Cruel Cut MTG Card

Cruel Cut - Arena New Player Experience Extras (XANA)

Arena New Player Experience Extras (XANA)
2018-07-14 - Number 26

Arena Beginner Set (ANB)
2020-08-13 - Number 47

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant

Key Takeaways

Gaining card advantage, Cruel Cut strategically diminishes the opponent’s hand while preserving your resources.
Played at instant speed, it disrupts the adversary’s turn, creating opportunities for tactical superiority.
Despite its potency, the casting cost and discard requirement of Cruel Cut may limit its deck compatibility.

Text of card

Destroy target creature with power 2 or less.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When you play Cruel Cut, its effect of forcing the opponent to discard can lead to gaining card advantage by reducing their hand size while keeping yours unaffected.

Resource Acceleration: Though Cruel Cut itself doesn’t provide direct resource acceleration, disrupting your opponent’s hand can slow down their strategic development, indirectly accelerating your position in the game.

Instant Speed: Cruel Cut’s ability to be played at instant speed offers the flexibility to respond to your opponent’s actions during their turn, potentially disrupting their carefully laid plans at a critical moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Cruel Cut necessitates tossing another card aside, which could be a heavy blow when your hand is already starved for options. This self-inflicted reduction in hand size might leave you vulnerable to your opponent’s strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: Its strict casting cost demands both black and red mana, which can tie it strictly to certain two-color decks or require a more complex mana base, potentially slowing down your game plan.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Cruel Cut’s mana investment is significant when weighed against other removal options in the game. In many scenarios, this could mean a loss of tempo, making it a less than ideal choice in fast-paced games where every mana point counts.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cruel Cut provides a flexible removal option for any Black-based deck, able to handle both creatures and planeswalkers. This adaptability makes it a valuable asset in various game scenarios.

Combo Potential: Its ability to act as both a removal tool and potential enabler for graveyard strategies can be crucial in building combos, particularly in decks that capitalize on death triggers or casting spells from the graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where resilient threats are commonplace, Cruel Cut’s exile effect is particularly relevant, ensuring that key opponent’s threats don’t return to haunt you later in the game.

How to beat

Handling a card like Cruel Cut can be tricky for MTG players, as it’s a versatile removal spell in the game. Its unique strength rests in its undercosted nature, allowing a player to weaken an opponent’s creature significantly or even eliminate a key threat if played at the right moment. To overcome the disadvantage posed by this card, it is important to anticipate its casting during crucial turns, where mana is left untapped potentially signaling its use.

One effective strategy is diversifying the threats on the board. By presenting multiple formidable creatures, it dilutes the impact of Cruel Cut. Resourcefulness with instant-speed spells that can either protect your creature from being a target or regenerate it after Cruel Cut’s application can also turn the tables. Furthermore, countering it directly with spells that negate the opponent’s actions ensures the safety of your board presence.

Ultimately, Cruel Cut demands strategical finesse and foresight to outmaneuver. Players who adeptly manage their resources and maintain a calm composure in the face of such removal tactics often find themselves capable of nullifying the advantages Cruel Cut provides, keeping their key creatures secure and their game plan intact.

Cards like Cruel Cut

Cruel Cut is an intriguing spell in the pantheon of removal cards within Magic: The Gathering, sharing traits with others yet standing out in its unique utility. Comparable to the renowned Doom Blade, which allows for the destruction of nonblack creatures at a low cost, Cruel Cut also presents an efficient removal option. However, whereas Doom Blade targets a wide range of creatures, Cruel Cut offers a more selective approach, only allowing the exile of an opponent’s creature that was dealt damage this turn.

Likewise, Murder is a card that exists in the same vein as Cruel Cut, providing a simple and direct removal without limitations on the type of creature. But unlike Murder’s broader capability, Cruel Cut requires a precondition of damage to the creature, albeit at a cheaper cost. Another card to consider is Tragic Slip, which can eliminate almost any creature after a morbid trigger. While Tragic Slip can be more efficient in the right circumstances, Cruel Cut is flexible, working well with decks that regularly deal damage to enemy creatures.

In essence, Cruel Cut distinguishes itself within the variety of creature removal options in Magic: The Gathering. It is especially potent in strategies that frequently deal damage, potentially offering an inexpensive and effective removal tool under the right conditions.

Cards similar to Cruel Cut by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cruel Cut MTG card by a specific set like Arena New Player Experience Extras and Arena Beginner 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 Cruel Cut and other MTG cards: