Food Chain MTG Card


Food Chain excels in generating card advantage and superior mana resources, enhancing player strategies. While its mana production is significant, it requires creature exiling and tailored mana combinations. Its potent combo potential and meta relevance make it a must-have for any competitive deck.
Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Text of card

Remove a creature you control from the game: Add X mana of any color to your mana pool, where X is the removed creature's converted mana cost plus one. This mana may be spent only to play creature spells.


Cards like Food Chain

The Food Chain card stands out in MTG for its unique ability to exponentially ramp mana by exiling creatures. Similar in its goal to accelerate mana is the card Mana Echoes, which also provides players with a surge of resources by creating mana whenever a creature enters the battlefield. However, unlike Food Chain, Mana Echoes’ mana pool can overflow with varying amounts based on the number of similar creatures on the field.

Another card that parallels the concept of sacrificing creatures for advantage is Ashnod’s Altar. This card allows for the immediate conversion of creatures into colorless mana, providing a stable source of acceleration. Despite this similarity, Food Chain presents an edge with the possibility of generating mana based on the exiled creature’s converted mana cost, potentially leading to more substantial gains.

Evaluating the effectiveness of these cards in practice, Food Chain often becomes a cornerstone in combos and can dominate a game by unlocking mana for casting massive threats. While Mana Echoes and Ashnod’s Altar have their merits, the specific mechanism of Food Chain tends to offer a dynamic path to victory in MTG when leveraged skillfully.

Mana Echoes - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions
Mana Echoes - MTG Card versions
Ashnod's Altar - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Food Chain by color, type and mana cost

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Kudzu - MTG Card versions
Wanderlust - MTG Card versions
Thelon's Chant - MTG Card versions
Maddening Wind - MTG Card versions
Cycle of Life - MTG Card versions
Dense Foliage - MTG Card versions
Hall of Gemstone - MTG Card versions
Fecundity - MTG Card versions
Familiar Ground - MTG Card versions
Momentum - MTG Card versions
Ancestral Mask - MTG Card versions
Broken Fall - MTG Card versions
Verdant Field - MTG Card versions
Lure - MTG Card versions
Howling Moon - MTG Card versions
The Dragon-Kami Reborn // Dragon-Kami's Egg - MTG Card versions
Squirrel Nest - MTG Card versions
Alpha Status - MTG Card versions
Lifegift - MTG Card versions
Blanchwood Armor - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Food Chain. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Mono-Red GoblinsMono-Red Goblins LegacyGoblins95 / The 95th Legacy at Home
Food ChainFood Chain LegacyGoblins2023 Asia Legacy Championship
Temur Food ChainTemur Food Chain LegacyFood ChainLegacy Preliminary 2024-02-26 (1)
Rogue DecklistsRogue Decklists LegacyFood ChainBLACK - SAT - 11AM - Legacy for Original Magic Artwork
FoodchainFoodchain LegacyFood ChainLisbon Legacy League 2024 // 3rd Qualifier
Jund ComboJund Combo LegacyGoblins8 LPL OPEN - SEASON IV - LIGA PAULISTA LEGACY
Rakdos GoblinsRakdos Goblins LegacyGoblins2023 Asia Legacy Championship

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Food Chain card is an exceptional engine for generating card advantage in the game. By allowing players to exile creatures in exchange for mana, it facilitates casting more powerful spells or deploying multiple threats, ensuring a steady supply of card resources.

Resource Acceleration: Food Chain provides a significant boost in resource acceleration by enabling mana production that exceeds creatures’ casting costs. This efficiency empowers players to outpace opponents and establish a dominant board presence swiftly.

Instant Speed: Although Food Chain itself does not operate at instant speed, its ability to create mana can be used whenever you have priority, allowing flexibility in when to exile creatures. Consequently, this can lead to impactful plays by enabling instant-speed interactions within the same turn, catching adversaries off guard.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The usage of Food Chain demands that you exile a creature you control; this prerequisite can sometimes backfire if your board state is not strong enough to benefit from it.

Specific Mana Cost: Food Chain requires a precise combination of one green and two other mana to cast, which may not seamlessly fit into all deck types, particularly those that run on a tight mana curve or multicolor decks that might struggle with the green mana requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, some players believe the card’s benefit is offset by similar cards that can provide immediate mana acceleration or combo potential at a lower cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Food Chain provides a unique mana acceleration that transcends traditional ramp by converting creatures into usable mana. This makes it a powerful inclusion in decks that thrive on quick, impactful plays or those inclined towards creature-based strategies.

Combo Potential: Recognized for its ability to generate infinite mana with the right creatures, Food Chain opens the door to a multitude of combo finishes. It’s this capability that gives players the edge by ending games almost instantly upon executing the combo.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that values speed and efficiency, Food Chain has consistently proven to be a relevant card. Its presence can put opponents under pressure to find an answer quickly, altering the pace and playstyle of the game as they must adapt to the looming threat of an overwhelming advantage.


How to Beat

Confronting a Food Chain in Magic: The Gathering can be a daunting challenge, as it fuels combo decks with the ability to generate a tremendous amount of mana. To effectively counter this strategy, players should consider disruption tactics to interrupt the combo’s engine. Removal spells such as Krosan Grip, which offers Split Second, can destroy Food Chain before the opponent reaps its benefits. Additionally, counterspells like Negate or Dispel serve well by targeting this key enchantment directly as it hits the stack.

Strategic use of hand disruption is also vital. Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek allow a glimpse into the opponent’s hand, providing an opportunity to discard Food Chain before it’s cast. Furthermore, running artifact and enchantment removals such as Nature’s Claim or Enchantment Alteration can offer swift answers to Food Chain once on the battlefield. Considering graveyard strategies, cards like Scrabbling Claws can also hinder recursion plays that aim to get Food Chain back into action.

Ultimately, to beat a deck centered around Food Chain, maintaining pressure through disruption and being prepared to deal with the card the moment it poses a threat will increase your chances of success, ensuring that the Food Chain’s mana production doesn’t overwhelm the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the nuance of Food Chain within MTG gameplay unveils its strengths and occasional vulnerabilities. Its capacity for turning creatures into great swathes of mana is undeniable, offering a compelling advantage that can shift the tides of play. With a clear grasp of both its synergies and potential pitfalls, discerning players can make well-informed decisions on how to best integrate Food Chain into their decks. Should you wish to harness the card’s full potential, or seek strategies for mitigating its impact when faced across the battlefield, dive deeper with us. Explore the myriad ways Food Chain can influence your MTG experience and refine your strategic approach to stay ahead of the competition.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Food Chain MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Magic Online Promos, 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 Food Chain and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Food Chain Magic the Gathering card was released in 6 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2022-07-08. Illustrated by 5 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 2461997NormalBlackVal Mayerik
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 699472015NormalBlackCraig J Spearing
32018-01-01Judge Gift Cards 2018J18 82015NormalBlackCraig J Spearing
42019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 13692015NormalBlackChris Seaman & Scott Okumura
52020-09-26The ListPLST MMQ-2461997NormalBlackVal Mayerik
62022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 1472015NormalBlackDaarken
72022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 4602015NormalBlackDaarken

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Food Chain has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelBanned
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2004-10-04 This mana may be used on additional costs to cast the spell, such as Kicker.
2004-10-04 This mana may not be used to pay costs imposed after the spell is initially cast.