Hopeless Nightmare MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Enchantment |
| Abilities | Scry |
| Released | 2023-09-08 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Wilds of Eldraine |
| Set code | WOE |
| Number | 95 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Dominik Mayer |
Text of card
When Hopeless Nightmare enters the battlefield, each opponent discards a card and loses 2 life. When Hopeless Nightmare is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, scry 2. : Sacrifice Hopeless Nightmare.
Cards like Hopeless Nightmare
Hopeless Nightmare carves its niche within Magic: The Gathering as a menacing black creature card. It evokes memories of established cards like Diregraf Ghoul, sharing the same initial mana cost for a durable undead warrior. What distinguishes Hopeless Nightmare is its additional graveyard benefits, offering a strategic edge as you maneuver through gameplay.
When looking at the bigger picture, similarities can be seen with the likes of Gutterbones. Both are reanimatable creatures, however, Gutterbones can return to one’s hand directly, making it a consistent threat. Hopeless Nightmare requires a different condition to unlock its potential, asking players to delve into different strategic territories. It’s comparable to Miasmic Mummy as well, ensuring that both players discard a card upon entry, disrupting planned plays and hand stability.
Considering every aspect, Hopeless Nightmare presents a unique combination of attributes that can influence the traditional approach to zombie decks. While pulling from the classic motifs of MTG’s black cards, it introduces a layer of complex graveyard interactions, securing its place as a card that can go beyond mere power and toughness.
Cards similar to Hopeless Nightmare by color, type and mana cost
Decks using this card
MTG decks using Hopeless Nightmare. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.
| # | Name | Format | Archetype | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Black Burn | Pauper | Black Burn | Monthly Tournament #37 |
 | Orzhov Midrange | Pauper | Liga Gacha de Pauper 2024 - Etapa 2 | |
 | UB | Standard | Traditional Standard Ranked Decklists: April 22, 2024 | |
| B | Pauper | Pauper League 2024-04-18 | |
 | Dimir Combo | Explorer | The Pizza Box Open: Explorer | |
 | Mono-Black Control | Explorer | The Pizza Box Open: Explorer | |
| Mono-Black Burn | Pauper | Black Burn | Pauper League 2024-02-27 |
 | Mono-Black Midrange | Standard | Mono-Black Midrange | Traditional Standard Ranked Decklists: March 18, 2024 |
 | Abzan Midrange | Gladiator | Sword and Sandals Showdown: AM Week 10 2024 | |
 | Selesnya Enchantments | Modern | Enchantress | Spring Modern Championship |
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Involving card advantage, Hopeless Nightmare allows players to remove key opposing threats, which could indirectly contribute to gaining card advantage, as it may force an opponent to expend additional resources to deal with it.
Resource Acceleration: Although Hopeless Nightmare does not directly accelerate resources in the traditional sense of producing mana or artifacts, it can potentially clear the path for more efficient attacks, leading to a quicker victory and more strategic deployment of your own resources.
Instant Speed: Hopeless Nightmare can be cast at instant speed, providing significant flexibility. It enables players to act at the end of an opponent’s turn or in response to an action, keeping mana free during their own turn for other spells and strategies.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Casting Hopeless Nightmare often comes with the necessity to discard a card, which can deplete your hand and weaken your position, especially in the tight early phases of the game where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: The mana requirements for Hopeless Nightmare are quite stringent, locking it firmly into decks that can produce the necessary black mana, potentially limiting its versatility across the diverse deck archetypes.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Hopeless Nightmare might offer a potent ability or impact on the board, it does so at a lofty mana valuation. This can be particularly ponderous when quicker, more cost-effective alternatives could be slotted into a decklist to accelerate your game plan.
Reasons to Include Hopeless Nightmare in Your Collection
Versatility: Hopeless Nightmare has the utility to mesh with a variety of decks that exploit graveyard mechanics or value discard strategies. It can find a home in control setups as well as more aggressive builds seeking to disrupt their opponents.
Combo Potential: This card seamlessly integrates into combos that benefit from consistent creature removal or sacrifice synergies. Its ability to potentially return from the graveyard under certain conditions makes it a recurring tool for combo enablers.
Meta-Relevance: Given an environment rich with creature-based decks, Hopeless Nightmare can act as a recurring nightmare for opponents. Its relevance grows with the prevalence of strategies that depend on establishing a board presence.
How to beat
Confronting the Hopeless Nightmare card requires a strategic approach that hinges on disrupting its core mechanics. This dreaded enchantment relies heavily on tormenting players through repeated life loss and hand disruption, making it imperative to dismantle its influence swiftly. To do this, one should prioritize removal spells that can directly target enchantments. Cards like Disenchant or Naturalize are straightforward and cost-effective solutions for most decks, eliminating the threat at instant speed.
Alternatively, seizing control of the battlefield through creatures that can bypass or benefit from discarding can be effective. For instance, employing creatures with the Madness ability allows you to turn a disadvantage to your advantage when forced to discard. Focusing on maintaining a diverse hand through robust card draw strategies and counterspells like Negate can also thwart the impact of Hopeless Nightmare, keeping your hand filled and negating its activation.
Ultimately, the success against Hopeless Nightmare lies in preparedness and adaptation, balancing the need to apply pressure with the foresight to have answers at the ready. Ensuring your deck is well-equipped to handle such threats is key to maintaining control over the game.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Hopeless Nightmare MTG card by a specific set like Wilds of Eldraine, 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 Hopeless Nightmare 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
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Hopeless Nightmare has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Hopeless Nightmare card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-09-01 | Hopeless Nightmare's first ability causes each opponent to lose 2 life even if some or all of those players were unable to discard a card. |