Foil vs Etched Foil: Reverence Valuation Deep Dive

In TCG ·

Reverence — Saviors of Kamigawa card art

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Between Foil and Etched Foil: Reverence Valuation in Focus

If you’ve ever chased the thrill of stifling an aggressive board with a single enchantment, Reverence feels like a warm, white-gloved handshake from the past. This rare from Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK) wears its color identity proudly: white mana costed at {2}{W}{W}, a sturdy four-mana commitment that comes with a clean, practical payoff. Its oracle text is succinct but nerve-wracking for foes: “Creatures with power 2 or less can't attack you.” In tournament rooms and kitchen-table skirmishes alike, Reverence buys time by neutering the early-game rush, buying space for your bigger units to take over the battlefield. 🧙‍♂️⚔️

For collectors and players tracking value, the foil version of Reverence from this print run sits at a healthy premium. The card's foil price hovers around $14.06 USD, while non-foil copies rest near $6.81 USD. That delta reflects not just a glossy finish but the enduring desirability of white control and prison-style effects casting a long shadow over casual metas and eternal formats. On the etched foil front, Reverence doesn’t show a formal etched-foil listing in the current data for this printing, which is a reminder that etched variants can be more scarce or simply not printed for every card. Still, the potential for a future etched release—if Wizards revisits Kamigawa-era enchantments with a new finish—adds a second page to the valuation story. 💎🔥

From a gameplay perspective, Reverence shines in formats where aggro is king and efficiency matters. In Modern and certain duel or casual formats, it acts as a defensive anchor against a swarm of 1- or 2-power attackers. That restriction on attacking helps you stabilize behind a wall of the opponent’s worst threats while you assemble a plan around anthem effects, recursion, or large creatures that can close the game once the coast is clear. The card’s white mana identity fits neatly into Mardu, Bant, or Azorius shells that prize tempo, stall, or prison-game strategies. In EDH, Reverence can tuck neatly into pillowfort or white-control builds, especially when your command zone wants to keep the table honest while you set up a win condition. 🧙‍♂️🎲

Let’s peek under the hood and glimpse the design philosophy at play. Reverence is a straightforward, clean enchantment—no activated abilities, no extra costs, just a broad protection against early aggression. That design is stunning in its restraint: a four-mana tax that pays off in the form of maintaining life totals and reducing the opponent’s attack vectors. The simplicity is precisely why it remains relevant: it scales with the game’s tempo and board presence, often forcing opponents to answer a threat with more than just a single blocker, or to pivot into noncombat strategies. The flavor text from Masako the Humorless—the Kami War era continues to loom large in Kamigawa’s identity—reminds us that even divine forces can stumble into a long, grueling campaign against overwhelming odds. (“Despite the massive forces that allied against him, Konda never once believed he would lose the Kami War.”) That lore vibe pairs nicely with Reverence’s capacity to outlast early onslaughts. 🎨🧙‍♂️

Card snapshot at a glance

  • Name: Reverence
  • Mana cost: {2}{W}{W}
  • Type: Enchantment
  • Rarity: Rare
  • Set: Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
  • Colors: White
  • Oracle text: Creatures with power 2 or less can't attack you.
  • Art: Ittoku

Prices and accessibility matter in the collector’s journey, too. Reverence’s foil print runs about 14 dollars in USD, with non-foil around 6–7 dollars. The difference reflects both the allure of foil finishes and the card’s situational utility. An etched foil, if it emerges in future reprint cycles, would likely command even more—provided demand remains steady and supply stays tight. For now, the non-etched, non-foil and foil paths offer a clear, two-pronged avenue for players and collectors to pursue, depending on how much you value the foil shimmer or the budget you’re comfortable dedicating to a midrange control piece. 🔥💎

As a modern collector’s note, Reverence sits in a comfortable position: not a marquee staple, but a respected sleeper that often shows up in EDH lists and casual white-control decks. Its ability to shut down the smallest of foes gives you a predictable lane to operate in, rendering many early micro-battles into draws or standoffs. And if you’re chasing around a tempo engine in a sealed or draft environment, Reverence still plays nicely with low-power boards that love to flood the battlefield with cheap critters. The card’s historical significance—arriving during Kamigawa’s Kami War-themed era—also adds a splash of nostalgia that resonates with longtime fans. 🧙‍♂️⚔️

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