Swirling Sandstorm MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Threshold
Released	2002-05-27
Set symbol
Set name	Judgment
Set code	JUD
Number	102
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Tony Szczudlo

Key Takeaways

Swirling Sandstorm offers indirect card advantage by clearing multiple small creatures efficiently.
Its high damage potential accelerates your board control, especially in creature-heavy metas.
However, the card’s graveyard threshold and specific mana cost may limit its versatility.

Text of card

Threshold Swirling Sandstorm deals 5 damage to each creature without flying. (You have threshold if seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)

As dust swept out, vultures swept in.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Swirling Sandstorm doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, it clears the battlefield of smaller creatures, potentially wiping your opponent’s side and leaving yours intact. This creates a situation where you can capitalize on the uncluttered board, resulting in an indirect card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Swirling Sandstorm may not generate resources or mana in a traditional sense. However, by removing multiple creatures, it can accelerate your game plan by clearing the path for your larger threats to attack without obstruction, allowing for a quicker path to victory.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Swirling Sandstorm doesn’t have the versatility of instant speed, but its effect can be just as decisive during your turn. Timing this card after committing critical creatures to the board, or when your opponent overextends their board presence, can turn the tide of the game in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Swirling Sandstorm demands a prerequisite threshold of seven or more cards in your graveyard to unleash its potential. This condition can be cumbersome to meet, particularly in the early game or against graveyard-disrupting strategies, disadvantaging players who might be unable to leverage its board-sweeping capabilities when most needed.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring two red mana, Swirling Sandstorm positions itself narrowly within the realm of decks that can afford such specific color commitments. Players running multicolored or color-light decks might find it challenging or inconsistent to meet the red mana requirements, reducing the card’s overall flexibility and universal application across various builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total casting cost of three mana, one of which is colorless, its mana investment may overshadow its return, especially when compared to other sweepers available in the format. While the ability to potentially clear all creatures without flying is powerful, in fast-paced games, the mana could be allocated to more immediate and impactful board developments or in maintaining tempo against opponents.

Reasons to Include Swirling Sandstorm in Your Collection

Versatility: Swirling Sandstorm has a spot in decks that thrive on controlling the board. This card excels in metas filled with creature-based strategies, acting as an efficient way to clear multiple threats at once.

Combo Potential: For players who fancy graveyard interactions, the threshold requirement of Swirling Sandstorm synergizes with strategies that fill the graveyard, turning it into a potent sweeping tool that leaves opponents’ boards desolate while setting up your own game-winning conditions.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where aggro decks are prevalent, Swirling Sandstorm serves as a formidable answer. Its capability to remove numerous creatures after meeting its threshold condition makes it a tactical choice to outmaneuver such fast-paced strategies, keeping your standing strong against the tide of onslaught.

How to beat

The Swirling Sandstorm card can be a formidable obstacle for players employing creature-heavy strategies in Magic: The Gathering. To gain an advantage over this powerful card, it’s essential to acknowledge its primary strength – the ability to clear the board of creatures with toughness less than five. The key to outmaneuvering Swirling Sandstorm involves careful timing and deck building that either features resilient creatures with toughness five or greater, or utilizes strategies less reliant on creatures.

Safeguarding against Swirling Sandstorm could also mean keeping up with counterspells, to prevent it from ever hitting the board. In the face of graveyard-focused decks, it becomes crucial to manage graveyard sizes since Swirling Sandstorm necessitates threshold to activate. Efficient grave-hate cards can keep this condition unmet. Considering these strategies can pivotally disrupt a Sandstorm-centered game plan.

Ultimately, understanding the mechanics and conditions of Swirling Sandstorm not only prepares players to withstand its impact but also paves the way for strategic plays that can leverage this knowledge to their advantage, turning a potential threat into an opportunity within the complex landscape of Magic: The Gathering.

Cards like Swirling Sandstorm

Focusing on the realm of sweeper effects in Magic the Gathering, Swirling Sandstorm joins the ranks of cards designed to clear multiple creatures off the board. Swirling Sandstorm asserts its might when compared to a card like Pyroclasm. Pyroclasm offers a flat two damage to all creatures for a lesser mana cost but without the threshold requirement, making it an early game option. Swirling Sandstorm, in contrast, needs a setup to unlock its true potential, dealing a devastating 5 damage to each creature without flying only if there are seven or more cards in your graveyard.

Another analogous card is Anger of the Gods, which features similar creature clearing capabilities with its 3 damage to each creature and has the advantage of exiling those it kills, preventing graveyard interactions. Anger of the Gods, though, does not discriminate between flying and non-flying creatures, setting itself apart from Swirling Sandstorm’s specificity.

Deciding which card to run in your deck can hinge on the particular strategies you employ. With its conditional effect, Swirling Sandstorm can be a game-changer in the right setup, clearing the board and paving the way for a victorious endgame.

Cards similar to Swirling Sandstorm by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Swirling Sandstorm MTG card by a specific set like Judgment, 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 Swirling Sandstorm and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Swirling Sandstorm has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Swirling Sandstorm card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.