Cut Short MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cut Short enables players to remove an opponent’s threat while also drawing a card, enhancing their hand while dismantling the adversary’s strategy.

Resource Acceleration: Efficiently costed, this card optimizes mana usage, allowing players to disrupt enemy plays while still progressing their board state.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Cut Short offers flexibility, permitting players to respond to threats in real-time, maintaining momentum and control during the heated moments of a match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Cut Short means you must toss another card from your hand into the graveyard. This could be particularly detrimental when your hand is already depleted from battling your opponent, making it hard to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Cut Short’s casting cost demands a specific combination of one black and one blue mana. This stipulation pigeonholes it into only blue-black decks, restricting its versatility across the broader MTG meta.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring three mana for its effect may be steep when you consider the efficiency of alternative removal options available. In many scenarios, players may find themselves opting for lower-cost spells that offer similar—or even better—board control.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Cut Short is a versatile inclusion, adept at removing pesky creatures from the battlefield. It is especially useful in decks that strive for control and a steady pace towards victory.

Combo Potential: Its capacity to neutralize threats also works well in combination with strategies that capitalize on an opponent’s reduced board presence, enabling more secure paths to deliver lethal blows.

Meta-Relevance: This instant shines in environments heavily populated with low-cost creatures, providing an efficient answer to swarm tactics and tempo plays that could otherwise overrun a more deliberate deck design.

How to beat

Cut Short is an intriguing card in Magic: The Gathering that offers players instant speed interaction by allowing them to remove a blocker from combat. To overcome this card, it’s essential to anticipate when your opponent might have a Cut Short ready. Keep an eye on their untapped lands and consider the colors they’re playing. If you suspect they have Cut Short, you might want to bait it out with a less critical creature before committing your key attacker to the board.

Alternatively, cards with hexproof can be particularly effective against Cut Short, as it can’t target them. Lastly, playing creatures with beneficial enter the battlefield or death effects minimizes the impact of Cut Short, turning your creatures into more than just attackers and making it less profitable for your opponent to remove them. The key is to stay one step ahead and not overextend into a situation where Cut Short can disrupt your strategy. Proper threat assessment and strategic baiting can help ensure your important creatures land successful attacks.