Misfortune MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	1996-06-10
Set symbol
Set name	Alliances
Set code	ALL
Number	113
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Ron Spencer

Key Takeaways

Misfortune offers a guessing game, leading to potential card advantage and opponent disruption.
Its instant speed element allows for real-time strategy adjustments and pivotal plays.
The card demands careful consideration due to its discard requirement and specific mana cost.

Text of card

Target opponent chooses one: you put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and gain 4 life; or you put a -1/-1 counter on each creature that opponent controls and Misfortune deals 4 damage to him or her.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The unique aspect of Misfortune in MTG lies in its capacity to manipulate card advantage. This card offers an interactive guessing game that can potentially disrupt your opponent’s strategy while providing you with valuable insight into their hand, which in turn can lead to indirect card advantage for you.

Resource Acceleration: Misfortune isn’t a direct source of resource acceleration but can indirectly contribute to your in-game tempo. By correctly predicting your opponent’s choice, Misfortune can sway the resource balance in your favor, potentially slowing down your opponent’s development and giving you a relative acceleration in game pace.

Instant Speed: What sets Misfortune apart is its capability to operate at instant speed. This flexibility allows you to adapt your strategy in real-time, responding to your opponent’s actions during their turn to maximize the card’s disruptive potential. This timing element could pivotally hamper your opponent’s tactics at crucial moments.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Misfortune demands a card be discarded to access its potential, presenting a challenge when your hand is already dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana combination geared towards certain deck builds, its casting cost might not seamlessly slot into every player’s strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Its resource demand is notable when juxtaposed with other options that can induce player dilemmas. The four mana cost can be a considerable investment, especially when maneuvering tight plays or competing options are available.

Reasons to Include Misfortune in Your Collection

Versatility: Misfortune has the unique ability to impact multiple players in a game, making it a nuanced choice for group play and multiplayer formats. With multi-target effects, it’s a utility card that adapts to various board states and can swing the tide in your favor.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with strategies that manipulate chance or benefit from opponents making crucial choices. It complements decks built around unpredictability or those that leverage the decisions of other players to create advantageous situations.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where players often set up well-structured defenses or establish formidable board presences, Misfortune can disrupt the status quo. This disruption can give you the upper hand by challenging your opponents to make tough decisions that could lead to their disadvantage.

How to beat

Misfortune is a unique card that can turn the tide of the game in Magic: The Gathering. As a card that has the potential to disrupt your strategy, it’s important to understand how to navigate against it effectively. Misfortune often relies on the element of chance, making it unpredictable. To mitigate its impact, players can choose to focus on building a resilient board presence that recovers quickly from any setback Misfortune may cause.

Another strategy includes keeping a diverse hand to minimize the damage done by Misfortune’s randomness. Utilizing cards that grant you hexproof or shroud can also be beneficial, as they can prevent Misfortune from selecting you as a target. Additionally, playing cards that counteract or neutralize effects that rely on chance will also help stabilize your game plan. In essence, preparing for the unexpected and advancing a consistent strategy can help you remain one step ahead, minimizing the impact of the Misfortune card as you play.

Ultimately, beating Misfortune involves a strategic approach that includes board resilience, strategic hand management, and utilizing protective spells. This approach will enhance your chances of outmaneuvering opponents who use this unpredictable card and ensure that your path to victory remains clear.

Cards like Misfortune

Misfortune is a unique multicolored instant from the Alliances set that holds a distinct place in Magic: The Gathering’s universe of spells. It shares the stage with cards such as Manifold Insights in offering a communal decision-making process, yet its effect hinges on a riskier proposition of betting life points. Where Manifold Insights grants card advantage without direct peril to your lifeline, Misfortune tests the waters of fortune by potentially striking at your most valuable resource.

Goblin Game is another card that brings players together in a bizarre mini-game involving hidden stakes. Like Misfortune, it plays with life points, but instead of dividing them among the players, it demands each participant to bid their own in a secretive manner, ultimately impacting everyone’s life totals in a significant way. Risk Factor is a more contemporary card that toys with player choice, offering an opponent the option to let you draw cards or take damage, which is a simpler yet effective way of leveraging the gamble element inherent in cards similar to Misfortune.

Weighing these similarities, Misfortune’s balance of risk and decision-making offers a distinctive edge in the realm of interactive MTG spells, making it a spell of choice for players intrigued by the psychological nuances of gameplay.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Misfortune MTG card by a specific set like Alliances, 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 Misfortune and other MTG cards: