Diminish MTG Card
2010-07-16 - Number 52
2017-11-17 - Number 50
2019-11-07 - Number 348
2020-09-26 - Number IMA-50
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Instant |
Text of card
Target creature becomes 1/1 until end of turn.
"'That was a narrow escape!' said Alice, a good deal frightened at the sudden change, but very glad to find herself still in existence." —Lewis Carroll, *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*
Cards like Diminish
Diminish is a unique blue spell in the Magic: The Gathering universe that has an immediate impact on the battlefield. It’s often compared to other creature-weakening spells like Turn to Frog. What sets Diminish apart is its ability to shrink a target creature’s power and toughness to 1/1 until end of turn. By contrast, Turn to Frog not only reduces the target’s stats to 1/1 but also strips away all abilities, effectively muting creatures with potent abilities for the turn.
Hydrosurge is another card that sees comparison with Diminish. While Hydrosurge doesn’t affect toughness, it allows players to reduce a creature’s power by a significant five points, which can be sufficient to neutralize a threat in combat. However, Diminish’s ability to also lower toughness can be a clear advantage in dealing with creatures that have damage-dealing abilities that occur even without combat.
Considering these nuances, Diminish holds a secure place in blue control decks within the Magic: The Gathering landscape. It may not entirely neutralize a creature like Turn to Frog, but its simplicity and the strategic depth it offers in managing opponent’s creatures gives it a spot in the arsenal of any player fond of blue spells.
Cards similar to Diminish by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Diminish allows for tactical card management by reducing an enemy creature’s power and toughness, thereby presenting an opportunity to neutralize potential threats. This strategic diminution offers a pivotal shift in board control and can indirectly lead to card advantage through improved combat outcomes.
Resource Acceleration: As a low-cost spell, casting Diminish does not heavily tax your resources, allowing for a wider adoption in multiple deck types. Consequently, its mana efficiency helps to streamline your plays and accelerates your ability to deploy further strategies within the same turn or forthcoming turns.
Instant Speed: The ability to cast Diminish at instant speed provides an element of surprise and flexibility, aligning with reactionary gameplay and fostering decision-making that’s responsive to an evolving battlefield. It engages the potential to disrupt an opponent’s combat phase and alter the calculus of their offensive or defensive plans at critical junctures in the match.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of using Diminish is the potential need to discard another card to fully utilize its effects. This can be a significant disadvantage, especially when your hand is running low and every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: Diminish comes with a blue mana cost, which can restrict its integration into multicolor decks that may have a different focus or mana base. Players who do not run blue may find it challenging to harness the card’s full potential.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Diminish may offer a unique effect by reducing a creature’s power and toughness, its mana cost can be deemed high relative to other options. Alternative spells exist that could provide similar or superior board impact at a lower mana expense.
Reasons to Include Diminish in Your Collection
Versatility: Diminish can be a valuable card in various deck builds. It’s especially useful for blue-control or tempo strategies that aim to reduce the potency of massive threats without permanently removing them.
Combo Potential: This card works great in tandem with effects that trigger upon damage, such as those found on cards like “Hissing Iguanar” or “Blood Artist.” Reducing a creature’s power and toughness to 1 allows for controlled and often beneficial exchanges in combat or through spells.
Meta-Relevance: Given that creature-based strategies are commonplace, Diminish proves useful in a meta that leans heavily on voltron commanders or beefy creatures. It acts as a temporary answer, allowing for a strategic breather and providing time to establish your board state or find a more permanent solution.
How to beat
Diminish is an insightful card in the Magic universe that can turn the tides of a creature-based standoff. What stands out about Diminish is its ability to reduce any target creature’s power and toughness to 1/1 until the end of turn. It’s a perfect way to handle formidable creatures your opponent controls, rendering them almost harmless with a single blue mana investment.
When comparing Diminish to other control elements, its directness and efficiency are noteworthy. It’s similar to cards like Humble or Turn to Frog, which also neutralize threatening creatures. However, Diminish is unique in its minimal cost and its focus solely on altering combat stats without affecting abilities. To successfully navigate past a Diminish play, strategic use of Instant-speed buffs or abilities can counteract its diminishing effects. The key is to anticipate and prepare for such spells that target your key creatures, maintaining balance and readiness for instantaneous power shifts in the duel.
Ultimately, knowing when and how to play around such tricks is essential. Diminish, while powerful, is a temporary setback that can be overcome with the right approach and cards in hand, demonstrating the depth and strategy within the gameplay of Magic.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Diminish MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011 and Iconic Masters, 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 Diminish 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 Diminish Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2010-07-16 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Eric Deschamps.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010-07-16 | Magic 2011 | M11 | 52 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | |
| 2 | 2017-11-17 | Iconic Masters | IMA | 50 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | |
| 3 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 348 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | |
| 4 | The List | PLST | IMA-50 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Diminish has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Diminish card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-11-17 | Diminish overwrites all previous effects that set the target creature’s power and toughness to specific values. Other effects that set its power or toughness to specific values that start to apply after Diminish resolves will overwrite this effect. |
| 2017-11-17 | Effects that modify the target creature’s power or toughness, such as the effects of Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite or prowess, will apply to it no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for counters that change the creature’s power or toughness (such as +1/+1 counters). |