Destructive Force MTG Card

Clears the board and disrupts opponents, creating significant card advantage for strategic play. Enhances decks that can quickly recover from land destruction, gaining tempo over opponents. Sorcery speed ensures Destructive Force has a decisive impact on your game strategy.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	7
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2010-07-16
Set symbol
Set name	Magic 2011
Set code	M11
Number	133
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jung Park

Text of card

Each player sacrifices five lands. Destructive Force deals 5 damage to each creature.

The end of the world rarely comes quietly.

Cards like Destructive Force

Exploring the synergies and dynamics within Magic: The Gathering often leads to comparisons between spells. Destructive Force falls into the category of high-impact board sweepers. Its closest counterpart is perhaps the iconic Wildfire, which shares the same mana cost and the devastating effect of destroying four lands each player controls. The contrast lies in Wildfire’s damage to creatures, which is capped at 4, whereas Destructive Force ramps up the intensity with 5 damage across the board.

Another card that echoes a similar sentiment is Devastation, a much older card with an even broader sweep, obliterating all creatures and lands without discrimination but at a higher mana cost. Meanwhile, a more recent comparison is found in Star of Extinction, which targets a single land but compensates with an astonishing 20 damage to each creature and planeswalker, highlighting a new era of power levels in the game.

Each card has its own niche, but what makes Destructive Force notable is the balance it strikes between cost, damage output, and the strategic advantage it can provide to players who are prepared to rebuild faster than their opponents, making it a solid choice in any deck that can accommodate its destructive nature.

Cards similar to Destructive Force by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Destructive Force serves as a powerful reset button, often clearing the board of creatures and leaving opponents with fewer resources. By strategically playing this card, you can tailor your hand to maintain the upper hand after the board is wiped, ensuring card advantage while your opponent struggles to recover.

Resource Acceleration: In decks tailored to mana ramp, casting Destructive Force can catapult you ahead by devastating opponents’ lands while you have the resources to recover quickly. This can leave you in a prime position to accelerate your game plan with fewer threats on the board.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant, the sorcery speed of Destructive Force ensures that its effects are decisive during your turn. By carefully planning your turn sequence, you can gain the most advantage from the sweeping effect, strategically piloting your deck to victory in the aftermath of the destruction.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: As a component of its casting conditions, Destructive Force necessitates that players forfeit a portion of their hand. This can lead to a considerable setback when your hand is brimming with vital spells that you’re forced to release unplayed. Such a requirement can render the card a liability rather than an asset, especially when your strategic reserves are dwindling.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Destructive Force leans heavily on red mana, requiring no less than five red sources. This stringent requirement can hinder deck versatility, confining it primarily to mono-red or heavily red-leaning strategies and making it a less appealing option for multicolored decks that might struggle to meet its mana demands.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total mana value of seven, Destructive Force comes at a steep price. This cost situates it in a higher echelon where players expect substantial impact plays. However, in the fast-paced dynamics of MTG, where efficiency is key, such a lofty investment might not always yield the desired board advantage, especially when competing cards accomplish similar objectives at lower costs.

Reasons to Include Destructive Force in Your Collection

Versatility: Destructive Force serves as a powerful reset button in games, offering an edge to decks that strive to control the battlefield. It fits snugly into strategies that capitalize on land destruction or benefit from an opponent’s reduced resources.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes exceptionally well with strategies that focus on resource denial. It can be the lynchpin for turning the tides in your favor by dismantling ramp decks or those dependent on mana-rich boards.

Meta-Relevance: As the meta shifts towards decks that build significant board presence with lands and creatures, Destructive Force remains a relevant inclusion, potentially crippling your opponent’s setup and leaving them scrambling to recover.

How to beat

Destructive Force is a powerful spell that can swing the game in Magic: The Gathering. It fits into strategies that aim to control the board by wiping out creatures and setting back opponents’ resource development. Overcoming Destructive Force requires playing around its ability to damage and destroy. One way to achieve this is through strategies that don’t heavily rely on a developed board presence.

Consider using cards that have indestructible abilities or those that can regenerate, making them resistant to the five damage dealt by Destructive Force. Another approach is to focus on land ramp, increasing your mana base to a point where the land destruction aspect of the card barely impacts your gameplay. Alternately, having a deck that operates efficiently on low land count or one that can quickly recover lands from the graveyard can also diminish the blow from Destructive Force.

Ultimately, adapting your deck to either absorb the damage, counter the spell, or swiftly recuperate from the hit is key. If you manage to predict and undermine Destructive Force’s impact, your deck will not only survive its effects but possibly gain a substantial edge over the opponent who has sacrificed resources to cast it.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Destructive Force MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011, 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 Destructive Force and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Destructive Force has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2010-08-15	First the player whose turn it is chooses five lands to sacrifice, then each other player in turn order does the same, then all chosen lands are sacrificed at the same time. After that, Destructive Force deals 5 damage to each creature.