Uncle Istvan

Creature — Human

Prevent all damage that would be dealt to Uncle Istvan by creatures.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
DanDan	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Judge Tower	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Oldschool 93/94	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (36)

Gidgetimer on Uncle Istvan

3 weeks ago

The rules for deathtouch means that any damage from a source with deathtouch is considered lethal damage. Since Uncle Istvan prevents all damage from creatures, damage from a creature with deathtouch is prevented and he will not die. If you give a spell deathtouch (as Judith, Carnage Connoisseur does) the rules for deathtouch still apply. So he will die to an Electrickery with deathtouch.

indieinside on Uncle Istvan

3 weeks ago

would Uncle Istvan die to deathtouch?

indieinside on Dauthi Shadow Tribal

1 month ago

HeavenlyAxe yeah, although this deck is pricey, it is a very very very casual build. I am hoping for something like Uncle Istvan but with flying or reach.

Jimmithee on Card creation challenge

3 months ago

Sweetblossom {3}{W}{U}

Tribal Enchantment - Faerie

Whenever a fairie enters or leaves the battlefield, creature a 1/1 white and blue Fairie creature token with flying.

At the beginning of your end step, if you control five or more faeries, exile each Fairie creature you control, then return those cards to the battlefield under their owner's control.

(The concept is that the mass-blink effect won't mess with a token strategy because of the first ability, and the first ability also supports blink.)

Make an Uncle Istvan legendary creature.

DreadKhan on Band of Kjeldor

6 months ago

I think some people play with cards up to certain dates, there is a 93/94 format that only uses cards from that period, but some people add more years. If you're just playing Casual I think you can run what you want, but it might be fun to have a specific plan of what you're going to use (it also makes it a lot easier to find cards if you only use stuff from a block).

I used to use Castle when I was a kid, my main concern is that it only buffs toughness when untapped, so I guess it depends if you think that's useful enough. It's a solid card with enough Vigilance creatures (creatures that attack without tapping in old language), but not adding any power is pretty annoying. There used to be a card that offered White creatures +1/+1 from Alpha, but IIRC it's a banned card now, rarely an issue but annoying for you maybe! IIRC Farmstead is a very weak card, you'd almost be better off running another Plains from what I remember. That said, if the card has a special connection to you that's pretty normal in casual formats (I have Uncle Istvan in a Casual Commander deck), but I wouldn't run x4 of it.

If you're open to other old sets, there is Icatian Lieutenant that can buff any soldier, that would be very useful late game with multiple First Strike creatures, while Icatian Priest works on any creature (but is an awkward 3 mana to use). There is also Morale, but I think that's an actively bad card in most situations.

DreadKhan on (Mid-power playgroups) Do you value …

10 months ago

It's probably not a great idea, but you could technically use Haakon, Stromgald Scourge as a way to stretch out your Nazgul. You need to run a bunch of cards to try to get Haakon into your hand, so you almost have to run some tutoring, but Haakon lets you run other knights to fairly good effect. TBH you can also run Haakon in the 99, he's an alternative to just Encoring in Araumi, but you'd want some discard outlets (which you might want in Araumi anyways, as well as self-mill).

Out of the two you mentioned, I think Araumi is pretty sweet, there are a ton of creatures that are sweet with her Encore ability, if you want a strong deck one of the easiest ways to ensure it is to run cards that are good in relatively normal situations, if you pick good enough cards you can also run a bunch of pet cards, because the real reason we play EDH is so we can summon an Uncle Istvan or Preacher, the most intuitive of creature types!

DreadKhan on Discarded Treachery

1 year ago

Well, I'm glad a few were worth a look! If you're really into lower budget stuff, there is also Augur of Skulls that is about the most efficient bulk discard spell at 1B for 2 cards, but it's also a blocker if you'd prefer a regenerating weenie. Another cheap way to sacrifice a creature (that you've stolen probably) and hopefully be discarding a manageable amount is Smallpox. Not sure if you think you can handle the card loss, but I'd hate to not mention it, and Pox are very good effects if you want to pressure people's hands and boards.

As for the art, that's funny because I actively go well out of my way to find older art generally, I especially prize any of the really old stuff, pre-digital is very special to me. My Rakdos deck still has an Uncle Istvan, it's just too cool to cut out, there are better cards, but Istvan has better art IMHO. Obviously you can't run too many pet cards, but I hate to run none. I commend you for sticking to what you enjoy, and am happy your tastes don't compete with mine!

EnbyGolem on Creatures that Deserve to be …

2 years ago

Uncle Istvan needs a Legendary errata yesterday