Death Cloud MTG Card


Death Cloud’s symmetrical effect offers strategic advantages with graveyard synergy and selective recovery. By stripping lands, it accelerates resources, giving you a leading edge while opponents flounder. Strategically timed, it leaves opponents unprepared, unable to mitigate its game-altering impact.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Each player loses X life, then discards X cards from his or her hand, then sacrifices X creatures, then sacrifices X lands.

The swarm's million wings stir the foulest of breezes.


Cards like Death Cloud

Death Cloud is a potent force among black control cards in Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels with cards that impose sacrifice and discard penalties. Pox is an ancestor of this grim strategy, also demanding each player to sacrifice creatures, lands, and cards in hand, but its symmetric effect doesn’t allow for scaling the penalty to the opponent’s resources as Death Cloud does. Another notable card in this comparison is Smallpox, which scales down the destruction but costs significantly less mana, providing an early game tactical edge.

Delving into the depths of deck disruption, we encounter Damnation, a card that erases creatures from the battlefield without the incremental loss of lands and cards in hand that Death Cloud ensures. While not a direct match in function, Damnation serves as an efficient creature reset, whereas Death Cloud offers a more comprehensive sweep aimed at resource denial. Then there’s Bontu’s Last Reckoning, a more recent addition that clears creatures much like Damnation but leaves lands tapped—a crucial detail that can hamstring a player’s next turn, unlike the sustained resource depletion that Death Cloud inflicts.

Assessing their impact and use in gameplay, Death Cloud emerges as a devastating choice for those seeking to systematically dismantle their opponents’ board state and hand. Its flexibility in mana usage allows it to adapt to various stages of the game, making it a formidable component in any black-focused control strategy within Magic: The Gathering.

Pox - MTG Card versions
Smallpox - MTG Card versions
Damnation - MTG Card versions
Bontu's Last Reckoning - MTG Card versions
Pox - MTG Card versions
Smallpox - MTG Card versions
Damnation - MTG Card versions
Bontu's Last Reckoning - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Death Cloud by color, type and mana cost

Darkpact - MTG Card versions
Demonic Attorney - MTG Card versions
Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
Touch of Death - MTG Card versions
Wicked Pact - MTG Card versions
Nature's Ruin - MTG Card versions
Buried Alive - MTG Card versions
Choking Sands - MTG Card versions
Brush with Death - MTG Card versions
Infernal Contract - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Noxious Vapors - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Crippling Fatigue - MTG Card versions
Flaying Tendrils - MTG Card versions
Victimize - MTG Card versions
Pain's Reward - MTG Card versions
Darkpact - MTG Card versions
Demonic Attorney - MTG Card versions
Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
Touch of Death - MTG Card versions
Wicked Pact - MTG Card versions
Nature's Ruin - MTG Card versions
Buried Alive - MTG Card versions
Choking Sands - MTG Card versions
Brush with Death - MTG Card versions
Infernal Contract - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Noxious Vapors - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Crippling Fatigue - MTG Card versions
Flaying Tendrils - MTG Card versions
Victimize - MTG Card versions
Pain's Reward - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Despite initially seeming detrimental due to its symmetrical effect, Death Cloud can actually lead to significant card advantage. By structuring your deck around this card and including elements that benefit from graveyard interactions or creature deaths, you transform an apparent setback into a strategic advantage over your opponents who might not recover as quickly.

Resource Acceleration: This card’s ability to strip away lands can be converted into resource acceleration for oneself. By playing mana-producing artifacts or creatures that remain unaffected or benefit from mass removal, you can bounce back faster than your opponents, securing a lead in resources and pressuring them while they’re vulnerable.

Instant Speed: Although Death Cloud does not operate at instant speed, it compensates by disrupting opponents at crucial junctures. Playing it at the right moment, right after your adversaries have tapped out their resources, leaves them unprepared and unable to respond effectively to the major shifts in board state that Death Cloud can create.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One pivotal aspect to consider with Death Cloud is its requirement for all players, including yourself, to discard cards. In situations where your hand is your primary resource, this effect can backfire, leaving you at a strategic disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Death Cloud’s mana cost is not only specific but also demanding, with a combination of black mana and generic mana. This can make it challenging to cast, especially in multicolored decks that may not have consistent access to triple black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a base cost of XBBB, Death Cloud becomes a significant investment, especially in the early to mid-game. When considering its effect on the board, there are alternative cards with lower mana cost that can provide similar disruption without the steep resource trade-off.


Reasons to Include Death Cloud Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Death Cloud offers a unique flexibility to control the board state by forcing each player to sacrifice creatures and lands, and discard cards. This allows for a strategic advantage in games where equalizing the playing field is key.

Combo Potential: This card can be the cornerstone in a deck built around sacrifice and resource denial, working particularly well with cards that benefit from opponents discarding or losing life. Moreover, Death Cloud can be a game-changer when combined with cards that replenish your own resources or protect you from its effects.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where players have robust hands and battlefield presence, running Death Cloud can be a tactical move. It’s especially potent if the local meta is populated with decks that overcommit to the board, thus potentially crippling your opponents’ strategies and leaving them with few options to recover.


How to beat

Death Cloud presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering, often depleting resources on both sides of the battlefield. Efficient strategies against this harsh spell rely on maintaining card advantage and resource resilience. One approach to counter this daunting card includes utilizing low-cost creatures or cards that can recover value from the graveyard. This way, even after a Death Cloud resolves, you still have ways to bounce back into the game.

Another solid tactic is to employ instant-speed spells or abilities that can protect your key cards from being discarded or that can remove crucial resources from your opponent before Death Cloud’s effect takes place. Cards that grant hexproof to your permanents or hand also serve as shields against the symmetrical effects of Death Cloud. Lastly, it’s paramount to manage your life total effectively, as Death Cloud also inflicts life loss. Cards with lifelink or that provide a steady source of life gain can ensure your survival through the aftermath of a Death Cloud. Always remember to adjust your strategy to preserve your hand and board presence, ensuring that your opponent’s Death Cloud causes them more harm than it does to you.


BurnMana Recommendations

Deciphering the depths of Death Cloud’s strategic applications can transform your MTG approach significantly. Whether you relish commandeering the pace of play or you thrive by reacting to adversaries, integrating Death Cloud into your repertoire demands finesse and foresight. Constructing a graveyard-friendly deck or investing in resilient permanents could mitigate its symmetrical obliteration, thereby skewing the scales in your favor. The meta constantly shifts, and adapting your collection to include such dynamic elements as Death Cloud could prove decisive. Dive deeper into its potential, unravel combos, and reinforce your deck’s capacity for resource denial to outmaneuver opponents. Elevate your gameplay further with our insights.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Death Cloud MTG card by a specific set like Darksteel and Modern Masters, 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 Death Cloud and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Death Cloud Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2004-02-06 and 2013-06-07. Illustrated by Stephen Tappin.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12004-02-06DarksteelDST 402003NormalBlackStephen Tappin
22013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 762003NormalBlackStephen Tappin
32020-09-26The ListPLST DST-402003NormalBlackStephen Tappin

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Death Cloud has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2013-06-07 If you control a permanent that’s a creature and a land, and you choose to sacrifice it as you sacrifice creatures, it won’t be on the battlefield when you sacrifice lands. You can’t sacrifice it again.