Go for Blood MTG Card
Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
Mana cost | |
Converted mana cost | 2 |
Rarity | Common |
Type | Sorcery |
Abilities | Cycling,Fight |
Text of card
Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control. (Each deals damage equal to its power to the other.) Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
Lukka's bond provided not only friendship, but also the most powerful weapon in his arsenal.
Cards like Go for Blood
Go for Blood is an intriguing combat trick in the Magic: The Gathering arsenal. It offers the unique cycling feature, setting it in line with other tactical plays like Prey Upon. Prey Upon allows for a one-on-one creature fight without any additional perks, whereas Go for Blood offers versatility with its cycling option. You can either use it to take control of the battlefield by forcing a fight or cycle it to draw a card when a direct confrontation isn’t beneficial.
Next, consider Ram Through, which matches the creature fight mechanic but provides excess damage opportunity to the opponent’s life total if your creature has trample. This added ability can turn the tide of the game and gives Ram Through an edge in certain situations. Savage Stomp is another similar card but it’s tailored specifically for creatures with the dinosaur type, often resulting in a cost reduction and a bonus +1/+1 counter.
Each of these cards shines in different scenarios, but Go for Blood holds its ground due to its cycling ability providing a level of flexibility that can pivot your game plan on the fly, an essential tool in the ever-changing landscape of Magic: The Gathering.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Go for Blood provides a dual benefit with the ability to cycle away an unneeded card while potentially fetching a more useful card to replace it. This cycling effect helps sifting through your deck to maintain card flow and can edge out card advantage over time.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly impacting your resources, Go for Blood’s low cycling cost means you can efficiently spend your mana without hindering your development. Its cheap cycling ensures you can keep mana open for other plays while keeping your deck cycling forward.
Instant Speed: The flexibility of Go for Blood shines at instant speed, allowing for surprise combat tricks or strategic plays during an opponent’s turn. This immediacy provides a tactical advantage, keeping opponents on their toes and diversifying your potential responses to threats.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Go for Blood card necessitates the discarding of another card if cycled, potentially depleting your hand and putting you at a disadvantage in maintaining card advantage against your opponent.
Specific Mana Cost: Requiring one red mana can restrict this card’s inclusion to decks that comfortably operate with red mana sources, making it less flexible for multi-colored or colorless strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The cost to unleash the full potential of Go for Blood is two mana, a significant investment for a single target fight effect when evaluating the breadth of options available within the same cost bracket.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Go for Blood lends itself to a wide array of deck archetypes due to its dual functionality. It acts as both a removal option through cycling, as well as a pivotal card in aggressive strategies seeking to outmaneuver blockers and push through damage.
Combo Potential: In decks that manipulate the power of creatures or benefit from cycling synergies, Go for Blood can become a repeatable source of creature control or a piece in drawing through your deck to find key combo pieces.
Meta-Relevance: Given the fluctuating nature of the metagame, Go for Blood’s utility in combat situations can often give players the edge they need, especially in formats where creature-based combat is prevalent.
How to beat
Go for Blood is a flexible card in Magic: The Gathering that offers both removal and cycling, adapting to the needs of the battlefield. To counter it, players need to understand its dual nature. When Go for Blood is used for its cycling ability, it’s mainly to churn through the deck to find more useful cards, which requires less immediate action aside from possibly countering any synergistic cycling effects.
In situations where Go for Blood is utilized for its fight mechanism, the key is to ensure your creatures either outsize the opponent’s or to have instant-speed removals or buffs to turn the tides during the fight phase. Keeping protection spells handy or cards that can grant indestructibility or hexproof can also effectively nullify Go for Blood’s impact, helping to maintain board presence against potential threats. Overall, having a versatile strategy with responses for both creature combat and cycling bonuses will help you consistently outmaneuver opponents relying on Go for Blood.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Go for Blood MTG card by a specific set like Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths 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 Go for Blood 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
See MTG Products
Printings
The Go for Blood Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2020-04-24 and 2022-12-02. Illustrated by Chris Rallis.
# | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2020-04-24 | Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths | IKO | 122 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Chris Rallis | |
2 | 2022-12-02 | Jumpstart 2022 | J22 | 540 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Chris Rallis |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Go for Blood has restrictions
Format | Legality |
---|---|
Historicbrawl | Legal |
Historic | Legal |
Legacy | Legal |
Paupercommander | Legal |
Oathbreaker | Legal |
Gladiator | Legal |
Pioneer | Legal |
Commander | Legal |
Modern | Legal |
Pauper | Legal |
Vintage | Legal |
Duel | Legal |
Explorer | Legal |
Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Go for Blood card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
Date | Text |
---|---|
2020-04-17 | If either target is an illegal target as Go for Blood resolves, no creature will deal or be dealt damage. |