Delusions of Mediocrity MTG Card
1999-02-15 - Number 30
2001-04-11 - Number 70★
2001-04-11 - Number 70
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Enchantment |
Text of card
When Delusions of Mediocrity comes into play, gain 10 life. When Delusions of Mediocrity leaves play, lose 10 life.
When nothing but second best will do.
Understanding Delusions of Mediocrity
Delusions of Mediocrity presents an intriguing concept in the life gain department for Magic: The Gathering players. This enchantment offers an immediate life boost, similar to the function of cards like Exquisite Blood. Unlike Exquisite Blood, which requires a trigger from an opponent’s life loss to gain life, Delusions of Mediocrity gives a one-time substantial gain of 10 life when it enters the battlefield. It’s a significant bump, but it comes with the risk of losing that life if it leaves play.
Cards like Delusions of Mediocrity
Delusions of Mediocrity can be likened to other MTG cards that manipulate life totals such as Lich’s Mastery or Axis of Mortality. Lich’s Mastery provides a unique hexproof ability and life-linking card draws, although it carries the potential for a game-ending downside if destroyed. Axis of Mortality, meanwhile, enables players to exchange life totals, offering a dramatic turnaround in a game’s tide, yet it requires a significant mana investment and a more strategic setup compared to the straightforward nature of Delusions of Mediocrity.
While Delusions of Mediocrity may not have the recurring benefits or grand scale effects of its counterparts, its immediate life surge is a valuable tool for strategies centered on padding life totals quickly. It serves a niche role but can be exceptionally effective within decks built to mitigate its potential downside, sustaining its place in the life manipulation strategies of Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Delusions of Mediocrity by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Delusions of Mediocrity offers a unique advantage by providing an immediate substantial life boost when it enters the battlefield. This increase in life total can put you comfortably ahead, making it more challenging for your opponent to bring your life down to zero. Capitalizing on this sizable life gain can change the landscape of a game, particularly in formats where life swings can determine the winner.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or resource acceleration, the life gain from Delusions of Mediocrity can indirectly enable strategies that trade life for resources. With a larger life pool to work with, it’s easier to leverage cards or abilities that require life payments, effectively accelerating your resource development without the immediate repercussions of a reduced life total.
Instant Speed: Though Delusions of Mediocrity is an enchantment that doesn’t operate at instant speed itself, the buffer it creates allows for more flexibility with your mana. You can more safely pass the turn without having to use mana for life-gaining spells or effects during your opponent’s turn, leaving that mana open for actual instant-speed interactions. Additionally, if combined with cards that can flash it onto the battlefield, you take advantage of the life gain as both a surprise defensive maneuver and as an offensive setup for future turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Delusions of Mediocrity does not have a discard requirement, it does have a substantial drawback that can be just as impactful. When it leaves play, you lose 10 life, a significant penalty that can put players in a precarious position if not properly managed.
Specific Mana Cost: Delusions of Mediocrity demands a specific mana investment of two blue and two colorless which can be restrictive. This makes it less versatile and harder to slot into decks that aren’t heavily invested in blue mana sources.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, this artifact may come into play too late to bolster your life total in fast-paced games. Players might find other life-gain solutions or defensive strategies that are not only more mana-efficient but offer additional benefits or less risky drawbacks.
Reasons to Include Delusions of Mediocrity in Your Collection
Versatility: Delusions of Mediocrity is a unique enchantment that provides a substantial life boost upon entering the battlefield. This life gain can be crucial for decks that use life as a resource or require a buffer against aggressive strategies.
Combo Potential: In combo-oriented decks, this card pairs well with effects that let you leave the battlefield or donate it to your opponent for a detrimental impact, triggering its life loss on them instead.
Meta-Relevance: With player life totals being a primary victory condition, any change in the meta that increases the prevalence of burn or aggro strategies could make the life-gain aspect of Delusions of Mediocrity particularly valuable.
How to beat
Delusions of Mediocrity is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that provides an immediate life boost upon entering the battlefield. Yet, as beneficial as this may seem, it can become a double-edged sword. The key to dismantling this card lies in removing it from play without triggering its lifeloss effect or by taking advantage of the life disparity it creates.
Strategies to beat Delusions of Mediocrity typically involve indirect removal effects such as bounce spells or mass enchantment destruction to circumvent the negative impact of its departure. Another effective tactic is to utilize endpoint life total effects which negate the initial gain, like cards that reverse a player’s life total with their opponent’s. Timing is crucial; carefully dismantling the life buffer it provides can turn an opponent’s apparent security into their downfall.
Ultimately, understanding the mechanics and planning for the right opportunity to strike can effectively neutralize Delusions of Mediocrity and turn its illusionary safety into a precarious situation for the controller, thereby seamlessly reclaiming the upper hand in the competition.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Delusions of Mediocrity MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Legacy and Seventh Edition, 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 Delusions of Mediocrity and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Delusions of Mediocrity Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-02-15 and 2001-04-11. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999-02-15 | Urza's Legacy | ULG | 30 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Jeff Laubenstein | |
| 2 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 70★ | 1997 | Normal | Black | Terese Nielsen | |
| 3 | 2001-04-11 | Seventh Edition | 7ED | 70 | 1997 | Normal | White | Terese Nielsen |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Delusions of Mediocrity has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |