Font of Agonies MTG Card


Allows efficient creature removal by leveraging life payment to trigger its ability. Demands a defined strategy and mana consistency for optimal utility. Integrates with decks designed around life payment, complementing control styles.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Text of card

Whenever you pay life, put that many blood counters on Font of Agonies. , Remove four blood counters from Font of Agonies: Destroy target creature.

"No worthwhile reward is easily gained." —Nicol Bolas


Cards like Font of Agonies

Font of Agonies occupies a unique niche among black enchantments in MTG. Its ability to capitalize on loss of life for removal purposes places it in a group alongside cards such as Vona’s Hunger and Fateful End. The distinct advantage Font of Agonies offers is its low activation cost once it accumulates enough counters, enabling the destruction of any creature. Vona’s Hunger, by contrast, forces an opponent to sacrifice creatures but its effectiveness scales with your ability to have the city’s blessing.

Comparatively, Fateful End also allows for creature destruction, but it lacks the flexibility and repeatability of Font of Agonies as it’s a one-time instant with an added scry benefit. Another card to consider might be Tragic Slip, with its morbid mechanic granting the ability to give a creature a substantial negative modifier to its toughness. While Tragic Slip is efficient for lower toughness creatures, it doesn’t offer the on-demand removal that Font of Agonies can potentially provide throughout the game.

Evaluating Font of Agonies against its peers, we can see that it holds a strong position for players who can consistently lose life as part of their strategy, granting them a powerful and cost-effective removal tool.

Vona's Hunger - MTG Card versions
Fateful End - MTG Card versions
Tragic Slip - MTG Card versions
Vona's Hunger - MTG Card versions
Fateful End - MTG Card versions
Tragic Slip - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Font of Agonies by color, type and mana cost

Paralyze - MTG Card versions
Unholy Strength - MTG Card versions
Evil Presence - MTG Card versions
Weakness - MTG Card versions
Imprison - MTG Card versions
Thrull Retainer - MTG Card versions
Torture - MTG Card versions
Death Watch - MTG Card versions
Leshrac's Rite - MTG Card versions
Sadistic Glee - MTG Card versions
Sarcomancy - MTG Card versions
Tortured Existence - MTG Card versions
Volrath's Motion Sensor - MTG Card versions
Sicken - MTG Card versions
Darkest Hour - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Reclamation - MTG Card versions
Dread of Night - MTG Card versions
Withering Hex - MTG Card versions
Genju of the Fens - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Link - MTG Card versions
Paralyze - MTG Card versions
Unholy Strength - MTG Card versions
Evil Presence - MTG Card versions
Weakness - MTG Card versions
Imprison - MTG Card versions
Thrull Retainer - MTG Card versions
Torture - MTG Card versions
Death Watch - MTG Card versions
Leshrac's Rite - MTG Card versions
Sadistic Glee - MTG Card versions
Sarcomancy - MTG Card versions
Tortured Existence - MTG Card versions
Volrath's Motion Sensor - MTG Card versions
Sicken - MTG Card versions
Darkest Hour - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Reclamation - MTG Card versions
Dread of Night - MTG Card versions
Withering Hex - MTG Card versions
Genju of the Fens - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Link - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: By monitoring life payments, Font of Agonies paves the way to eliminate key threats, indirectly leading to a potential card advantage. Each counter on this enchantment reflects a past investment, ready to be converted into direct board impact.

Resource Acceleration: While this card doesn’t directly ramp, it enables resource acceleration by efficiently managing resources. Through its one-mana removal ability, it helps conserve the cards and mana that would otherwise be allocated for more costly removal spells.

Instant Speed: Its triggered ability operates at instant speed, offering flexibility and surprise factor. You can pay life during your turn to load up counters and then, on a subsequent turn, remove the counters in response to an opponent’s move, maintaining momentum and control.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Font of Agonies necessitates having a strategy around life payment, which can sometimes be a tall order. If you’re running short on ways to pay life, its utility diminishes significantly, leaving it a less-than-ideal draw.

Specific Mana Cost: The activation cost demands two of any color and one black mana. This can be challenging in multi-colored decks that may not reliably generate the necessary black mana when it’s most needed.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the cost to cast and then activate Font of Agonies, it’s an investment. In faster-paced games, this can be a setback since there are lower-cost alternatives to destroy creatures, potentially making its inclusion less optimal in some strategies.


Reasons to Include Font of Agonies in Your Collection

Versatility: This card thrives in decks that actively utilize life payment as a resource. Its ability to destroy creatures upon paying life makes it a flexible tool for control and black-centric strategies.

Combo Potential: Font of Agonies can be paired with cards that allow you to pay life for various effects, setting up powerful interactions and creating board control opportunities with each life payment.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creatures dominate and control is key, Font of Agonies serves as a relevant card for its efficient creature removal capabilities, keeping you one step ahead of creature-heavy opponents.


How to beat

Font of Agonies is a unique enchantment card in the world of Magic: The Gathering. It truly shines in decks that utilize life payment as a strategic resource, slowly accumulating counters until it can unleash its potent removal ability. Unlike straightforward removal cards that act immediately, Font of Agonies requires a build-up and thrives in carefully crafted decks designed around life management.

To effectively counter this card, players should focus on disabling life payment methods or applying pressure through aggressive strategies that leave the opponent with little room to maneuver. Consider using enchantment removal spells like Disenchant or Naturalize to eliminate Font of Agonies before it becomes a threat. Alternatively, make use of graveyard disruption to prevent the card from reaching its full potential, as graveyard-based strategies may often accompany it. Lastly, incorporating cards that can limit the opponent’s ability to pay life or penalize them for doing so can be an effective way to neutralize Font of Agonies’ impact on the game.

Understanding this card’s mechanics and planning around them ensures that players can maintain control of the battlefield, keeping Font of Agonies from tipping the scales in your opponent’s favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG involves recognizing the hidden gems that bolster your deck’s power. Font of Agonies is one such jewel, rewarding strategic life payments with potent removal abilities. While not without its nuances, this enchantment can assert dominance on the battlefield when paired correctly within your deck’s architecture. Building around its strengths can manifest a powerful edge over creature-heavy opponents. If you are curious about integrating this card into your arsenal or seeking similar impactful cards, our collection of guides and insights can be the catalyst for your next game-defining play. Dive deeper into the art of MTG with us and discover how to harness this card’s full potential.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Font of Agonies MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance Promos and Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Font of Agonies and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Font of Agonies Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-01-25 and 2019-01-25. Illustrated by Jason A. Engle.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-01-25Ravnica Allegiance PromosPRNA 74s2015NormalBlackJason A. Engle
22019-01-25Ravnica AllegianceRNA 742015NormalBlackJason A. Engle

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Font of Agonies has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2019-01-25 An effect that causes you to pay life uses the word “pay.” If an effect allows you to choose to lose life or to be dealt damage without using the word “pay,” you’re not paying life.
2019-01-25 The first ability of Font of Agonies is a triggered ability, not an activated ability. It doesn’t allow you to pay life whenever you want; rather, you need some other way of paying life, such as with Blood Crypt’s ability.