. While enhancing creatures, it dictates deck construction with a blue mana prerequisite and hand dependency. Its flexibility and meta relevance can shape aggressive strategies and combo-driven decks alike.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Text of card

Target creature gets +2/+0. During each of its controller's upkeeps, put a -0/-1 counter on the creature. These counters remain even if Essence Flare is removed.

Never underestimate the power of the soul unleashed.


Cards like Essence Flare

Essence Flare serves as an intriguing enchantment within the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering a unique approach to creature enhancement. It rivals other auras like Giant Strength, which also grants a power and toughness boost to creatures. Essence Flare has the distinctive feature of not only enhancing the creature it’s enchanting but also allows for the drawing of a card when the enchanted creature is targeted by a spell, thus providing card advantage.

In a comparable fashion, we spot Spectral Flight, another enchantment that delivers a different kind of edge. Although it bestows less power compared to Essence Flare, it compensates by giving the enchanted creature flying, significantly enhancing its offensive and defensive capabilities. Conversely, Holy Strength may seem similar with its power boost at a lower cost, but it lacks the card draw mechanism that Essence Flare offers, which can be crucial during gameplay for maintaining hand advantage.

Assessing these options side by side, Essence Flare stands out among enchantments in Magic: The Gathering as it not only bolsters a creature’s strength but also turns it into a potential source of card economy. This double-edged benefit can be a game-changer in tight situations.

Giant Strength - MTG Card versions
Spectral Flight - MTG Card versions
Holy Strength - MTG Card versions
Giant Strength - MTG Card versions
Spectral Flight - MTG Card versions
Holy Strength - MTG Card versions

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Tidal Flats - MTG Card versions
Backfire - MTG Card versions
Mystic Remora - MTG Card versions
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Awesome Presence - MTG Card versions
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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Essence Flare stands out for its capacity to increase card advantage within gameplay. By enchanting a creature, a player can potentially draw a card each time that particular creature is targeted, thereby replenishing their hand and maintaining pivotal momentum within a match.

Resource Acceleration: The enchantment nature of Essence Flare can act as a form of resource acceleration. Applying it to a creature can deter opponents from targeting it, indirectly preserving your other resources. While not directly producing mana or treasure tokens, it strategically conserves the resources a player already has in play.

Instant Speed: Although Essence Flare isn’t an instant itself, it synergizes well with other instant-speed spells. Once enchanted, any instance a creature with Essence Flare is targeted by an instant speed spell, not only do you benefit from the spell’s effects, but you also get to draw a card, enhancing the value of playing at instant speed.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Essence Flare necessitates letting go of a card from your hand as part of its casting process. This can backfire when your hand is already running on empty or when every card you hold is vital to your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Sporting a mana requirement that includes blue, Essence Flare fits primarily within blue-based decks. This specificity can restrict its integration into a more diverse range of strategies, potentially sidelining it in favor of more adaptable alternatives.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that’s on the higher side, players might find Essence Flare a costly endeavor for the power boost it offers. For those mana points, there are other spells that might yield a greater impact or provide additional versatility on the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Essence Flare in Your Collection

Versatility: Essence Flare offers a boost in both power and toughness, making it a flexible addition to creature-focused decks. It can turn even the most unassuming creature into a sizeable threat on the board.

Combo Potential: This enchantment can be a key piece in decks built around casting bonuses or prowess-like effects. The power buff it provides can also synergize with strategies that rely on high-power creatures to activate specific abilities or deal greater combat damage.

Meta-Relevance: Given its low casting cost, Essence Flare can play a significant role in aggressive decks looking to apply pressure early in the game. In metas where tempo plays are crucial, being able to quickly enhance your creatures can give you the upper hand.


How to Beat Essence Flare

Essence Flare is a unique aura spell in MTG that can turn the tides by boosting a creature’s power based on the number of cards in its controller’s hand. To effectively counter Essence Flare, a player needs to adopt strategies that minimize the hand size of the opponent. This can include forcing discards through cards like Thoughtseize or Mind Rot, which directly target the opponent’s grip on resources. Another alternative is to focus on removal spells to take out the buffed creature before the enlarged power becomes overwhelming. Cards like Path to Exile or Murder are essential in any deck to manage such threats promptly. Lastly, enchantment removal such as Disenchant or Naturalize should be on standby to dispatch Essence Flare directly and negate its influence on the battlefield. With the right blend of disruption and removal, overcoming the challenge posed by Essence Flare becomes a manageable task in your MTG strategy.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Essence Flare MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Coldsnap Theme Decks, 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 Essence Flare and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Essence Flare Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Richard Kane Ferguson.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11995-06-03Ice AgeICE 691993NormalBlackRichard Kane Ferguson
22006-07-21Coldsnap Theme DecksCST 692003NormalBlackRichard Kane Ferguson
32008-09-22Masters Edition IIME2 481997NormalBlackRichard Kane Ferguson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Essence Flare has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2008-10-01 The -0/-1 counters stay on the creature even if Essence Flare is removed.