Destroy the Evidence MTG Card

Destroys land, mills opponent, offering strategic benefit and deck insight. While not direct acceleration, it’s a relative resource denial tool. Combines with instant spells for strategic, timely land destruction.

Destroy the Evidence - Return to Ravnica

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2012-10-05
Set symbol
Set name	Return to Ravnica
Set code	RTR
Number	64
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Clint Cearley

Text of card

Destroy target land. Its controller reveals cards from the top of his or her library until he or she reveals a land card, then puts those cards into his or her graveyard.

Everyone knew the Dimir had done the damage. Everyone suspected the Izzet had hired them.

Cards like Destroy the Evidence

Destroy the Evidence stands out among land destruction and milling cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its resemblance to cards such as Demolish is evident, as both swiftly demolish an opponent’s land. Yet, Destroy the Evidence digs deeper, forcing the target player to mill until they reveal a land card, adding an intriguing twist to the conventional land destruction play.

Contemplating Crumble to Dust, this card removes all copies of a particular land from the game, which can be crippling in certain MTG decks. Although it doesn’t have the milling side effect, the exile component can be incredibly disruptive. Pilfered Plans also presents as a comparison point, blending the mechanic of card draw with milling, making it valuable for advancing your board while hindering your opponent’s strategies. However, it doesn’t interact with land cards directly.

Ultimately, while there are various options for players looking to incorporate land disruption or milling into their strategies, Destroy the Evidence presents a unique combination that can be useful in the right deck, intertwining resource denial with potential deck disruption.

Cards similar to Destroy the Evidence by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Destroy the Evidence provides a dual benefit for those looking to disrupt their opponent’s plans. Not only does it destroy a target land, hindering your opponent’s mana base, but it also forces them to reveal cards from their library until they reveal a land card, putting all revealed non-land cards into their graveyard. This can significantly diminish their resources while giving you a strategic peek into their deck’s composition.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly providing resource acceleration, Destroy the Evidence can serve as a potent form of resource denial. By strategically obliterating a key land, it slows down your opponent’s progress, effectively giving you a relative acceleration in resources as you maintain your mana base while theirs is compromised.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Destroy the Evidence is best used during your main phase. However, its effect can still be part of a larger strategy that includes instant speed spells and abilities. By removing crucial lands and milling potential threats or key combo pieces at an opportune moment, you set the stage for instant-speed disruption or removal when your opponent is most vulnerable.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Destroy the Evidence lies in its mandatory discard clause. Although this can help tailor your graveyard for strategies involving reanimation or flashback, throwing away a potentially useful card can be a painful cost, leaving you at a resource disadvantage during critical points in a game.

Specific Mana Cost: This card comes with a fixed mana cost that includes black mana. This makes it less flexible and potentially difficult to cast on curve, particularly in multicolored decks that may not always have the proper mana sources available when they need them.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The five mana required to play Destroy the Evidence can be considered steep, especially for decks looking to maintain tempo and efficiency. In the current metagame where speed can determine the victor, such a high investment into a single spell that targets only one land may not provide the expected tactical advantage.

Reasons to Include Destroy the Evidence in Your Collection

Versatility: Destroy the Evidence offers a unique disruption approach by targeting opponent’s lands. This makes it a strategic addition to black control decks that aim to dismantle the opponent’s mana base and disrupt their gameplay.

Combo Potential: As a spell that mills an opponent’s deck, it has potential combo uses with other mill strategies, amplifying the pressure on your opponent’s library. In combination with cards that benefit from land graveyard placement, it can create unanticipated synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where land-based strategies are prevalent, Destroy the Evidence can serve as a targeted counter, removing crucial utility lands from play and disrupting combos that rely on specific nonbasic lands.

How to beat

Destroy the Evidence is a unique sorcery in the Magic: The Gathering realm, specifically crafted to disrupt your opponent’s land base while milling their library. The card destroys a land and forces the opponent to reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a land card, which is then also sent to the graveyard. While this may seem like a daunting task to overcome, there are indeed strategies to combat it.

To effectively play against Destroy the Evidence, hold onto instant-speed land interaction spells or effects that can protect your land or replace it. Cards like Heroic Intervention can shield your lands from being targeted, while Crucible of Worlds lets you play lands from your graveyard, mitigating the impact of the mill. Another option is to maintain a diverse mana base, ensuring you’re not overly dependent on any single land which, if targeted, could destabilize your play.

Remember that a key part of Magic: The Gathering strategy is anticipating and reacting to opponent moves. Thus, knowing when to expand your board, diversify your resources, and have answers ready can make all the difference when faced with Destroy the Evidence.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Destroy the Evidence MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica, 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 Destroy the Evidence and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Destroy the Evidence has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2012-10-01	If the controller of the target land has no land cards in their library, all cards from that library will be revealed and put into their graveyard.