Maelstrom Pulse MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Maelstrom Pulse can swing card advantage by eliminating several identical threats with a single cast.
  2. It indirectly supports your strategy by clearing the path for attacks or protecting your resources.
  3. Despite its power, the card’s specific mana requirements and cost must be weighed strategically.

Text of card

Destroy target nonland permanent and all other permanents with the same name as that permanent.

During the collision of the shards, entire ways of life disappeared without a trace.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Maelstrom Pulse can potentially remove multiple threats with a single card, significantly impacting the board state in your favor. This effective removal option can tilt card advantage towards you by dealing with numerous problematic permanents your opponent controls that share a name.

Resource Acceleration: Although Maelstrom Pulse doesn’t directly accelerate resources in the way that mana rocks or ramp spells do, efficiently dealing with multiple threats at once can indirectly accelerate your own strategy. By removing blockers or threats, it enables your creatures to press an attack or protect your life total, allowing you more turns to draw into the resources you need.

Instant Speed: While Maelstrom Pulse operates at sorcery speed, its broad removal potential allows you to immediately affect the board on your turn. This can be crucial in preempting your opponent’s plans and disrupting their synergy before they can capitalize on it during their own turn. Strategically, it’s much like having a powerful effect that clears the way for your strategy at the start of a cycle.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Maelstrom Pulse offers a versatile removal tool, it does not necessitate the need to discard. Its cons, therefore, lie elsewhere.

Specific Mana Cost: Deck building with Maelstrom Pulse requires access to both green and black mana, which can complicate mana bases for decks not aligned with these colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of one black, one green, and one colorless mana, it’s more costly than some targeted removal spells, making its inclusion a strategic decision over lower-cost alternatives.


Reasons to Include Maelstrom Pulse in Your Collection

Versatility: Maelstrom Pulse is known for its ability to address a wide array of nonland permanents. This makes it adaptable and effective in multiple deck archetypes, from midrange to control, allowing it to slot into various color combinations that run black and green.

Combo Potential: While not a combo piece in the traditional sense, its broad removal enables it to clear the way for your combo pieces or disrupt opponents’ crucial synergies, thereby indirectly supporting combo strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In a dynamic meta where specific threats or tokens can dominate the board, Maelstrom Pulse shines by removing all copies of those threats. Its relevance grows in environments where singular powerful permanents or token strategies are prevalent.


How to beat

Maelstrom Pulse is a versatile removal spell in Magic: The Gathering with the power to eliminate any nonland permanent. Not only does it clear away single threats, but it can also wipe out all permanents with the same name. Facing Maelstrom Pulse requires foresight and strategic diversity in your card selection. One way to mitigate the impact of this potent card is to diversify your threats across different names, avoiding overcommitting to the board with identical permanents.

To play around Maelstrom Pulse, consider holding back some of your resources or using spells that grant your permanents indestructibility or regeneration. Additionally, instant-speed interaction can help combat Maelstrom Pulse, allowing you to respond effectively by saving crucial pieces or disrupting your opponent’s timing. Lastly, taking advantage of spells with Flash can keep you one step ahead, enabling you to deploy your threats when Maelstrom Pulse is least effective. Remember, Maelstrom Pulse is a sorcery, so using this window to your advantage can often sway the game in your favor.

Ultimately, thoughtfulness in deck construction and in-game decision-making are your best tools to outmaneuver the sweeping force of Maelstrom Pulse. By anticipating this threat and planning accordingly, you can turn this potential setback into an opportunity to capitalize on your opponent’s resources.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the ebb and flow of MTG involves more than recognizing the power of individual cards; it’s about understanding how they synergize within your deck. Maelstrom Pulse stands out for its ability to tackle multiple threats and its strategic depth in board control. Whether you’re curating a collection or honing your competitive deck, considering the implications of cards like Maelstrom Pulse is key. Harness its potential to outpace your adversaries and maintain an edge in varied metas. Dive deeper with us, enrich your gameplay, and discover how to best integrate this potent spell into your deck dynamics.


Understanding Maelstrom Pulse’s Unique Position

Maelstrom Pulse stands proud in the realm of spot removal options in Magic: The Gathering. This versatile card is often likened to similar removal spells such as Putrefy. Both cards can target a creature or an artifact, offering players a flexible response to different threats. However, Maelstrom Pulse extends its reach further, allowing for the removal of nonland permanents, which gives it an edge over Putrefy’s narrower focus.

Cards like Maelstrom Pulse

Maelstrom Pulse gains distinction for its ability to potentially clear multiple threats with a single card. Comparing it to Abrupt Decay, which also offers an uncounterable solution, Maelstrom Pulse lacks the immunity to counterspells but surpasses it by being able to target permanents with higher mana costs. Moreover, unlike Vindicate, another comparable card offering a wide range of targets, Maelstrom Pulse can wipe out an array of identical tokens or copies at once, showcasing its potential for board control in the right situation. Whereas Vindicate does not discriminate against land, providing an angle that Maelstrom Pulse does not cover.

Reflecting on their place in MTG, these cards each carry specific strategic advantages and limitations. Maelstrom Pulse emerges as a prime choice for players seeking to destabilize opponents with numerous identical threats, positioning it as a noteworthy staple in decks that prize versatility in their disruption arsenal.

Putrefy - MTG Card versions
Abrupt Decay - MTG Card versions
Vindicate - MTG Card versions
Putrefy - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Abrupt Decay - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Vindicate - Apocalypse (APC)

Cards similar to Maelstrom Pulse by color, type and mana cost

Life // Death - MTG Card versions
Gaze of Granite - MTG Card versions
Pest Summoning - MTG Card versions
Choking Miasma - MTG Card versions
Squirming Emergence - MTG Card versions
Life // Death - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Gaze of Granite - Commander 2021 (C21)
Pest Summoning - Strixhaven: School of Mages (STX)
Choking Miasma - Dominaria United (DMU)
Squirming Emergence - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (LCI)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Maelstrom Pulse MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Grand Prix 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 Maelstrom Pulse and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Maelstrom Pulse Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2007-02-24 and 2020-08-07. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 378452003normalblackJohn Avon
22007-02-24Grand Prix PromosPGPX 20112003normalblackJohn Avon
32009-04-30Alara RebornARB 922003normalblackAnthony Francisco
42013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1802003normalblackJohn Avon
52017-04-28Amonkhet InvocationsMP2 292015normalborderlessIgor Kieryluk
62018-12-07Ultimate MastersUMA 2042015normalblackJohn Avon
72020-03-12Historic Anthology 2HA2 162015normalblackAnthony Francisco
82020-08-07Double Masters2XM 2072015normalblackJohn Avon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Maelstrom Pulse has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
GladiatorLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-08-07 If the target permanent is an illegal target by the time Maelstrom Pulse tries to resolve, the spell won't resolve. You won't destroy any permanents at all. If the target is legal but not destroyed (most likely because it has indestructible), you do destroy other permanents with the same name.
2020-08-07 Maelstrom Pulse has only one target. Other permanents with the same name will be destroyed even if they have hexproof or protection.
2020-08-07 The name of a token is the same as the subtypes it was created with unless the token is a copy of another permanent or the effect that created the token specifically gives it a different name. For example, a 1/1 red Elemental creature token created by Young Pyromancer and a 4/4 green Elemental creature token created by Walker of the Grove are both named “Elemental.”

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