Timely Reinforcements MTG Card


Timely Reinforcements grants life and tokens, ideal for recovering from a weak position and upsetting opponent plans. Playing the card at instant speed allows strategic response to an opponent’s moves, increasing its tactical value. It’s essential to consider mana restrictions and situational effectiveness to maximize the impact of Timely Reinforcements.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery

Text of card

If you have less life than an opponent, you gain 6 life. If you control fewer creatures than an opponent, put three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.

The gods are not always kind, but they do have a soft spot for plucky underdogs.


Cards like Timely Reinforcements

Timely Reinforcements is an intriguing tactical spell in Magic: The Gathering that provides a unique blend of life gain and creature production. Its closest counterparts include cards like Raise the Alarm, which also generates two 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens. However, Raise the Alarm doesn’t offer the life-gaining advantage that Timely Reinforcements does, setting these two apart in terms of added value to a player’s defense.

Another relative in this niche is the card Heroes’ Reunion, renowned for its significant 7-point life gain at instant speed. While it doesn’t summon creatures, the life boost can be a game-changer in tight situations. Comparatively, Timely Reinforcements offers a more balanced approach with its combination of effects, albeit contingent upon the state of the game, granting life and creatures when you’re trailing behind your opponent.

Knight’s Pledge can be mentioned too although it doesn’t offer either tokens or life, it bolsters a single creature with a permanent stat increase, ensuring its sustained presence on the battlefield, a different but sometimes equally valuable strategic layer.

Timely Reinforcements provides a strategic cushion that caters to multiple needs – stabilizing the board with creatures and bolstering life totals, hence why it’s favored in decks that strive for resilience in the face of adversity.

Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Heroes' Reunion - MTG Card versions
Knight's Pledge - MTG Card versions
Raise the Alarm - MTG Card versions
Heroes' Reunion - MTG Card versions
Knight's Pledge - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Timely Reinforcements by color, type and mana cost

Tivadar's Crusade - MTG Card versions
Cleansing - MTG Card versions
Blinding Light - MTG Card versions
Dust to Dust - MTG Card versions
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Angelic Blessing - MTG Card versions
Virtuous Charge - MTG Card versions
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Search for Glory - MTG Card versions
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Council's Judgment - MTG Card versions
Proclamation of Rebirth - MTG Card versions
Marshaling Cry - MTG Card versions
Solemn Offering - MTG Card versions
Excommunicate - MTG Card versions
Righteous Charge - MTG Card versions
Tivadar's Crusade - MTG Card versions
Cleansing - MTG Card versions
Blinding Light - MTG Card versions
Dust to Dust - MTG Card versions
Warrior's Charge - MTG Card versions
Valorous Charge - MTG Card versions
Bargain - MTG Card versions
Angelic Blessing - MTG Card versions
Virtuous Charge - MTG Card versions
Riding Red Hare - MTG Card versions
Cleansing Meditation - MTG Card versions
Search for Glory - MTG Card versions
Hive Stirrings - MTG Card versions
Kayla's Reconstruction - MTG Card versions
Council's Judgment - MTG Card versions
Proclamation of Rebirth - MTG Card versions
Marshaling Cry - MTG Card versions
Solemn Offering - MTG Card versions
Excommunicate - MTG Card versions
Righteous Charge - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Timely Reinforcements. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Orzhov PlaneswalkersOrzhov Planeswalkers GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 08 2024
5c Omnath5c Omnath Modern4/5c OmnathModern Challenge 64 2024-01-07 (1)
Jeskai ControlJeskai Control ModernJeskai ControlModern Preliminary 2023-12-27

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Timely Reinforcements provides a multifaceted boost to your board state, which can be pivotal during tightly contested matches. It excels at bringing you back from a less favorable position by granting you fresh troop reinforcements in the form of creature tokens and supplementing your life total. This dual benefit can swing the momentum in your favor and complicate your opponent’s strategy.

Resource Acceleration: While this card doesn’t directly generate mana, the life gained and tokens created can save the resources you would have to otherwise invest in stabilizing the board. This indirect economization of mana and life can accelerate your game plan enabling you to allocate resources towards more decisive plays in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Timely Reinforcements at instant speed gives you the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s actions during their turn. This can lead to advantageous plays where you can bait your opponent into overcommitting before you level the playing field with your reinforcements, effectively catching them off-guard and potentially turning the tide of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Though Timely Reinforcements does not have a discard requirement, certain strategies hinge upon maintaining card advantage. When playing this card, if the conditions are not met—specifically not having less life or fewer creatures than an opponent—then it could simply take up a valuable card slot without providing its full benefit.

Specific Mana Cost: Timely Reinforcements has a stringent mana requirement, needing both white mana and general mana. This restricts the card’s inclusion to mainly white-inclusive decks and can represent a stumbling block in decks that struggle to generate the specific mana needed in the early game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The card costs three mana, which is considered a midrange cost in the scope of MTG gameplay. While the effects of gaining life and creating creature tokens can be game-changing under the right circumstances, there are scenarios where the mana spent on Timely Reinforcements could be used for more impactful plays, especially in a deck where tempo is the key to victory.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Timely Reinforcements is often praised for its flexibility, providing both life gain and creature tokens. This card can be a turning point when slotted into decks that strive to stabilize against aggressive strategies or in control decks that need to buy time.

Combo Potential: In decks that capitalize on creature count or life totals, Timely Reinforcements can be a critical component. The soldiers it creates may synergize with effects that pump your team, and the life gain can enable conditions for cards that trigger when you have more life than an opponent.

Meta-Relevance: With a shifting MTG landscape, Timely Reinforcements stands out in metas where fast, aggressive decks dominate. It’s incredibly potent at thwarting early game aggression and can often shift the momentum in your favor, making it a solid sideboard choice or a mainboard inclusion, depending on the current environment.


How to beat

Timely Reinforcements is a card that presents a unique challenge to Magic: The Gathering players, with its potential to swing games in the favor of those falling behind. This card has the ability to create a disparity in life totals and creature count, making it essential to approach with a strategic plan. To effectively counteract Timely Reinforcements, it’s crucial to manage the pace of the game. One approach is to maintain close life totals, preventing the life gain half of the card from activating. Another is to keep creature presence on your side of the battlefield at bay until after it resolves. This prevents your opponent from benefiting from the extra creature tokens.

Precise removal spells can pick off tokens and lower the impact after Timely Reinforcements hits the table. Hand disruption tactics can also be applied preemptively to rid your opponent’s hand of this card before they have a chance to cast it. Truly, defeating Timely Reinforcements is an exercise in careful resource management and timing. By following these methods, players can mitigate the advantage it brings and maintain the upper hand in their matches.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Timely Reinforcements MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2012 and Mystery Booster, 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 Timely Reinforcements and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Timely Reinforcements Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2011-07-15 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Tomasz Jedruszek.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-07-15Magic 2012M12 402003NormalBlackTomasz Jedruszek
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 2622003NormalBlackTomasz Jedruszek
32020-09-26The ListPLST M12-402003NormalBlackTomasz Jedruszek

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Timely Reinforcements has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
GladiatorLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2011-09-22 In a Two-Headed Giant game, you’ll compare your team’s life total with the opposing team’s life total. You’ll then compare the number of creatures you control (ignoring creatures your teammate controls) to the number of creatures each opponent controls separately.
2011-09-22 In a multiplayer game, you consider each opponent. If you have less life than one of your opponents and fewer creatures than one of your opponents (although this may be a different opponent), you’ll get both bonuses.
2011-09-22 You compare life totals with each of your opponents when Timely Reinforcements resolves. At that time, if you have less life than an opponent, you’ll gain 6 life. Similarly, you compare the number of creatures you control with the number of creatures each opponent controls when Timely Reinforcements resolves.