Crushing Vines MTG Card

Dark Ascension (DKA)
2012-02-03 - Number 110

Commander 2017 (C17)
2017-08-25 - Number 146

Double Masters (2XM)
2020-08-07 - Number 162

Crushing Vines - Commander Legends (CMR)

Commander Legends (CMR)
2020-11-20 - Number 221

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant

Key Takeaways

Offers versatile removal options against fliers or artifacts, strengthening your control over the game.
Instant speed allows for surprise plays, shifting the game’s momentum in your favor.
Can be a sideboard asset in meta-game environments dominated by flying threats and artifacts.

Text of card

Choose one — Destroy target creature with flying; or destroy target artifact.

"Your veil's curse won't stop me, deathmage. I have taken down countless night hunters and this dark plane is not big enough for you to hide." —Garruk Wildspeaker, to Liliana Vess

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crushing Vines provides flexible removal options by letting you choose to destroy either a flying creature or an artifact. This versatility can potentially handle two threats with a single card, keeping your hand robust while depleting your opponent’s resources.

Resource Acceleration: While Crushing Vines itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, removing a key artifact can significantly slow down your opponent’s game plan. This disruption can grant you the time needed to develop your board and gain a strategic edge.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Crushing Vines allows for reactive play during your opponent’s turn. This opens up possibilities to surprise an adversary who might not expect removal during combat or at the end of their turn, maintaining pressure and control over the flow of the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Crushing Vines does not specifically require a card to be discarded, its restrictive use can feel like a resource discard when used suboptimally. If it’s utilized to only destroy a flying creature when many artifacts pose a greater threat, valuable mana and a card slot may essentially be wasted.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both green mana and generic mana, which can be challenging if your mana base isn’t properly diversified or if you’re running a multicolor deck and you’re in need of green sources at that moment of gameplay.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana cost for Crushing Vines is three, which might be considered steep given that it is a situational removal spell. Players might opt for lower-cost alternatives that provide more versatile responses to a wider range of threats on the battlefield.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Crushing Vines is a flexible removal card that can deal with two types of threats: flying creatures and artifacts. This makes it a valuable sideboard card in formats where fliers or artifact strategies are prevalent.

Combo Potential: While not typically a combo enabler, Crushing Vines can be an effective tool in decks that want to disrupt opponent synergies involving artifacts or creatures with flying, allowing your own combos to proceed with less interference.

Meta-Relevance: Given its utility against popular flying creatures and key artifacts, Crushing Vines is particularly relevant in metas dominated by those types of cards. Its presence in a collection can ensure you’re prepared for such matchups.

How to beat

Crushing Vines presents a unique double utility in its ability to deal with creature threats, particularly those with the gift of flight, or to eliminate troublesome artifacts that may be anchoring an opponent’s strategy. Its versatility makes it a valuable piece in decks that seek to control the board. Yet, despite its adaptability, players have found ways to mitigate its impact. One effective method is diversifying threats on the board. While Crushing Vines can target an artifact or flying creature, it cannot deal with multiple threats simultaneously.

Running resilient creatures that can either regenerate or have indestructible properties is another strategy to overpower Crushing Vines. Additionally, enchantments and non-flying creatures remain unaffected, allowing for alternative angles of pressure against an opponent relying on this particular removal option. Countering spells can also neutralize Crushing Vines before it impacts the board, ensuring your key artifacts or winged creatures continue their dominance unimpeded.

In summary, recognizing the constraints of Crushing Vines allows for strategic deck building and playstyle adjustments, which can dilute the impact of this flexible removal card and maintain the momentum on your side of the battlefield.

Cards like Crushing Vines

Crushing Vines offers versatility to Magic: The Gathering players seeking answers to flying threats or troublesome artifacts. It echoes the utility presented by other removal spells such as Naturalize, allowing players to destroy target artifact or enchantment. However, unlike Naturalize, Crushing Vines gives the option to target creatures with flying instead, making it a more flexible solution in decks that need to address multiple types of dangers.

In a similar fashion, Return to Nature stands out with its ability to target not only artifacts and enchantments but also grants the ability to exile cards from graveyards, providing additional grave hate. It also boasts a lower mana cost. Wing Snare is another card comparable to this theme, but it is exclusively a creature removal spell that targets only creatures with flying. While it’s more restrictive in scope, it compensates with a lesser mana cost as well.

Assessing these comparisons, Crushing Vines has a spot in MTG sideboards or main decks that require a wide-reaching removal card, offering an edge in matches where artifact and aerial threats are prevalent.

Cards similar to Crushing Vines by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crushing Vines MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension and Commander 2017, 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 Crushing Vines and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Crushing Vines Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2012-02-03 and 2020-11-20. Illustrated by Scott Chou.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-02-03	Dark Ascension	DKA	110	2003	Normal	Black	Scott Chou
2	2017-08-25	Commander 2017	C17	146	2015	Normal	Black	Scott Chou
3	2020-08-07	Double Masters	2XM	162	2015	Normal	Black	Scott Chou
4	2020-11-20	Commander Legends	CMR	221	2015	Normal	Black	Scott Chou