Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Set Identity and Mechanical Threads in Hour of Devastation

When you lift the veil on the Hour of Devastation cycle, you’re stepping into a realm where Bolas’s designs feel both grand and intimate. Eternal of Harsh Truths sits squarely in blue’s tempo-playing repertoire, a rare moment where card advantage and pressure collide in a single evening-sky-blue swing. This 3-mana creature—a 2 generic and {U} mana—asks you to balance risk and reward: Afflict 2 punishes the life total of the defending player whenever the zombie cleric becomes blocked, while its on-attack trigger grants you a card if it connects unblocked. It’s a deliberately imperfect machine, designed to tease out both players’ choices and your own library of answers ⚔️🧙‍♂️.

In terms of design identity, the card is blue through and through. Its color identity is blue, with a body that’s more resilient than it appears (a 1/3 stat line at common power level) and a mana cost that sits comfortably in midrange control decks. The creature type—Zombie Cleric—hints at a broader flavor: the Eternals are animated remnants of a plan, and this one wears the cleric mantle with a quiet, unsettling calm. The “Afflict” mechanic is a hallmark of Hour of Devastation’s black-and-blue leitmotif, pushing players toward aggressive lines even when the board isn’t overflowing with blockers. The blue brain-tickler here isn’t just card draw; it’s the meta-choice to convert an aggressive moment into lasting tempo. And with the flavor text hinting at Bolas’s bifurcated plans for the Eternals, you get a sense that every card is a breadcrumb toward a bigger narrative arc 🧙‍♂️💎.

"If creating the Eternals was Bolas's plan here, what is his plan for the Eternals?" —Jace Beleren

Statistically, Eternal of Harsh Truths is a compact package that rewards an attacker’s gambit while keeping the door open for future plays. At a base mana cost of 3, the card’s CMC 3 sits near the typical curve for tempo-heavy blue creatures that also want to push damage or threaten a card draw. The creature’s power of 1 and toughness of 3 give it surprising staying power on the battlefield, especially when you consider that the card draw on attack can chain into next-turn plays—materials for a slippery, hard-to-block plan. The “Afflict 2” clause ensures that if the opponent chooses to block, they pay dearly in life as the Eternals press their advantage. It’s a delicate dance: you want to swing with enough force to threaten, but you rely on your plan to keep the Venn Diagram of damage and value overlapping 🔥⚔️.

From a gameplay perspective, this card lives in a world where tempo and inevitability share the same lane. In the right builds, you can leverage the unblocked draw to peel into [counterspells], [finishers], or disruptive elements that tilt the game by the mid-to-late turns. The creature’s Zombie Cleric classification opens doors to other synergies in the broader Hour of Devastation ecosystem—think about how other Eternals or blue staples can leverage graveyard recursions, bounce effects, or draw engines to maximize value. For players who love the tug-of-war between attacking pressure and defensive tightness, Eternal of Harsh Truths is a compact puzzle box: block and lose more life OR let it slip through and draw into your next answer. The latter path often feels more satisfying when you’re sequencing draws into a clean line of plays 🔮🎨.

Artist Izzy captures the eerie, dignified presence of the Eternals with a stark silhouette and a palette that reads like a memory you’re trying to forget. The card’s illustration sits within the Hour of Devastation frame, which, by design, houses a story about control, consequence, and the price of ambition. It’s a reminder that the Eternals aren’t just tools in a magic trick; they’re living narrative threads pulled taut by Bolas’s long game. In a set where the mythic beats march to the beat of a master strategist, this rare is a thoughtful anchor for blue players who crave a little bite with their bite-sized draws 💎🎲.

• Mana cost: {2}{U} (CMC 3)
• Creature type: Zombie Cleric
• Text: Afflict 2; Whenever this creature attacks and isn’t blocked, draw a card
• Power/Toughness: 1/3
• Set: Hour of Devastation (Hou); Rarity: Uncommon

As a collectible, Eternal of Harsh Truths sits at an approachable price point today, with foil variants trading at a modest premium. It represents a nice intersection of playability and nostalgia for players who remember the late-2010s era where Bolas’s plan began unfolding in earnest. The card’s value isn’t solely monetary; it’s a reminder of a broader design philosophy in a blue-leaning epoch: tempo, card advantage, and a touch of inevitability all in one compact package 🧙‍♂️💎.

On a broader cultural level, the Hour of Devastation block proffered a rich, cinematic storyline—the Eternals as an instrument of Bolas’s grand plan. Eternal of Harsh Truths embodies that duality: a creature that presses your opponent’s life total while rewarding you with information—the ever-crucial card draw—that keeps the strategy alive even when the battlefield is thin. Whether you’re building on a classic control spine or exploring a more midrange tempo style, this card nudges you to consider how your deck can leverage the risks of Afflict while maximizing the value of every unblocked swing 🧙‍♂️🎲.

For readers curious about the wider Magic landscape and adjacent content, our network has you covered. If you’re chasing strategic insights, collector chatter, or lore dives tied to other card systems, you’ll find thoughtful perspectives across the five articles linked below. They’re a reminder that MTG isn’t just about the cards on the table—it’s a living conversation that spans formats, history, and hobbyist culture.

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