Mass Diminish MTG Card


Mass Diminish - Commander 2019
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Flashback
Released2019-08-23
Set symbol
Set nameCommander 2019
Set codeC19
Number10
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byE. M. Gist

Key Takeaways

  1. Shifts the balance by making multiple opponent creatures 1/1, offering a significant tactical advantage.
  2. Plays at instant speed for surprise disruption during opponent’s attacks or combos.
  3. Demands a specific mana investment, potentially limiting its use in diverse multicolor decks.

Text of card

Until your next turn, creatures target player controls have base power and toughness 1/1. Flashback (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

Transformed from brute to cute.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Mass Diminish can affect multiple targets, turning the tide of battle in your favor by reducing all opposing creatures to a minimal threat level without having to trade cards one-for-one. This can lead to advantageous board states where your resources overpower theirs.

Resource Acceleration: This card is not directly tied to resource acceleration but it partners well with strategies that need time to ramp. By minimizing damage from enemy creatures, Mass Diminish gives you the breathing room to build up your mana base and further your game plan without constant pressure.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Mass Diminish at instant speed provides a strategic element of surprise which can disrupt your opponent’s attacks or combats, potentially saving you from lethal damage or disrupting their synergies and combos at crucial moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the context of Mass Diminish, a noteworthy factor is its strict casting conditions; although it doesn’t require discarding, having an action that relies on a single card can be a con in situations where broader board control is necessary.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue mana and a colorless mana, Mass Diminish may not seamlessly fit into multicolored decks that demand a diverse mana base or those that strategize around a different color.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its potential for temporarily neutralizing threats, Mass Diminish calls for a considerable investment of three mana. Players might find alternative spells that provide more permanent solutions for a similar or lower mana cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mass Diminish can be a powerful tool across multiple deck types. Its ability to shrink opponents’ creatures makes it perfect for control strategies and can buy critical time against aggressive decks.

Combo Potential: Its synergy with cards that punish or inhibit small creatures can turn the tide in your favor. Utilizing Mass Diminish to set up for a board wipe or in combination with effects that damage all creatures could be game-ending.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-heavy decks consistently in the spotlight, Mass Diminish stands out for its capacity to neutralize threats. It’s a cost-effective way to ward off formidable creatures and can be a key card for maintaining board control in the current competitive environment.


How to Beat Mass Diminish

The card Mass Diminish can pose a unique challenge in the landscape of MTG matches. This blue sorcery spell stands out by turning all creatures target player controls into 1/1 creatures with no abilities until the end of the turn. To effectively navigate against Mass Diminish, reassessing your battlefield strategy will be critical. Including creatures with static abilities that aren’t reliant on power and toughness is one effective method.

Additionally, incorporating instant-speed buffs or protective spells can nullify the impact of Mass Diminish. Cards like Heroic Intervention can grant your creatures indestructible, effectively bypassing Mass Diminish’s reducing effects. Relying on instant-speed interaction helps ensure your creatures retain their threat level, regardless of your opponent’s attempts to diminish their potency.

Forethought and contingency plans are your best tools. Maintaining diversity in the types of threats you present, the speed at which you can respond, and having a mixture of abilities across your creatures will ensure that Mass Diminish doesn’t mark the end of your game but merely a hiccup in your strategy.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mass Diminish is more than just a clever trick up a blue mage’s sleeve—it’s a pivotal card for those looking to hold sway over the battlefield. Taming an onslaught of enemy creatures or setting the stage for a game-changing combo are just a couple of the advantages this card offers. If you’re intrigued by the potential of Mass Diminish and want to delve deeper into strategies that can optimize your plays or if you’re seeking ways to protect your deck against it, our insights can guide you. Join the BurnMana community where knowledge meets practice, and transform your MTG gameplay today.


Cards like Mass Diminish

Mass Diminish stands out in the realm of creature control within Magic: The Gathering, drawing parallels with a variety of blue spells that shrink opposing threats. It’s most closely related to spells like Humble the Brute, which also reduces the power of creatures significantly. Mass Diminish, however, affects multiple targets, narrowing the field of strength for an opponent’s creatures across the board to a mere fraction of their former glory.

Another card worth noting is God-Pharaoh’s Faithful. While not directly altering creature power, it creates a defensive buffer much like Mass Diminish by gaining you life when you cast a blue spell, indirectly helping you withstand the onslaught of more powerful creatures. Yet, neither carry the same sweeping diminutive effect. Then, there’s the classic blue spell, Turn to Frog. It shares the characteristic of temporarily neutering a single powerful creature by stripping away all its abilities, transforming it into a harmless 1/1. But where Turn to Frog handles one creature, Mass Diminish deals with an army.

Considering all aspects, Mass Diminish offers a unique tactical advantage by affecting multiple creatures, which can turn the tide of a game by mitigating a broad threat posed by an opponent’s developed board state. It’s a strategic card, skillfully tipping the scales during those crucial moments of play.

Humble the Brute - MTG Card versions
God-Pharaoh's Faithful - MTG Card versions
Turn to Frog - MTG Card versions
Humble the Brute - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
God-Pharaoh's Faithful - Hour of Devastation (HOU)
Turn to Frog - Magic 2012 (M12)

Cards similar to Mass Diminish by color, type and mana cost

Time Walk - MTG Card versions
Braingeyser - MTG Card versions
Drain Power - MTG Card versions
Transmute Artifact - MTG Card versions
Forget - MTG Card versions
Piracy - MTG Card versions
Strategic Planning - MTG Card versions
Wind Sail - MTG Card versions
Mana Vapors - MTG Card versions
Turbulent Dreams - MTG Card versions
Quiet Speculation - MTG Card versions
Muse Vortex - MTG Card versions
See the Truth - MTG Card versions
Fae of Wishes // Granted - MTG Card versions
Maddening Cacophony - MTG Card versions
Silver Scrutiny - MTG Card versions
Reshape - MTG Card versions
Eye of Nowhere - MTG Card versions
Train of Thought - MTG Card versions
Skyscribing - MTG Card versions
Time Walk - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Braingeyser - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Drain Power - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Transmute Artifact - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Forget - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Piracy - Starter 1999 (S99)
Strategic Planning - Strixhaven Mystical Archive (STA)
Wind Sail - Starter 1999 (S99)
Mana Vapors - Prophecy (PCY)
Turbulent Dreams - Torment (TOR)
Quiet Speculation - Judgment (JUD)
Muse Vortex - Commander 2021 (C21)
See the Truth - Core Set 2021 (M21)
Fae of Wishes // Granted - Throne of Eldraine Promos (PELD)
Maddening Cacophony - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Silver Scrutiny - Dominaria United Promos (PDMU)
Reshape - The List (PLST)
Eye of Nowhere - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Train of Thought - Guildpact (GPT)
Skyscribing - Commander 2011 (CMD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mass Diminish MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2019, 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 Mass Diminish and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mass Diminish has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-08-23 Because damage remains marked on a creature until it’s removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to a creature the target player controls may become lethal once its base toughness becomes 1.
2019-08-23 Effects that raise or lower a creature’s power and/or toughness, such as the effect of Titanic Growth, will apply to that creature no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for any counters that change its power and/or toughness.
2019-08-23 In a multiplayer game, if you leave the game after Mass Diminish resolves but before your next turn begins, its effect lasts until your next turn would have begun. It neither expires immediately nor lasts indefinitely.
2019-08-23 Mass Diminish affects only creatures the target player controls at the time it resolves. Creatures they begin to control later before your next turn won’t be 1/1.
2019-08-23 Mass Diminish overwrites all previous effects that set a creature’s base power and toughness to specific values. Any power- or toughness-setting effects that start to apply after that ability resolves will overwrite this effect.
2019-08-23 Mass Diminish targets the player, not their creatures. A creature with hexproof or protection from blue may be shrunk this way.

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