Deadly Alliance MTG Card

Gain tempo using Deadly Alliance to remove key threats without losing card advantage. Instant speed casting provides tactical flexibility and surprise element in battles. Synergizes with diverse permanents, enhancing mana efficiency and overall strategy.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2020-09-25
Set symbol
Set name	Zendikar Rising
Set code	ZNR
Number	96
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Kieran Yanner

Text of card

This spell costs less to cast for each creature in your party. (Your party consists of up to one each of Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, and Wizard.) Destroy target creature or planeswalker.

"He could handle any one of us, but he's no match for all of us!"

Cards like Deadly Alliance

The spell Deadly Alliance in the Magic: The Gathering universe presents a unique approach to creature elimination. It bears similarities to other removal spells such as Murder, which cleanly takes out a target creature irrespective of its power or toughness. The edge that Deadly Alliance has lies in its flexibility with the party mechanic, potentially reducing its casting cost, unlike Murder which has a fixed cost.

Comparable also is Terminate, offering destruction without the possibility of regeneration at a set mana cost. Although devoid of cost alteration, Terminate compensates with its absolute certainty of removal. Moreover, there’s Cast Down, efficient in dealing with nonlegendary creatures at a lower cost. While it might not tackle all threats like Deadly Alliance or Terminate, its cost-effectiveness makes it a formidable spell in the right scenario.

When evaluating removal options across different scenarios, Deadly Alliance provides a compelling choice, especially in decks that can meet its party criteria, offering a potentially cheaper alternative to its peers while retaining the capacity to deal with a vast array of creatures on the battlefield.

Cards similar to Deadly Alliance by color, type and mana cost

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Deadly Alliance card lets a player take out a key threat on the board while maintaining card parity. This can swing the tempo of the game in your favor, enabling strategies to remove opponent’s creatures effectively without losing ground in hand resources.

Resource Acceleration: By synergizing with other cards that benefit from having many different types of permanents under your control, Deadly Alliance can become more cost-efficient. It encourages a diverse gameplay style and bolsters decks that capitalize on varying permanent types for optimized resource use.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Deadly Alliance at instant speed offers tactical flexibility. This enables you to respond to opponents’ moves on their turn, potentially disrupting their strategies. It also means you can wait to gather more information before committing to your play, maintaining the element of surprise and ensuring your mana isn’t wasted on a less optimal play.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To play Deadly Alliance, you must have another creature in play to target, potentially restricting its use when you’re behind on the board.

Specific Mana Cost: Deadly Alliance costs one black and four mana of any color, which may not always align well with decks that aren’t heavily invested in black mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing a total of five mana to remove a single creature can be inefficient, especially when faced with decks that deploy multiple threats quickly.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Deadly Alliance is a flexible card that can be slotted into various decks that leverage the Party mechanic or need removal options. Its ability to be cast for fewer mana based on the number of creatures that share a type makes it a functional pick for tribal decks as well.

Combo Potential: This card’s instant speed allows it to synergize well with other instant tricks or to surprise an opponent by removing a key creature during their turn. It can also work in tandem with cards that benefit from casting spells on the opponent’s turn for added tactical advantage.

Meta-Relevance: As creatures are a cornerstone of most decks, having a reliable removal spell like Deadly Alliance can keep you a step ahead. Particularly in a meta with diverse creature strategies, being able to efficiently answer threats is crucial for maintaining parity or gaining an edge on the battlefield.

How to beat

Confronting the Deadly Alliance in a game of Magic: The Gathering requires tactical awareness and strategic responses. This card leverages the clan or alliance you have on the battlefield, enhancing its effect significantly for each different creature type you control. This makes the card especially potent in tribal decks where diversity is key.

When aiming to nullify the impact of Deadly Alliance, think removal and counterplay. Employ targeted removal to decrease the board’s creature diversity before your opponent gets the chance to cast. Instant-speed responses are particularly effective in disrupting the setup. You can also counteract the card directly with counterspells, making sure it never resolves and swings the game in your favor. Additionally, minimizing the number of creatures on your own board can lessen the card’s impact, as it inadvertently becomes less cost-effective for your opponent.

Whether it’s through preemptive board control or direct denial of the spell, there are multiple pathways to undermine the card’s potential. Understand your deck, anticipate the alliance, and adapt your strategy to ensure that Deadly Alliance doesn’t tip the scales against you.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Deadly Alliance MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar Rising, 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 Deadly Alliance and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Deadly Alliance has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2020-09-25	An ability referring to the number of creatures in your party gets a number from zero to four. Such abilities never ask which creatures are in your party, and you never have to designate specific creatures as being in your party. You can’t choose to exclude creatures from this count to lower the number.
2020-09-25	If a creature has more than one party creature type, and there are multiple ways to count that creature that could result in a different number of creatures in your party, the highest such number is used. For example, if you control a Cleric and a Cleric Wizard, the number of creatures in your party is two. You can’t choose to have it be just one by counting the Cleric Wizard first as a Cleric.
2020-09-25	If a spell has a cost reduction based on the number of creatures in your party, no player may attempt to change that number after you begin to cast the spell but before you pay the cost.
2020-09-25	Several cards have a cost reduction based on the number of creatures in your party. To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you’re paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The converted mana cost of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
2020-09-25	To determine “the number of creatures in your party,” check whether you control a Cleric, whether you control a Rogue, whether you control a Warrior, and whether you control a Wizard. The number is the total number of those checks to which you answered yes. Each creature you control can be counted for only one of those checks.