Devour in Flames MTG Card

Devour in Flames offers tactical board control through strategic land bounce effects. Timing and mana sequencing are crucial due to its sorcery speed and cost. Its versatility makes it a viable option in red-based control decks.

Devour in Flames - Oath of the Gatewatch

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2016-01-22
Set symbol
Set name	Oath of the Gatewatch
Set code	OGW
Number	106
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Svetlin Velinov

Text of card

As an additional cost to cast Devour in Flames, return a land you control to its owner's hand. Devour in Flames deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker.

Ob Nixilis had prepared for every eventuality—except Chandra Nalaar.

Cards like Devour in Flames

Devour in Flames stands out within the pantheon of red sorcery spells in Magic: The Gathering, with its powerful, yet costly effect. Its closest kin in terms of functionality might be the card Roast, which similarly offers substantial damage to a creature for a low mana cost, without being able to target players. While Devour in Flames requires the return of a land to its owner’s hand, Roast lacks this additional cost, targeting creatures without flying exclusively.

Another spell to consider is Flames of the Raze-Boar, which also offers a significant damage output. While Devour in Flames is limited to three damage and a bounce back land requirement, Flames of the Raze-Boar provides potentially more damage spread across multiple creatures if you control a large enough creature upon casting. The flexibility of Flames of the Raze-Boar in dealing with numerous threats simultaneously might outweigh the sorcery speed limitation when compared to the versatility of Devour in Flames.

Finally, assessing the utility of Devour in Flames within Magic: The Gathering, it can be a tactical advantage for players willing to navigate the cost for its substantial targeted damage. The strategic land return may even synergize with landfall abilities, turning a potential drawback into an opportunity.

Flames of the Raze-Boar - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Devour in Flames enables strategic board control by allowing you to return a land to your hand, which can later be replayed for an additional landfall trigger or other synergistic effects within your deck. This slight setback is often outweighed by the ability to remove key threats, maintaining your tempo and board advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While Devour in Flames doesn’t accelerate resources directly, bouncing a land back to your hand can indirectly compliment strategies that benefit from additional land plays or need specific land drops to execute powerful turns.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Devour in Flames requires careful timing for maximum impact during your turn. This encourages thoughtful strategizing on how to best utilize your mana and sequence plays to maintain control of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the impediments when casting Devour in Flames is its additional cost which requires returning a land you control to its owner’s hand. In a game where land plays a pivotal role in mana accumulation, this can put you at a disadvantage, particularly when you are striving to maintain or escalate your board presence.

Specific Mana Cost: Devour in Flames necessitates a specific mana alignment to be cast—two generic and one red mana. This requirement can restrict the card’s integration into multicolored decks that may not have consistent access to red mana or decks that aim for a mana base not heavily invested in red.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Allocating three mana may seem substantial for a card designed to deal with threats. In a dynamic MTG landscape, where efficiency can make or break a game, players might lean towards lower-cost alternatives for removal. This could potentially leave Devour in Flames sidelined in favor of spells that deliver similar effects with less stringent casting conditions.

Reasons to Include Devour in Flames in Your Collection

Versatility: Devour in Flames offers a solution to a wide array of situations, seamlessly fitting into red-based control or midrange decks that need a reliable removal spell. Its ability to dispatch formidable threats or planeswalkers makes it a versatile pick.

Combo Potential: This card can prove to be a combo enabler in decks that manipulate land plays or benefit from land recursion, as returning a land to your hand can be turned into an advantage with the right synergies in place.

Meta-Relevance: Given its power to handle substantial nonland permanents, it’s an effective response to decks that thrive on big creatures or key planeswalkers, aligning well with the disruptive strategies in certain meta environments.

How to beat

Devour in Flames is a formidable spell in Magic: The Gathering that can unsettle any player’s board presence. With the capacity to deal a substantial 5 damage to a creature or planeswalker, it’s a solid removal option. However, its requirement to return a land you control to your hand can be turned to your advantage when planning your strategy against it.

Effective counterplay involves quick mana acceleration to outpace the land-return drawback it imposes on the casting player. Swift deployment of low-cost creatures can pressure an opponent who is banking on Devour in Flames for defense. Cards with landfall abilities can also capitalize on the land-bounce effect. Alternatively, consider running instant-speed countermeasures that can negate Devour in Flames before it takes effect, rendering the land bounce a disadvantage to your opponent.

Despite its power, having a strategy to either outpace it, exploit its downside, or counteract it directly can neutralize Devour in Flames. In the dynamic environment of Magic: The Gathering, understanding and anticipating such spells can be just as crucial as the spells themselves for achieving victory.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Devour in Flames MTG card by a specific set like Oath of the Gatewatch, 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 Devour in Flames and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Devour in Flames has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-01-22	Once you announce that you’re casting Devour in Flames, it’s too late for anyone to interrupt you by trying to remove the land you’re returning.