Mental Agony MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2012-05-04
Set symbol
Set name	Avacyn Restored
Set code	AVR
Number	114
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Staples

Key Takeaways

Disrupts opponents, providing card advantage and controlling tempo with its forced discard effect.
Dual-function as it damages and disrupts, valuable in discard-focused or anti-synergy decks.
Fast hand replenishment and protective cards can mitigate Mental Agony’s disruptive power.

Text of card

Target player discards two cards and loses 2 life.

"His mind is feeble. Feed him to the bats."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mental Agony adds value by forcing your opponent to discard two cards, potentially disrupting their strategy and putting you ahead in the race for resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating your mana, the discard effect of Mental Agony can slow down your opponent’s tempo, acting as an indirect form of acceleration for your own game plan.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Mental Agony requires strategic timing, enabling you to capitalize on moments when discarding has the most impact on your opponent’s hand and planned plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mental Agony forces players to discard two cards, which can be a steep price, especially when your hand is already depleted or the discarded cards are crucial for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a precise combination of black mana, which may not align with decks that have a diversified or different color scheme, potentially restricting its versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of four mana, Mental Agony can be seen as a considerable investment, particularly when you measure it against other discard options available that may offer similar effects for less mana, potentially slowing down your game tempo.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mental Agony is a versatile card that can disrupt your opponent’s hand, making it a useful addition to decks focused on discard strategies or those looking to disrupt synergy within their opponent’s gameplay.

Combo Potential: This card has significant combo potential in environments where penalizing opponents for card loss is advantageous. Coupled with other pain-inducing cards, Mental Agony can quickly whittle down an adversary’s resources, both in hand and within their life total.

Meta-Relevance: Given its ability to disrupt opponents early in the game, Mental Agony can find a home in a meta that is reliant on combo pieces or heavy draw tactics. It can effectively decrease the momentum of players who rely on a full grip of cards to execute their strategy.

How to beat

Mental Agony slides into Magic: The Gathering as a card that melds life loss with disrupting an opponent’s hand. It may remind seasoned players of the influence cards like Mind Rot have in stripping resources from the other side of the table. Mental Agony takes it a notch higher by also chipping away at the opponent’s life total. The key to countering this card lies in fast hand replenishment and protective plays.

Maintaining a hearty hand size is pivotal. Cards like Sign in Blood or Night’s Whisper prove invaluable allowing for efficient draw at low cost. Other tactics could involve utilizing creatures or artifacts that regenerate your hand or increase draw per turn, negating Mental Agony’s impact. Cards that grant you hexproof, such as Witchbane Orb, also offer a bulwark against such targeted discard and damage spells. Additionally, lean on instant-speed draw effects to replenish your hand outside your turn, keeping it beyond Mental Agony’s reach.

Ultimately, by prioritizing hand resilience and protection, you can neutralize the threat of Mental Agony and maintain control. A well-prepared defense ensures that such disruption spells result in minimal impact and keeps your strategy on track.

Cards like Mental Agony

In the realm of Magic: The Gathering, Mental Agony presents an intriguing mix of damage and discard elements. When examining cards that share a similar feel, Mind Rot jumps to the forefront as a basic comparison. Both Mental Agony and Mind Rot compel an opponent to discard two cards. However, Mental Agony ups the ante by inflicting 2 points of damage to that player. This additional damage gives Mental Agony a slight edge in depleting an opponent’s resources and life total simultaneously.

Delving deeper, Hymn to Tourach is another classic that operates in the discard category. While it also requires the opponent to discard two cards at random, which can be highly disruptive, it lacks the direct damage component of Mental Agony. Additionally, Wrench Mind from the Mirrodin set provides a similar discourse with its two-card discard demand, save for the exception that artifacts can’t be discarded, a vital point to consider for its utility based on the opposing deck’s composition.

Overall, Mental Agony stands as a compelling choice for players aiming to blend discard strategies with direct damage, carving out its niche within the array of black spells in Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Mental Agony by color, type and mana cost

Terisiare's Devastation - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mental Agony MTG card by a specific set like Avacyn Restored, 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 Mental Agony and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mental Agony has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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