Spoils of Blood MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Instant |
| Released | 2014-11-07 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Commander 2014 |
| Set code | C14 |
| Number | 30 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Erica Yang |
Key Takeaways
- Spoils of Blood excels in resourcefulness, transforming creature deaths into substantial battlefield presence.
- The card shines in strategies that capitalize on creature sacrifices, offering unexpected power spikes.
- Despite its strengths, its effectiveness can dwindle without creature deaths, making timing crucial.
Text of card
Put an X/X black Horror creature token onto the battlefield, where X is the number of creatures that died this turn.
"There are always leftovers." —Derecht, flesh carver
Card Pros
Card Advantage: A highly efficient trade-off for resourceful players, Spoils of Blood can turn each creature that died this turn into a significant power increase; it’s like harvesting a field sown with the fallen to reap a potentially game-changing creature.
Resource Acceleration: This card can create a massive creature very cheaply—if a lot has fallen in battle. It’s possible to pay just one black mana and end up summoning a creature far larger than the investment, catapulting your board state far ahead of your opponent’s.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Spoils of Blood at instant speed adds a layer of tactical depth to your gameplay. Utilize it after a wrath effect or during the end step before your turn to keep adversaries guessing, maintaining upper hand through masterful timing.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The strategic efficacy of Spoils of Blood can be significantly hindered by its need for creatures to die in order to yield value. For players without a solid board presence or those unable to sacrifice creatures, this requirement might render the card virtually inert during critical moments of the game.
Specific Mana Cost: Spoils of Blood is locked behind a specific mana requirement, costing one black mana. This can restrict its integration into multi-colored decks and may not align with the mana curve a player aims to maintain, particularly outside of mono-black or heavy black-oriented builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When assessing the mana investment versus the potential payoff, Spoils of Blood’s cost can be steep. In environments where the battlefield is not densely populated with creatures or in metagames favoring rapid tempo, generating a large enough creature via Spoils of Blood to justify its inclusion over alternative cards may prove challenging.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Spoils of Blood can be a powerful addition to any Commander deck that thrives on creature deaths. This single black mana card becomes especially potent in response to board wipes, allowing a swift comeback.
Combo Potential: It fits nicely into strategies focused on life gain and sacrifice, where its capability to create a sizeable creature can be harnessed repeatedly or synergized with various sacrifice outlets.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta that sees frequent creature combat and mass creature removal, Spoils of Blood can serve as an inexpensive yet impactful response, setting you up for a potential game-winning swing. Its impact in such situations can often exceed its low cost, making it a smart, tactical choice.
How to beat
Spoils of Blood is an intriguing instant card in Magic: The Gathering that can quickly tip the scales of a match by creating an immense creature based on the number of creatures that died this turn. To gain the upper hand against Spoils of Blood, players should aim to maintain control over the number of creatures being sent to the graveyard. Strategies that work include minimizing mass removal spells or playing in a way that avoids losing multiple creatures in a single turn.
Another effective approach is to utilize graveyard disruption to diminish the card’s potential impact, thwarting the owner’s ability to capitalize on a high death toll on the battlefield. Counterspells are also a prime defense, allowing a player to prevent Spoils of Blood from resolving in the first place, thereby neutralizing the threat. In essence, by managing the game’s pace and employing tactical graveyard intervention, opponents can effectively dampen the impact of this potentially game-changing card.
When strategies are employed with foresight, Spoils of Blood may become less of a sudden setback and more of a manageable element of an opposing player’s arsenal in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards like Spoils of Blood
Spoils of Blood is an intriguing instant card in Magic: The Gathering that has its place among cards that generate creature tokens. Its unique aspect is the ability to capitalize on the number of creatures that died in a turn. This card can be compared to similar black cards like Zulaport Cutthroat or Blood Artist, which also thrive on creature deaths. However, Spoils of Blood exclusively provides instant creature creation, potentially offering a huge and immediate board presence.
Another comparable card is Sifter of Skulls, which also prospers from creature demise but in a different way. Instead of a one-time token creation, it produces Scion tokens whenever another nontoken creature you control bites the dust. While Spoils of Blood can swing the game significantly in a single turn, Sifter of Skulls relies on a more gradual strategy, supplying resource fodder over time.
Analyzing their applications, Spoils of Blood serves as a powerful surprise element after a board wipe or multiple trades. It operates at instant speed, whereas its counterparts like Zulaport Cutthroat provide a more consistent value but over an extended period. For players who enjoy explosive turns and leveraging every creature’s demise, Spoils of Blood can be a highly rewarding addition to their MTG arsenal.
Cards similar to Spoils of Blood by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Spoils of Blood MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2014, 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 Spoils of Blood and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Spoils of Blood has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Spoils of Blood card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-11-07 | Use the number of creatures that died that turn as Spoils of Blood resolves to determine the value of X. In other words, creatures that die in response to Spoils of Blood will count. |