Talara's Bane MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2008-07-25
Set symbol
Set name	Eventide
Set code	EVE
Number	47
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Joshua Hagler

Key Takeaways

Instant speed casting of Talara’s Bane allows for timely hand disruption, making it a tactical card.
Its specific mana cost may limit its use to certain deck types, requiring strategic deck construction.
Inclusion in a collection can offer strategic advantage against creature-heavy and artifact-oriented decks.

Text of card

Target opponent reveals his or her hand. Choose a green or white creature card from it. You gain life equal that creature card's toughness, then that player discards that card.

"Your thoughts betray you." —Illulia of Nighthearth

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When deployed, Talara’s Bane enforces a level of control over your opponent’s hand selection, potentially disrupting their strategy by making them discard two cards. This can lead to a significant advantage by decreasing their options.

Resource Acceleration: Despite Talara’s Bane not directly offering mana acceleration, it indirectly affects resource pacing by stripping away key cards from your opponent, possibly prolonging the time it takes for them to build up their resources and play influential spells.

Instant Speed: Talara’s Bane’s aptitude to be casted at instant speed grants you the flexibility to optimally time your disruptive play. You can wait to gather enough information about your opponent’s hand and gameplay before deciding to strip them off their resources, ensuring that your actions have the most impact.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Talara’s Bane necessitates players to discard a card, which translates to a potential strategic setback if your hand is already depleting.

Specific Mana Cost: This spell’s casting cost demands both black and green mana, this specificity can complicate its integration in multicolored decks not aligned with those colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two black and two green mana, Talara’s Bane has a steep price compared to alternative cards that could carry out a similar function at a lower mana expense, potentially affecting your tempo in-game.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Talara’s Bane comes with a universal appeal for any player who delights in disrupting their opponent’s hand. It is suitable for various deck types, particularly those with a strategy centered around controlling opponents’ options.

Combo Potential: This card has the potential to be a cog in a well-oiled machine within decks that capitalize on discard mechanisms. It allows you to not only filter through your opponent’s resources but also synergize with cards that trigger off discards or the number of cards in an opponent’s graveyard.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment heavy with creature-based strategies, Talara’s Bane can strategically remove key creatures from the game before they even hit the battlefield, giving it a niche yet valuable position in certain meta contexts.

How to beat Talara’s Bane

Talara’s Bane, a black sorcery card from the set Shards of Alara, presents a unique challenge in the world of Magic: The Gathering. This card forces opponents to reveal their hand and discard all cards from it that share a color with the color you choose. When facing Talara’s Bane, it’s crucial to understand its power lies in hand disruption and the strategic elimination of your options.

To effectively combat this, consider diversifying your deck’s color palette and card types to minimize the impact of a single Talara’s Bane play. Utilizing artifacts and colorless cards can also help circumvent the constraints of color targeting. In addition, running cards with flashback or other alternative casting methods from the graveyard ensures that even if your hand is affected, your game plan isn’t wholly disrupted.

Diligent anticipation and adaptability are key. Keeping a watchful eye on the mana your opponent has available and the patterns they play can often telegraph the possibility of a Talara’s Bane. In this way, crafting your hand to either be resilient to or reduce its potentially devastating effects can turn the tide in your favor, minimizing the advantage your opponent sought to gain with Talara’s Bane.

Cards like Talara's Bane

Talara’s Bane introduces a distinct slant in the realm of discard spells within MTG. It draws immediate parallels with Appetite for Brains, another card designed to pick apart an opponent’s arsenal by targeting a specific card type. Talara’s Bane allows the caster to compel their adversary to discard artifacts and/or creatures, providing a unique angle of attack on an opponent’s hand. Unlike its counterpart, Appetite for Brains which exclusively zeroes in on a card with a high mana cost, Talara’s Bane offers a broader net, albeit at a slightly higher mana cost.

Transgress the Mind stands as another comparable card, sharing the aim of disruption, though it casts a wider net across nonland cards with higher mana. While Talara’s Bane restricts its purview to artifacts and creatures, Transgress the Mind’s versatility can sometimes offer a tactical edge in the knowledge it imparts about an opponent’s forthcoming plays. The specificity of Talara’s Bane, however, can be a pivotal tool especially tailored for dismantling creature-heavy or artifact-oriented decks.

Considering the options, Talara’s Bane holds a specialized role in MTG deck construction, balancing the scale between card type specificity and discard potency. This nuanced position often makes it a calculated choice for players aiming to undermine specific strategies at a pace that aligns with their deck’s tempo.

Cards similar to Talara's Bane by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Talara's Bane MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, 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 Talara's Bane and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Talara's Bane 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 Talara's Bane card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2008-08-01	If the creature card has “” in its power or toughness, the ability that defines “” works in all zones. Note that the card is in the opponent’s hand when Talara’s Bane checks its toughness.