Ruthless Disposal MTG Card

Eldritch Moon (EMN)
2016-07-22 - Number 103

Ruthless Disposal - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)

Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
2022-12-02 - Number 462

Ruthless Disposal - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)

Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
2023-03-21 - Number 132

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery

Key Takeaways

Ruthless Disposal provides dual-threat elimination, offering significant board control when timed correctly.
Demands careful resource management due to discard and sacrifice requirements, balancing its powerful effect.
Synergizes with strategies that exploit death triggers, enhancing its value in certain deck archetypes.

Text of card

As an additional cost to cast Ruthless Disposal, discard a card and sacrifice a creature. Two target creatures each get -13/-13 until end of turn.

"Do try to pull your weight, Geralf. I feel like I'm doing everything." —Ghoulcaller Gisa

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ruthless Disposal enables you to deal with two of your opponent’s threats at once, potentially skewing the game in your favor by decreasing their board presence while maintaining yours.

Resource Acceleration: While the card itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it can clear the path for your own creatures to attack and pave the way for more damaging plays in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Ruthless Disposal is played during your main phase, allowing you to carefully plan and execute a devastating blow to your opponent’s strategy when they least expect it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ruthless Disposal demands that you discard a card to activate its ability. This can set you back, especially if your hand is already running low on cards, forcing you to lose potentially vital resources.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that includes both black mana and generic mana, Ruthless Disposal’s specific cost requirement could be challenging for decks that aren’t heavily invested in black mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a total of five mana, including two black, Ruthless Disposal is on the higher side for its destructive capabilities. Players might find other removal options more mana-efficient, allowing them to maintain tempo and board presence.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ruthless Disposal is a dynamic card that can be slotted into various deck archetypes. Black decks that aim to control the board or use sacrifice mechanics find this card particularly useful for eliminating threats while advancing their own game plan.

Combo Potential: With its requirement of sacrificing a creature, Ruthless Disposal synergizes well with decks that capitalize on death triggers or require fodder for other combo pieces. Its ability to target two creatures also opens up avenues for intricate play sequences.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based strategies dominate, Ruthless Disposal can act as a powerful tool to clear the way for your win conditions. Its potential to turn the tide of a game with a single cast can make it a worthy addition to decks that face mid-range and aggro opponents.

How to beat

Ruthless Disposal can be a formidable card to face in a game of MTG. This powerful spell allows a player to take out key threats by sacrificing a creature and discarding a card to eliminate two creatures on the battlefield. However, there are strategies to mitigate its impact. One effective approach is maintaining a board presence with expendable creatures. Utilizing token generators creates fodder to absorb the hit. Additionally, counter spells like Negate or Dispel kept in hand specifically for such destructive spells can ensure Ruthless Disposal never takes effect.

Beyond counters, you can protect your more valuable creatures with hexproof or indestructible abilities, turning Ruthless Disposal into an inefficient trade. Exploring cards with graveyard retrieval can also turn the tide, as discarded and destroyed creatures can become resources for your strategy, effectively blunting your opponent’s offensive maneuver. It becomes crucial to manage resources wisely, keeping the threat of Ruthless Disposal in mind, and playing around it by developing a board state that can either prevent its casting or recover swiftly if it resolves.

In essence, beating Ruthless Disposal involves preparation and foresight. By developing a strategy that buffers against such removal tactics, you can ensure that even the most ruthless of disposals becomes a minor setback rather than a game-ending play.

Cards like Ruthless Disposal

Ruthless Disposal stands out among the arsenal of removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. It draws parallels to other sacrifice-based cards such as Bone Splinters, requiring a creature sacrifice as part of its cost. While Bone Splinters is more mana-efficient, Ruthless Disposal ups the ante by allowing you to eliminate two creatures and also discarding a card for a deeper strategy.

Another card in this conversation is Diabolic Edict which, unlike Ruthless Disposal, forces the opponent to choose a creature to sacrifice. This offers less control but at a lower cost and instant speed. However, Ruthless Disposal’s ability to target two creatures can be a game-changer. Finally, there’s Innocent Blood, which affects all players, making it a double-edged sword unlike the targeted precision of Ruthless Disposal.

Comparing these options, Ruthless Disposal provides a unique combination of strategic depth, control, and impact. It may require setup and a higher cost, but the dual creature removal proves invaluable, carving a niche for itself within MTG’s robust suite of creature control spells.

Cards similar to Ruthless Disposal by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ruthless Disposal MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Jumpstart 2022, 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 Ruthless Disposal and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ruthless Disposal Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Dave Kendall.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2016-07-22	Eldritch Moon	EMN	103	2015	Normal	Black	Dave Kendall
2	2022-12-02	Jumpstart 2022	J22	462	2015	Normal	Black	Dave Kendall
3	2023-03-21	Shadows over Innistrad Remastered	SIR	132	2015	Normal	Black	Dave Kendall

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ruthless Disposal has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Commander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-07-13	Discarding a card and sacrificing a creature are both part of Ruthless Disposal’s cost. You can’t discard or sacrifice more to target more creatures, and you can’t cast Ruthless Disposal at all if you don’t have any other cards in hand or if you control no creatures.
2016-07-13	If one targeted creature becomes an illegal target, the other will still get -13/-13 until end of turn.
2016-07-13	Once you begin to cast Ruthless Disposal, no player may take actions until you’re done. Notably, opponents can’t try to remove the creature you wish to sacrifice.
2016-07-13	There’s no way to discard a creature card with madness, cast it, and sacrifice it to pay for both of Ruthless Disposal’s additional costs.
2016-07-13	You can’t target one creature twice to give it -26/-26.
2016-07-13	You must target exactly two creatures to cast Ruthless Disposal. However, one of the targets can be the creature you intend to sacrifice to pay Ruthless Disposal’s cost.