Soul Burn MTG Card


Soul Burn provides card advantage by shifting game momentum through damage output and life-gain. Instant-speed casting of Soul Burn offers strategic flexibility during combat or opponent’s turn. While powerful, its costly mana and discard requirement can restrict its use in gameplay.
Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Text of card

Soul Burn deals 1 damage to a single target creature or player for each o B or o R you pay in addition to the casting cost. Gain 1 life for each o B you spend in this way. You cannot gain more life than the toughness of the creature or the total life of the targeted player.


Cards like Soul Burn

Soul Burn stands as an intriguing option within the life manipulation spells in Magic the Gathering, akin to spells like Consume Spirit. Much like Soul Burn, Consume Spirit also allows players to funnel mana into a spell to deal damage and gain life, but Soul Burn has the flexibility of tapping into either black or red mana. This added versatility can be crucial in multicolor decks where mana flexibility is paramount.

Another card that echoes the mechanics of Soul Burn is Drain Life, which as its name suggests, allows players to drain life from opponents. However, it’s restricted to black mana and often less versatile in its application compared to Soul Burn, which has more potential for damage output in mixed mana pools. While not as direct, Exsanguinate also shares the theme of dealing damage and gaining life, but it affects all opponents and scales up with the amount of mana invested, making it potent in multiplayer games.

Considering these comparisons, Soul Burn holds its ground as a versatile option for MTG players looking to deal damage while bolstering their own life totals, especially in decks that blend black and red mana sources.

Consume Spirit - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Exsanguinate - MTG Card versions
Consume Spirit - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Exsanguinate - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Soul Burn by color, type and mana cost

Darkpact - MTG Card versions
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Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
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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
Perish - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Grim Tutor - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Midnight Ritual - MTG Card versions
Noxious Vapors - MTG Card versions
Darkpact - MTG Card versions
Demonic Attorney - MTG Card versions
Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
Inquisition - MTG Card versions
Infernal Contract - MTG Card versions
Touch of Death - MTG Card versions
Call from the Grave - 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
Perish - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Grim Tutor - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Midnight Ritual - MTG Card versions
Noxious Vapors - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Soul Burn offers the potential for high damage output while gaining you crucial life points, effectively swinging the game state in your favor and displacing your opponent’s momentum.

Resource Acceleration: By dealing damage and simultaneously gaining life, Soul Burn can be a pivotal play for stabilizing your board and expediting your win condition.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Soul Burn at instant speed provides strategic flexibility, allowing you to react to your opponent’s moves on their turn or unexpectedly alter the outcome of combat engagements.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Soul Burn mandates you to discard a card from your hand, which can force tough decisions in game when your hand resources are already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Soul Burn necessitates specific mana types, hence, it fits primarily into decks synergized with its color requirements, potentially hindering deck building flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Soul Burn’s cost is substantial, given its effect. Players could find this mana investment prohibitive, especially when alternative cards could achieve similar results for less mana, allowing more strategic plays within a turn.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Soul Burn’s flexibility to deal damage while gaining life makes it adaptable to various deck themes. It helps in both stabilizing your health and dismantling opponents’ life totals, making it a solid pick in many black and red builds.

Combo Potential: This card is a crucial piece in setups that leverage life gain or drain strategies. Combined with cards that trigger effects on life changes, Soul Burn can unexpectedly turn the tide of the game in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: With the constant shifts in the game’s competitive landscape, Soul Burn can be a smart inclusion. In metagames where life totals are as strategic as board presence, Soul Burn shines by addressing both fronts, ensuring your deck stays competitive.


How to beat

Soul Burn is a card that can swing life totals with its damage and life gain abilities. To effectively counter this spell, players should prioritize maintaining a high life total and controlling the opponent’s mana pool. This can often be achieved by using counter spells to prevent Soul Burn from resolving or by deploying disruption tactics to limit the mana resources available to your opponent.

Furthermore, employing graveyard hate cards can be invaluable as they prevent the card from being recaptured and reused from the graveyard. Cards that offer protection from black or can’t be targeted by spells or abilities from black sources can also provide a strong defense against Soul Burn’s impact. Strategic play and appropriate sideboard choices can significantly diminish the threat posed by this powerful card.

In summary, successfully overcoming Soul Burn in MTG requires a mixture of life total management, mana disruption, graveyard control, and card protection strategies. Through careful play and smart deck building, one can neutralize the card’s advantages and maintain an upper hand in the battle.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Soul Burn MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Pro Tour Collector Set, 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 Soul Burn and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Soul Burn Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2006-07-21. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11995-06-03Ice AgeICE 1611993NormalBlackRob Alexander
21996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC ll1611993NormalGoldRob Alexander
32000-10-02InvasionINV 124s2015NormalBlackAndrew Goldhawk
42000-10-02InvasionINV 1241997NormalBlackAndrew Goldhawk
52001-12-01DeckmastersDKM 91997NormalWhiteRob Alexander
62006-07-21Coldsnap Theme DecksCST 1612003NormalBlackRob Alexander

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Soul Burn has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Soul Burn 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 Will give 1 life for each black mana used, but not more life than the amount of unprevented damage that is dealt.