Defiling Tears MTG Card

It offers resource advantage by returning graveyard cards to hand and accelerates mana resources. Casting at instant speed provides strategic flexibility, surprising opponents during their turn. Drawbacks include a required discard and a specific, slightly high mana cost.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Instant
Released	2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Invasion
Set code	INV
Number	99
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	rk post

Text of card

Until end of turn, target creature becomes black, gets +1/-1, and gains "oo B Regenerate this creature."

Serra's living warriors looked on in horror. "Where is our Lady now?" they cried.

Cards like Defiling Tears

Defiling Tears emerges as a unique contender in the realm of creature buff spells in Magic: The Gathering. It bears similarities to cards like Lightning Greaves, which is also known for its potential to protect and strengthen creatures. Defiling Tears adds flexibility by transforming a creature into a 2/2 black creature with a bonus – it gains death touch until end of turn. Although Lightning Greaves provides haste and solid protection with shroud, it lacks the death touch element that Defiling Tears introduces.

When considering Glorious Anthem, which blankets all your creatures with a static power and toughness boost, Defiling Tears reveals a more targeted approach. It changes a single creature’s statistics and could strategically eliminate an opponent’s key blocker or attacker through its death touch ability. Whispercloak Cloak is another analogous card which offers protection through both shroud and unblockable, yet again, without the tactical edge that death touch provides with Defiling Tears.

In essence, while exploring the strategic space of creature enhancement and protection in Magic: The Gathering, Defiling Tears stands out for its ability to surprise opponents and shift the tide of a game with its instant-speed upgrade and potent death touch attribute.

Cards similar to Defiling Tears by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Defiling Tears offers a potent edge by permitting the return of a creature or planeswalker card from the graveyard to the hand. This retrieval capability helps players recover key components and maintain superiority in card resources.

Resource Acceleration: Not only does Defiling Tears bring back crucial cards, but it also bolsters your mana resources. With each cast, it lays down the groundwork for future plays, aiding in the swift deployment of bigger threats or enabling multi-spell turns.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Defiling Tears cannot be overstated. As an instant, it can be strategically played during the opponent’s end step, keeping options open and catching adversaries off-guard. This adaptability is a substantial asset in any player’s arsenal.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Defiling Tears requires discarding a card, which could hinder your hand advantage, especially in pivotal turns where every resource counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding both black and blue mana makes it less flexible for decks not dedicated to these colors, potentially hampering its fit in multi-color strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana value at three, this can be quite a commitment when other spells could provide more value or similar effects at a lower cost.

Reasons to Include Defiling Tears in Your Collection

Versatility: Defiling Tears is a card that easily integrates into control or midrange decks, offering flexible responses to a broad range of threats. Its adaptability in handling various situations makes it a solid inclusion in your deck.

Combo Potential: This card has synergy with effects that benefit from casting spells from the graveyard or manipulating card types. These interactions could be the cornerstone of powerful combo decks, exploiting these mechanics to decisive effect.

Meta-Relevance: As game environments fluctuate, it’s important to have cards that can deal with an array of opposing strategies. Defiling Tears holds its ground in shifting Metas by offering consistent value, whether the game mainstream favors aggressive, combo, or control decks.

How to Beat Defiling Tears

Defiling Tears stands out as a distinct control card in MTG, tailored to obstruct your opponent’s strategy by forcing the sacrifice of a creature. Players well-versed with cards like Diabolic Edict or Liliana’s Triumph will notice the resemblance, as both elicit a similar creature sacrifice from the opponent. However, what sets Defiling Tears apart is its crucial secondary effect, capable of shutting down persistent threats or graveyard-based strategies.

To effectively counter Defiling Tears, it’s essential to diversify your battlefield presence. Investing in a robust lineup of expendable creatures ensures that you can afford the sacrifice without significantly disrupting your board state. Moreover, cards that generate creature tokens, like Dragon Fodder or Raise the Alarm, can create buffers to absorb the impact of such targeted removal.

Lastly, spells that grant hexproof, such as Heroic Intervention or Ranger’s Guile, can safeguard your key creatures from becoming targets in the first place. Proactive play, tactical creature deployment, and protective spells are your arsenal against the disruptive force of Defiling Tears. Understanding and anticipating this card will bolster your defenses and ensure your creatures’ survival in the ever-evolving environment of MTG.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Defiling Tears MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Defiling Tears and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Defiling Tears has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal