Decommission MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Revolt

Key Takeaways

  1. Decommission excels in versatility and instant-speed play, countering artifacts and enchantments effectively.
  2. Its restrictive target requirement and specific mana cost can limit its applicability across diverse decks.
  3. Despite comparisons with similar cards, its unique lifegain ability positions it as a valuable collection asset.

Text of card

Destroy target artifact or enchantment. Revolt — If a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn, you gain 3 life.

"A key weakness in the design is its vulnerability to repeated, forceful blows."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Decommission offers valuable versatility in your interaction against opponents by giving you the ability to deal with artifacts and enchantments, ensuring that your card remains relevant throughout different stages of the game.

Resource Acceleration: While Decommission doesn’t directly provide mana or ramp, its low casting cost aids in keeping your resources free for other strategies and plays on your turn, contributing to a smoother game flow.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Decommission allows the strategic advantage of responding to threats during the opponent’s turn or end step, thus keeping your opponents guessing and enabling you to utilize your mana efficiently throughout the entirety of the game round.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Decommission asks you to have a specific type of permanent to target, which can be restrictive if your opponent doesn’t control any artifacts or enchantments, limiting its usefulness in your hand.

Specific Mana Cost: It costs one white mana, which could be a hurdle in multicolored decks that might not always have the right mana available at the critical moment.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While its base cost is not overly high, the need to pay three mana for a potentially narrow removal spell can be inefficient compared to other options. This inefficiency is particularly noticeable in fast-paced games where every mana point counts.


Reasons to Include Decommission in Your Collection

Versatility: Decommission fits seamlessly into a wide array of deck styles, particularly those that need a reliable way to handle problematic artifacts and enchantments. Its flexibility to be played at instant speed makes it an excellent tool for reactive strategies, allowing players to wait for the most opportune moment to neutralize a threat.

Combo Potential: With the rise of artifact and enchantment-based combos, having an answer like Decommission can disrupt your opponent’s key pieces, hindering their strategy long enough for you to take the lead. Its ability to interact with the board at instant speed enables players to break up combos mid-action, potentially securing a match-winning advantage.

Meta-Relevance: As meta games shift and powerful artifacts and enchantments remain staple in multiple archetypes, Decommission’s relevance stays strong. It’s a cost-effective solution against high-impact cards that see widespread play, ensuring your deck keeps pace with evolving competitive scenes.


How to beat

Decommission presents an interesting challenge within Magic: The Gathering, primarily when it targets key artifacts or enchantments on your battlefield. It exemplifies the utility of instant-speed removal, allowing players to react to threats or dismantle their opponent’s strategies efficiently. Standing out with its flexibility, Decommission adds an extra layer of defense against indestructible permanents with its Revolt ability, destroying them if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn.

Countering Decommission hinges on predicting your opponent’s moves and considering timing as an essential resource. Utilize cards that grant hexproof to protect your valuable permanents or consider employing counter spells to nullify it directly. Remember, holding back on playing crucial artifacts or enchantments until you can ensure their safety can be a strategy against opponents wielding Decommission. Moreover, baiting out removal with less critical permanents before committing to more significant threats can also tilt the match in your favor.

Ultimately, to circumvent the setbacks Decommission can cause, a blend of stratagem and selective play of your permanents is key, alongside the inclusion of counters for instant-speed spells, ensuring your game plan maintains its momentum against disruption.


Cards like Decommission

Decommission stands as a reliable option within the suite of artifact and enchantment removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. It finds its peers in cards like Disenchant, recognized for its simplicity and the ability to dispel threats at a low cost. Where Decommission gains an edge is with its flexibility through the additional lifegain ability when cast during a player’s main phase, offering a two-for-one advantage in certain situations.

Naturalize is another card that falls into the same category. Similar to Decommission, it can destroy both artifacts and enchantments. However, it lacks the lifegain feature but compensates with a consistent two mana cost irrespective of the timing. Then we have Fragmentize, which requires even less mana but comes with a restriction on the target’s converted mana cost.

While considering the range of utility and adaptability, Decommission holds a solid position among removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. Its duality in providing both disruption and a potential health cushion underscores its unique offering to a player’s arsenal.

Disenchant - MTG Card versions
Naturalize - MTG Card versions
Fragmentize - MTG Card versions
Disenchant - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Naturalize - Onslaught (ONS)
Fragmentize - Kaladesh (KLD)

Cards similar to Decommission by color, type and mana cost

Reverse Damage - MTG Card versions
Army of Allah - MTG Card versions
Holy Light - MTG Card versions
Morale - MTG Card versions
Blood of the Martyr - MTG Card versions
Piety - MTG Card versions
Martyrdom - MTG Card versions
Harsh Justice - MTG Card versions
Kor Chant - MTG Card versions
Just Fate - MTG Card versions
Waylay - MTG Card versions
Warrior's Honor - MTG Card versions
Radiant's Judgment - MTG Card versions
Afterlife - MTG Card versions
Abolish - MTG Card versions
Restrain - MTG Card versions
Prismatic Strands - MTG Card versions
Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Protection - MTG Card versions
Generous Gift - MTG Card versions
Reverse Damage - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Army of Allah - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Holy Light - Masters Edition (ME1)
Morale - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Blood of the Martyr - Chronicles (CHR)
Piety - Renaissance (REN)
Martyrdom - Alliances (ALL)
Harsh Justice - Portal (POR)
Kor Chant - The List (PLST)
Just Fate - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Waylay - Urza's Saga (USG)
Warrior's Honor - Anthologies (ATH)
Radiant's Judgment - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Afterlife - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Abolish - Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret (DDF)
Restrain - Invasion (INV)
Prismatic Strands - Commander 2019 (C19)
Ardenvale Tactician // Dizzying Swoop - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Teferi's Protection - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Generous Gift - Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander (ONC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Decommission MTG card by a specific set like Aether Revolt and Mystery Booster, 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 Decommission and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Decommission Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-01-20 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Josh Hass.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-01-20Aether RevoltAER 162015normalblackJosh Hass
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 712015normalblackJosh Hass
32020-09-26The ListPLST AER-162015normalblackJosh Hass

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Decommission has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2017-02-09 Energy counters aren’t permanents. Paying won’t satisfy a revolt ability.
2017-02-09 If Decommission destroys a permanent you control, it will enable its own revolt ability and you’ll gain 3 life.
2017-02-09 If the target artifact or enchantment becomes an illegal target, Decommission doesn’t resolve and none of its effects happen. You won’t gain life.
2017-02-09 Revolt abilities check only whether a permanent you controlled left the battlefield this turn or not. They don’t apply multiple times if more than one permanent you controlled left the battlefield. They don’t check whether the permanent that left the battlefield is still in the zone it moved to.
2017-02-09 Revolt abilities don’t care why the permanent left the battlefield, who caused it to move, or where it moved to. They’re equally satisfied by an artifact you sacrificed to pay a cost, a creature you controlled that was destroyed by Murder, or an enchantment you returned to your hand with Leave in the Dust.
2017-02-09 Tokens that leave the battlefield will satisfy a revolt ability.

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