Disempower MTG Card

Disempower, costing little mana, enables quicker play and strategic board advantage. Its instant speed allows for surprise tactics, disrupting opponents efficiently. Playing Disempower requires discarding, which can sometimes be disadvantageous.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	1996-10-08
Set symbol
Set name	Mirage
Set code	MIR
Number	9
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Matson

Text of card

Put target artifact or enchantment on top of owner's library.

"Mangara is gone. Who among you doubts that I have taken his power?" —Kaervek

Cards like Disempower

In the world of Magic: The Gathering, Disempower marks its territory in the realm of blue instant spells designed for strategic tempo disruption. It’s akin to other cards such as Unsummon, offering a way to bounce creatures back to their owner’s hand. Disempower, however, allows a player to directly place a target artifact, creature, or enchantment on top of its owner’s library instead of the hand, slightly delaying its potential re-deployment.

Another card worth comparing is Delay. While it doesn’t affect the battlefield directly, it similarly disrupts opponent’s timings by exiling a spell with time counters, delaying its casting. Both cards can strategically put off an opponent’s plans, buy valuable time, or disrupt combats in different manners. Grip of Amnesia also shares some similarity; although rather than controlling the board, it offers a choice for the opponent to disrupt their graveyard synergy or lose a spell entirely.

Each card serves a slightly different purpose but all fit well into a blue deck focused on controlling the pace of the match. With its unique positioning as a library placement spell, Disempower shines in particular scenarios, especially against decks that rely on top-deck manipulation.

Cards similar to Disempower by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Disempower shines by potentially removing a key creature from combat, thereby negating any combat tricks or synergy bonuses your opponent might have had. This setback for your opponent can function as a form of virtual card advantage, as it may render some of their cards less effective or entirely useless for a turn.

Resource Acceleration: Though Disempower itself does not directly provide resource acceleration, its low mana cost frees up your resources. This efficiency allows you to deploy more spells or summon creatures, thereby accelerating your board presence and resource allocation for subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The real power of Disempower lies in its ability to be cast at instant speed. This flexibility gives you the upper hand by allowing tactical responses to your opponent’s actions. You can disrupt their combat phase, protect your life total, or simply create a surprise setback at a moment’s notice, keeping your opponent on their toes and unsure of your next move.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Disempower’s usage can be a double-edged sword considering the necessity to discard a card. While aiming to neutralize an opponent’s threat, this condition might actually deplete your own hand, leading to a potential disadvantage, especially if your card advantage is already compromised.

Specific Mana Cost: Tailored for a blue mana deck, Disempower requires blue mana for casting, which can create a stumbling block in multicolored or off-theme decks. Its stringent mana requirements may not align with the flexibility demanded by more diverse mana bases.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a card that generally targets a single piece on the board, Disempower comes with a considerable mana investment. When evaluating the opportunity cost, one must consider other available options that may provide greater overall utility or impact for a similar, or even lesser, mana expenditure.

Reasons to Include Disempower in Your Collection

Versatility: Disempower offers dynamic utility as a sideboard card. It can temporarily neutralize a wide array of permanents—be it an imposing creature, high-value artifact, or even an enchantment that’s turning the tide against you—by phasing them out.

Combo Potential: Within decks centered on phasing mechanics or those exploiting enters-the-battlefield triggers, Disempower can be a tactical piece. It allows you to obscure an opponent’s tools while setting up your winning combinations.

Meta-Relevance: When battling against decks reliant on key cards to sustain their strategy, Disempower shines by disrupting those plans at critical moments. It is particularly effective in shifting momentum in your favor across a variety of metagame landscapes.

How to beat

Disempower is a strategic card in Magic: The Gathering which can temporarily neutralize the threat of an opponent’s artifact or creature by placing it on the bottom of their library. To effectively counteract Disempower, players should consider the arsenal of methods to protect their key game pieces. One approach is utilizing cards that grant hexproof or shroud to shield your assets from targeted spells. Additionally, playing cards that can quickly replace the displaced piece, such as creature tokens or cloning effects, ensures that the momentum of your board state remains unhindered.

Another tactic is to bait out Disempower with less critical cards, preserving your high-impact creatures and artifacts for a more opportune time. Moreover, playing instant-speed spells can also be a smart move. This allows you to respond to Disempower by, for instance, sacrificing the targeted artifact or creature for an effect or benefit before it is removed from the battlefield. As with any control element in MTG, understanding the best moment to deploy your threats and the best way to safeguard them can often lead to victory against spells like Disempower.

By adopting a mix of preventative and reactive strategies, you can effectively prepare for and nullify the impact of Disempower in a game, thus maintaining a dominant position on the battlefield.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Disempower MTG card by a specific set like Mirage, 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 Disempower and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Disempower has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal