Built to Smash MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Built to Smash might not directly allow you to draw more cards, its efficient cost to power ratio can turn your creatures into significant threats, potentially forcing card disadvantage upon your opponent as they must use more resources to deal with your beefed-up creatures.

Resource Acceleration: One of the key benefits of Built to Smash is its low mana cost, enabling you to use your resources on other spells or creatures that turn. This effectively accelerates your game by maximizing the use of your mana each turn and applying pressure early on.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Built to Smash at instant speed gives you the flexibility to surprise your opponent during combat. This unpredictability can serve as both a combat trick to eliminate an opposing creature or as a sudden burst of damage to close out a game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Built to Smash mandates that you control an attacking creature to activate its benefits. If you find yourself without an attacker at the crucial moment, this card becomes a dead draw, contributing nothing to your gameplay strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires red mana for its casting, anchoring it firmly in red decks. Players wielding multicolor decks or those focused on other hues may find the red mana requirement a stumbling block to including this card in their diverse strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though it might seem economical at a single red mana, Built to Smash is a situational card. Other cards at similar or lower costs could provide a wider range of advantages without the limitation of requiring an attacking creature, potentially offering better value for the mana spent.

Reasons to Include Built to Smash in Your Collection

Versatility: Built to Smash is not restricted to a single archetype. Its applicability in both aggressive and creature-centric decks makes it a versatile addition, suitable for a variety of strategies focusing on combat.

Combo Potential: This card offers great synergy with vehicles or creatures with trample, turning any attacking creature into a significant threat. Its ability to amplify damage makes it a candidate for combo finishes that can surprise an opponent.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where creature-based aggro decks are prominent, Built to Smash enhances their offensive capabilities. As the metagame evolves, its value in enabling fast, aggressive starts cannot be overlooked, making it a smart inclusion for players looking to outpace control and combo decks.

How to beat Built to Smash

Built to Smash stands out in the arena of aggressive combat tricks in Magic: The Gathering. This card can be a game-changer by granting an attacking creature a substantial power boost and potentially trample if it’s an artifact creature, turning the tide of battle in a single turn. However, despite its explosive impact, there are strategies to mitigate its influence and maintain control of the game.

Counterspells are your first line of defense against spells like Built to Smash. Since it’s an instant, having a counterspell ready can neutralize the threat before it alters the combat phase. There’s also the option of removal spells which can be used in response to Built to Smash, eliminating the target creature before the buff takes effect. Additionally, playing cards that prevent your opponent from attacking, such as those setting up a defensive wall or decreasing the power of your opponent’s creatures, can weaken the impact of Built to Smash.

In essence, while Built to Smash can be a powerful addition to an aggressive deck, understanding your deck’s defensive capabilities and anticipating your opponent’s moves can help you prepare effective countermeasures, ensuring that such combat tricks don’t catch you off guard.

BurnMana Recommendations

If you’re looking to optimize your MTG deck, embracing the agility and force of Built to Smash can be a game-changer. Its low mana cost and instant speed can catch opponents off-guard, turning an ordinary attack into a winning move. While it’s tailor-made for aggressive red decks, don’t overlook its limitations. Ensuring you have a creature ready to attack is crucial, and its specificity to red mana can be a setback in multicolored strategies. Consider pairing it with trample-enabling cards or vehicles to maximize its impact. To delve deeper into optimizing Built to Smash for your arsenal, continue your MTG journey with us and master the strategies that will lead you to triumph.