Alpha Brawl MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 8 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Released | 2012-02-03 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Dark Ascension |
| Set code | DKA |
| Number | 82 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Randy Gallegos |
Key Takeaways
- Alpha Brawl offers potential card advantage by clearing opponents’ creatures, tilting board state in your favor.
- The requirement to sacrifice a creature and a heavy red mana cost challenge deck flexibility and timing.
- Its uniqueness and strategic depth in multiplayer formats make it a valuable addition to red decks.
Text of card
Target creature an opponent controls deals damage equal to its power to each other creature that player controls, then each of those creatures deals damage equal to its power to that creature.
Being an alpha means proving it every full moon.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Alpha Brawl doesn’t directly enable you to draw cards, it has the potential to decimate your opponent’s side of the board, allowing you to leverage a considerable advantage in the number of creatures in play. This removal of multiple creatures can be equated to gaining card advantage as you effectively diminish the resources available to your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: Alpha Brawl is not a typical source of resource acceleration. However, by clearing the board of potential blockers or threats, it indirectly accelerates your own resources. After a successful cast, your creatures are more likely to be able to attack without opposition, which can speed up your victory.
Instant Speed: Although Alpha Brawl is cast at sorcery speed, its impact on the game can be as decisive as that of an instant. It prepares the stage for your following turns by ensuring that when you do cast spells at instant speed, they face fewer obstacles and have a clearer path to affecting the game state.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Alpha Brawl is its requirement that you choose a creature you control to fight every creature your opponent controls. While this can be a powerful sweeping effect, it may force you to sacrifice a valuable creature you would have preferred to keep on the battlefield.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s specific mana cost is quite demanding, requiring a large amount of red mana to be played. With a cost of six colorless and two red mana, integrating Alpha Brawl into your play successfully requires substantial mana ramping or a heavy red mana base, potentially limiting deck construction and reducing flexibility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total mana cost of eight, Alpha Brawl is considered to have a comparatively high casting cost. In the fast-paced environment of the game, it might arrive too late to turn the tide. Lower-cost alternatives or cards with a more immediate impact could be more efficient choices.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Alpha Brawl slots into a variety of Red decks, providing a powerful board-clearing option. Its ability to create unfavorable creature battles for your opponents makes it a game-changer in multiplayer formats.
Combo Potential: With the right setup, this card can be combined with cards that benefit from creature deaths or damage dealt, maximizing its impact and turning the tide in your favor.
Meta-Relevance: In metas where creature-heavy decks prevail, Alpha Brawl acts as a potent answer to overcrowded boards, potentially clearing multiple threats with a single cast.
How to Beat Alpha Brawl
Alpha Brawl, as MTG enthusiasts know, is an impactful red sorcery that forcefully pits creatures against one another. Strategically taking down this card involves a blend of board control, shrewd creature selection, and timely interruption. It’s similar to other red sweepers, but unique in its execution, relying on a single creature to deal damage to numerous foes.
In building a strategy to overcome Alpha Brawl, ensure your deck can either negate the spell through countermagic or protect your significant creatures with hexproof or indestructibility. Spells like Negate or Heroic Intervention can be your shield in this scenario. Reducing your board presence before Alpha Brawl resolves also minimizes the detrimental impact it can have. In addition, deploying instant-speed removal or creature bounce effects can save your key players from becoming unwilling combatants in the deadly brawl. This preemptive thought ensures you maintain the upper hand against the potentially devastating sorcery.
Emerging victorious over a card like Alpha Brawl thus requires a proactive game plan, predictive reactions, and a flexible deck that has answers for high-impact sorceries. Master these tactics, and you’ll tip the scales in your favor when the brawl comes to your battlefield.
Cards like Alpha Brawl
Alpha Brawl is a noteworthy card for players looking to swing the tide of battle in Magic: The Gathering. In the realm of red spells that influence combat, it stands tall, forcing one target creature an opponent controls to fight all other creatures that player controls. This card is akin to Fight spells like Domri’s Ambush, which permits a creature you control to fight another target creature. What sets Alpha Brawl apart, however, is its much broader impact, potentially wiping out an adversary’s entire board.
Comparatively, Bonfire of the Damned also delivers board-sweeping potency although it dishes out damage based on its X casting cost, instead of relying on creatures fighting. This difference is crucial; Bonfire can be more controlled and predictable, whereas Alpha Brawl’s outcome hinges on the creatures’ size and abilities. Then we have Chandra’s Ignition, another parallel, which sees one creature dealing damage equal to its power to each other creature and each opponent. It’s immediate and less restrictive, but Alpha Brawl’s unique ability to potentially exploit an opponent’s strongest creature gives it a singular strategic place.
Evaluating the wide selection of combat influencing spells, Alpha Brawl holds a distinctive position, offering strategic depth and the potential for dramatic swings in the battlefield dynamic.
Cards similar to Alpha Brawl by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Alpha Brawl MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension, 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 Alpha Brawl 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 Alpha Brawl has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Alpha Brawl card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2011-01-22 | Abilities like lifelink and deathtouch that care about any kind of damage are taken into account. |
| 2011-01-22 | Combat abilities like first strike, double strike, and trample don’t apply and will have no impact on Alpha Brawl’s effect. |
| 2011-01-22 | If the targeted creature has infect or wither, the damage it deals will result in -1/-1 counters being put on each creature it deals damage to. The power of those creatures will be reduced when they deal damage back to the targeted creature. |
| 2011-01-22 | None of the damage dealt due to Alpha Brawl is combat damage. |
| 2011-01-22 | The damage dealt by the targeted creature is not divided in any way. For example, if a 3/3 creature is targeted, it will deal 3 damage to each other creature controlled by its controller. |
| 2011-01-22 | The two parts of Alpha Brawl’s effect happen sequentially: first the targeted creature deals damage, then the other creatures deal damage. State-based actions aren’t checked in the middle, so creatures that are dealt lethal damage by the targeted creature will still deal damage. |
