Incriminating Impetus MTG Card


Incriminating Impetus disrupts opponents, forcing them to attack and leaving them defenseless against your strategy. It offers minor resource acceleration, tipping the mana and card advantage balance in your favor. Despite some downsides, its versatility makes it a valuable card to include in varied deck builds.
Incriminating Impetus - Ravnica: Clue Edition
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant,Goad
Released2024-02-23
Set symbol
Set nameRavnica: Clue Edition
Set codeCLU
Number35
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byTony Foti

Text of card

Enchant creature When Incriminating Impetus enters the battlefield, suspect enchanted creature. (It has menace and can't block.) Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and is goaded. (It attacks each combat if able and attacks a player other than you if able.)


Cards like Incriminating Impetus

Incriminating Impetus is a unique piece in the arsenal of red spells in Magic: The Gathering. It’s part of a subset of auras that not only incite creatures to attack each turn if able, but also elevate the creature’s capabilities, much like the card Aggressive Instinct. Yet, Incriminating Impetus bestows an additional boon to its controller by granting the creature a power boost and the incentive of gaining control of another card when the enchanted creature dies.

This spell bears resemblance to other cards like Kari Zev’s Expertise, which similarly coerces creatures into combat. Nevertheless, Incriminating Impetus allows for an ongoing effect that persists across turns, unlike Kari Zev’s Expertise, which provides a one-time theft of an opponent’s creature for a turn. On the flip side, Incriminating Impetus falls in the same category as effects found on cards like Goad, a straightforward way to prod opponents’ creatures into attacking each combat. The distinct edge of Incriminating Impetus is the added death-trigger element, escalating the potential to sway the course of a match even after the enchanted creature’s demise.

Therefore, Incriminating Impetus doesn’t just prompt aggression in opponents’ creatures for immediate benefit, it positions players for a strategic advantage over time and encapsulates the cunning nature of red spells in MTG.

Aggressive Instinct - MTG Card versions
Kari Zev's Expertise - MTG Card versions
Aggressive Instinct - MTG Card versions
Kari Zev's Expertise - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Incriminating Impetus boosts your card effectiveness by compelling opponents to attack with the enchanted creature, ensuring they are less able to defend against your strategies. It effectively disrupts their plans while giving you the upper hand.

Resource Acceleration: When you enchant a creature with Incriminating Impetus, it guarantees you a minor but valuable form of resource acceleration. Each time the enchanted creature attacks, you get an extra benefit, helping you outpace your opponent.

Instant Speed: While Incriminating Impetus is an aura with enchant creature at sorcery speed, it synergizes well with cards you can deploy at instant speed. This card sets the pace, lets you sculpt the battlefield to your advantage, and leaves you flexible to respond with other spells in an instant.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Incriminating Impetus demands that you pitch a card from your hand, which could deplete your hand size at a critical moment, potentially setting you back compared to your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: With a cost that requires both red and generic mana, this card may not seamlessly fit into decks that aren’t heavily red or those that can’t efficiently generate the necessary mana types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a three mana value, including red, Incriminating Impetus could be seen as costly when considering its singular utility of goading one creature, especially when gameplay options expand and mana curves need optimizing for early to mid-game board presence.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Incriminating Impetus adds utility to your arsenal by being an adaptable enchantment. It can be slotted into a wide array of decks, particularly those looking to manipulate opponents’ creatures and turn them into unwilling attackers.

Combo Potential: The ability to grant any creature goad can synergize with strategies that aim to disrupt enemy lines or benefit from opponents attacking each other, presenting new tactical angles and combo openings.

Meta-Relevance: With a shifting landscape that often values control and tempo, Incriminating Impetus shines by forcing opponents to overextend or make unfavorable attacks, effectively tipping the scales in your favor during critical board states.


How to beat

Incriminating Impetus is an intriguing enchantment card that can sway the tide of battle on the MTG battlefield. The card turns any creature into a bigger threat, forcing it to attack each combat if able and granting it a power boost, but it’s important to remember this can be a double-edged sword. By enchanting an opponent’s creature, you increase its power but also potentially guide its attacks away from you, towards your other opponents. To overcome the advantage this card gives, you can employ removal spells or abilities that specifically target enchantments or the enchanted creature itself.

Strategies such as using cards like Naturalize or Disenchant to destroy Incriminating Impetus directly can be effective. Alternatively, forcing the enchanted creature into an unfavorable block or using instant-speed removal spells before the attack can remove the threat altogether without having to deal with the enchantment. In multiplayer games, diplomatic play can also be key – convincing the enchanted creature’s controller to align with you against common foes. In essence, direct removal, strategic plays, and politics are all ways to tackle the challenge posed by Incriminating Impetus within the game.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Incriminating Impetus MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica: Clue Edition, 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 Incriminating Impetus and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Incriminating Impetus has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal