Seizures MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	1995-06-03
Set symbol
Set name	Ice Age
Set code	ICE
Number	159
Frame	1993
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Julie Baroh

Key Takeaways

Seizures can enhance card advantage and disrupt opponents, but requires careful hand management due to discard costs.
Its instant speed and versatility make it a tactical asset in blue-based decks, despite potential mana cost concerns.
Key factors include meta-relevance, combo potential, and having strategic enchantment removal options to counter it.

Text of card

Whenever target creature becomes tapped, that creature's controller pays o3 or Seizures deals 3 damage to him or her.

"Sheathe your sword, warrior, lest ye fall on it when stricken." —Lim-Dûl, the Necromancer

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Enhancing your hand, Seizures provides a tactical edge by disrupting your opponent’s strategy and potentially giving you access to additional cards. This aligns well with decks aiming to outpace the opponent in resources.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly increasing your mana pool, the card can indirectly lead to resource acceleration by hampering the opponent’s board and preserving your cards for pivotal turns.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Seizures unexpectedly at instant speed can catch an unaware opponent off balance, protecting your interests or weakening your opponent’s during their turn when they least expect it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of Seizures is the discard condition it imposes on the player using it. This effect could potentially backfire, especially when your hand is already dwindling, and every card counts. Casting Seizures means you’ll be trading in valuable hand resources, which could otherwise serve you better in maintaining strategic leverage over your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: Seizures comes with a mana cost that includes blue mana, which means it slots into decks with a blue mana base. While this isn’t a concern for mono-blue or blue-inclusive multicolor decks, it does restrict the card’s universality, potentially sidelining it in the decks that can’t accommodate its color requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Furthermore, the mana investment required to play Seizures may not always equate to an efficient trade-off. For a card whose main function is to hamper an opponent’s hand, the required three mana (including two that are color-specific) could be considered steep, especially when other cards in the Magic universe might disrupt opponents’ hands or board presence more effectively and with less resource commitment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Seizures offers a unique form of control over your opponent’s actions, allowing it to slide into a multitude of blue-based decks. Its ability to disrupt an opponent’s tempo gives it a place in strategies that capitalize on maintaining the upper hand.

Combo Potential: Its ability to temporarily hijack an opponent’s creature makes it an intriguing option for combos, particularly in decks that exploit tapping and untapping creatures or those looking to make use of the creatures’ abilities in a single, pivotal turn.

Meta-Relevance: In a gameplay environment where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Seizures can serve as a cost-effective tool to thwart adversaries. It becomes even more valuable when you’re up against decks that rely on key creatures to execute their win condition.

How to beat

Seizures is a unique enchantment card that can create a taxing environment for your opponents in Magic: The Gathering. Whenever the enchanted creature becomes tapped, Seizures forces that creature’s controller to pay an additional 3 life or the creature becomes destroyed. This ability can severely hinder your opponent’s strategies, particularly in decks that rely on creatures with tap abilities or attacking with a key creature every turn.

To counteract the effects of Seizures, it’s crucial to have enchantment removal in your deck. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant can be invaluable since they can remove Seizures at a low cost, freeing your creature from the life-draining grip of the enchantment. Additionally, utilizing creatures with hexproof or shroud can preemptively prevent Seizures from latching onto your valued creatures, as your opponent will be unable to target them with the enchantment in the first place. Managing your resources and keeping removal spells handy will ensure you don’t fall victim to the life-leeching trap of Seizures.

Overall, understanding the dynamics of Seizures and preparing your deck with the right countermeasures will allow you to maintain control and reduce its impact on your game plan.

Cards like Seizures

Seizures stands out in MTG as a unique enchantment with the ability to disrupt opponents’ plans. A parallel can be drawn with cards like Psychic Venom, which also punishes players for using specific lands. However, Seizures grants more direct control, forcing opponents to pay a cost for each tap or suffer damage. Unlike Psychic Venom, this cost can lead to difficult decisions for an opponent, straining their mana pool.

Examining Contaminated Ground, we find another enchantment that impacts land utility. Although similar in its land-targeting nature, Contaminated Ground converts the land into a Swamp and deals damage if the land is tapped for mana. Unlike Seizures, it doesn’t offer the option to pay and avoid damage, limiting an opponent’s choices and potentially disrupting their color sources.

By examining these comparisons, Seizures is appreciated for its blend of psychological play and strategy. It shines within MTG enchantments by offering a balance of control and potential damage, making it a tactical card against opponents who heavily rely on certain lands or mana combinations.

Cards similar to Seizures by color, type and mana cost

Chains of Mephistopheles - MTG Card versions

Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Seizures MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age, 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 Seizures and other MTG cards: