I have a confession: the first time I saw a Magic card with “fear” on it, I actually assumed the creature was scared of everything else. The idea that a creature “gained fear” just seemed funny to me. “Shouldn’t that make it run away?” I thought. Over the years, I’ve realized it’s not about the creature being scared, but about everyone else being terrified of it.
But let me take a moment to look back—nearly two decades, in fact. I remember flipping through an older sibling’s Weatherlight-era Magic collection, drooling over the art and wishing I actually understood how to play. I was eventually gifted a stack of “jank” by a family friend who took pity on this curious kid. That small collection included a Sixth Edition copy of Fear (the card). The art showed a tiny rabbit sending various monsters into a panicked frenzy, and I found it equal parts hilarious and awesome.
When I finally learned how to play properly, black quickly became one of my favorite colors. Part of that was because of the Phyrexians—nothing cooler than weird biomechanical horrors—but part of it was definitely that I found Fear (both the card and the ability) so iconic. But what exactly is fear as a mechanic, why isn’t it used anymore, and which cards still rock it? Let’s find out.
What Is Fear?
A creature with fear can only be blocked by black creatures or artifact creatures. That’s really it. It’s an evasion ability, a lot like flying or menace, but it’s narrowly focused on color. If your opponent doesn’t happen to have black or artifact creatures, your fear-enchanted or fear-based creature swings in unblocked.
It’s also worth clarifying that color identity and actual color aren’t the same. So, for instance, Kenrith, the Returned King might have black in its color identity if you’re looking at Commander deck-building rules, but it’s not a black creature. It can’t block a creature with fear unless it becomes black somehow.
The History of Fear
Fear (the card) first appeared in Alpha (1993), making it part of Magic’s earliest days. Over time, the mechanic popped up on black creatures or on enchantments that granted the ability, like Frightcrawler and Rathi Intimidator, which each reflect that classic “fear” evasion text. Even a few nonblack cards got in on the action, like Hooded Kavu.
Through the years, fear showed up in a lot of sets. If you pore over older expansions, you’ll see it again and again—there are more than 40 different products featuring at least one card with fear. Most are simple, unimpressive commons or uncommons such as Fen Stalker, but a handful stand out.
The last major print run of new fear cards arrived back in Alara Reborn (2009), after which Wizards of the Coast decided to retire the keyword in favor of something else. Although fear has popped up here and there in reprint sets—Shriekmaw reappeared in a Forgotten Realms Commander deck—the mechanic itself isn’t used for newly designed cards anymore.
Why Did Fear Go Away?
So, what happened? According to Mark Rosewater (Magic’s head designer), the biggest concern was the name. If you “give a creature fear,” it sounds like you’re making that creature terrified instead of turning it into a terrifying threat. On top of that, Wizards wanted an evasion mechanic that could apply to more colors. Fear was almost exclusively associated with black.
Their solution was intimidate, which says a creature can only be blocked by artifact creatures and creatures that share a color with it. That tweak opened up the door for red intimidators, green intimidators, etc. But intimidate didn’t last forever either—it eventually got replaced by menace. We’ll get to that in a moment.
Still, if you’re anything like me, you might feel that fear had a certain charm. It was so straightforward. Black creatures and artifact creatures can block; everything else can’t. And the old-school flavor of “fear” was easy to understand thematically for black cards, even if the naming logic felt a bit off.
Fear vs. Intimidate vs. Menace
Intimidate
Intimidate is basically “fear 2.0.” Instead of only black/artifact creatures blocking your fearsome attacker, creatures that share a color or are artifacts can jump in. So, if you’ve got a green creature with intimidate, any green or artifact creature can block it. This gave other colors a shot at this style of evasion.
However, some players didn’t love the flavor. For example, a random 1/2 that’s “intimidating” a huge demon in black felt weird. Or a scenario where a giant monster is apparently so frightening that only creatures of the same color can muster the courage to block, but a small, random artifact creature is totally fine stepping in.
Menace
Menace is an ability that means a creature can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures. If you attack me with a menace creature, I have to throw at least two creatures in front of it. This flavor is a bit more universal: a menacing foe demands teamwork to handle. It also means if your opponent has only one creature on board, your menace creature gets a free pass.
I personally like menace for how it translates in big battles. It suggests the creature is too ferocious or cunning to be handled by a single blocker. It’s a neat concept that fits many colors and, in my opinion, it avoids some of the weird corner cases that fear and intimidate fell into.
What Blocks Creatures with Fear?
It might sound trivial, but this question pops up a lot if you’re dealing with older cards:
- Black creatures can block them.
- Artifact creatures can block them.
That’s it. A colorless creature that’s not an artifact—like an Eldrazi with devoid—doesn’t count as black and doesn’t count as an artifact, so it can’t block. And if you have something like Distorting Lens or Argent Mutation, you can temporarily turn a creature black or turn it into an artifact so it can block a fear-based attacker. Keep in mind that you need to do this before the declare blockers step, or it won’t help.
Can Creatures with Protection from Black Block Fear?
No, unless that creature is also black or an artifact. Protection from black means it can’t be dealt damage by black sources, can’t be enchanted or equipped by black auras or equipment, can’t be blocked by black creatures, and can’t be targeted by black spells or abilities. However, fear says only black or artifact creatures can block it. Having “protection from black” doesn’t turn your creature black. So it still fails that requirement. Weird, but that’s Magic rules for you.
Best Fear Cards
Let’s be honest: fear is a niche mechanic today. You won’t see it in Standard or in newly printed sets. But in older formats and Commander, certain fear cards remain interesting. Here are a few you might consider:
Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
This legendary land lets you give a legendary creature fear until end of turn. If your commander isn’t black or an artifact, Shizo might provide the last bit of evasion you need to push through lethal damage. It’s especially useful if your commander does big chunks of damage or has an on-hit effect that you really want to connect with.
Cover of Darkness
For two mana, this enchantment asks you to name a creature type (like Zombie, Vampire, or whatever tribe you’re into). Those creatures get fear. In a tribal deck that doesn’t already have a built-in way to bypass blockers, this can be a huge deal. If your opponents aren’t running black or artifact creatures, you might just run away with the game.
Dread
Dread is a 6/6 with fear for six mana, but that’s not the main reason you play it. It has a replacement effect that says whenever a creature deals damage to you, destroy it. That ability discourages your opponents from attacking you, unless they’re fine losing their creatures. Adding fear on top feels like a nice flavor bonus. Sometimes you sneak in that six damage because the only potential blockers are too precious to risk.
Avatar of Woe
For eight mana, you get a 6/5 fear creature that taps to destroy a target creature. However, if there are at least ten total creature cards in all graveyards, it only costs you two mana. In multiplayer formats, that discount is surprisingly easy to achieve. Avatar of Woe remains a strong piece of repeatable removal, with an added bonus of being tough to block.
Guiltfeeder
Guiltfeeder is a star in certain Commander or casual decks that focus on milling. It has fear, plus an ability that deals damage to a defending player based on how many cards are in their graveyard. If you combine it with something like Traumatize, you can cut an opponent’s library in half and then swing in for a huge chunk of life. If they can’t block, they might lose in one hit.
Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself?
Fear was once a staple ability for black creatures. It wasn’t overly complicated, and it played nicely into black’s flavor of lurking nightmares that only other horrors or metal constructs could handle. Yet the name was confusing, so Wizards created intimidate, which still had issues, then moved on to menace. Menace fits more colors and resonates with the idea of forcing multiple blockers to team up, which I believe is a neat solution.
I also find it charming that in some translations—like Spanish—the Fear card was called “Inspirar Temor,” meaning “inspire fear.” That actually makes more sense than the original English text: you’re not scaring your own creature, you’re scaring everything else. But that’s how Magic design works: sometimes older mechanics are replaced by simpler or more flavorful ones. Fear was neither the first nor the last mechanic to be phased out.
Conclusion
Fear might be gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s forgotten. Vintage players and Commander enthusiasts still run across fear cards, especially if they’re building old-school black decks or brewing something that relies on those old “unblockable unless” conditions. Whenever you see a fear card, it’s like a window into Magic’s past—back when black creatures could stroll right past most blockers with a single line of text.
Were you around to play when fear was still printed regularly? Do you prefer fear, intimidate, or menace? There’s something endearing about a black creature that only other black or artifact creatures dare to block. But in my opinion, menace is a solid update, and it keeps games dynamic in ways fear never could. That said, maybe you have your own thoughts—feel free to share them if you like. If nothing else, fear reminds us that Magic’s evolution never really stops, and there’s always something new (or old) to discover.