Davriel's Withering MTG Card

Davriel's Withering - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2021-08-26
Set symbol
Set name	Jumpstart: Historic Horizons
Set code	J21
Number	16
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Alex Brock

Key Takeaways

It offers strategic advantage through indirect card advantage by reducing opponent creature power.
Combines well with spells that benefit from multiple casts or graveyard presence.
Instant speed casting allows for flexible, disruptive plays during any turn.

Text of card

Target creature an opponent controls perpetually gets -1/-2.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Davriel’s Withering can permanently weaken an opponent’s creature, which may lead to a favorable trade or force your opponent to expend resources, thus netting you indirect card advantage. By diminishing an opponent’s board presence, you effectively gain an edge without losing card resources yourself.

Resource Acceleration: Although Davriel’s Withering itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it is a low-cost spell that can be synergistically combined with other cards that benefit from casting multiple spells in a single turn or that capitalize on having many spells in the graveyard.

Instant Speed: As an instant, Davriel’s Withering offers flexibility and strategic depth. You can cast it on your opponent’s turn to disrupt their combat plans or in response to them casting a spell, enabling you to maintain mana for other potential threats or answers and utilize your resources more efficiently during the course of a game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While casting Davriel’s Withering, you don’t have to discard a card, but its synergies often lean towards discard strategies. This focus can be limiting if your deck doesn’t support or benefit from making yourself or your opponent discard cards. In such scenarios, the card may not perform optimally as it’s tailored for a specific interaction within discard-themed decks.

Specific Mana Cost: Davriel’s Withering has a single black mana cost. Its monocolored nature could be a hindrance in multicolored decks that require a diversified mana base. This may make it less flexible or harder to cast on curve in those decks which are not focused on black mana or running enough sources to consistently play it early in the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At one black mana, Davriel’s Withering is not expensive. However, when considering the investment against the outcome of giving a creature -1/-2 until your next turn, some might find it less impactful compared to other removal options in the game. There are alternatives that offer permanent solutions or greater stat reductions for a similar or slightly higher mana investment, potentially providing more utility in handling threats on the board.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Davriel’s Withering offers unparalleled flexibility to black color decks. This instant card allows you to place a -1/-1 counter on target creature for just a single black mana, making it a strategic option for weakening opposing threats early game or setting up for a kill spell.

Combo Potential: The ability to incrementally decrease a creature’s power and toughness can be comboed with other effects that trigger when counters are placed. It also syncs well with cards that capitalize on opponent’s weakened creatures, setting the stage for various tactical plays.

Meta-Relevance: As creatures play a fundamental role in MTG, having an efficient, low-cost removal option keeps you a step ahead. In current metas that value tempo plays and board control, Davriel’s Withering can disrupt enemy strategies while conserving resources for your critical turns.

How to beat

Davriel’s Withering is a unique black instant card that can disrupt creature strategies in Magic: The Gathering. When faced against it, you can employ several techniques to mitigate its impact. Since Davriel’s Withering can place -1/-1 counters on creatures, one way to counteract this is by increasing the toughness of your creatures through buffs or equipment. Cards that grant counter-removal abilities are also effective; look for spells or creature abilities that can cleanse those pesky counters from your side of the battlefield.

Additionally, instant-speed removal or creature protection spells can save your creature from being permanently debilitated by Davriel’s Withering. Sheltering Light, for instance, not only makes a creature indestructible but also lets you scry 1. Finally, playing with creatures that have resilience to -1/-1 counters, such as those with undying or persist, can turn Davriel’s Withering’s downside into an advantage for your strategy.

Beat Davriel’s Withering by staying one step ahead with smart deckbuilding and sharp in-game decisions. Your goal should be to make the card less of a setback and more of a minor inconvenience as you continue your path to victory on the battlefield.

Cards like Davriel's Withering

Davriel’s Withering is an intriguing removal option for players in Magic: The Gathering. This spell aligns with the functionality of other diminutive effects like Dead Weight, which shares the aim of weakening creatures. Yet, Davriel’s Withering goes a step further by reducing a creature’s power and toughness to a more crippling point than Dead Weight, permanently setting a creature’s power and toughness to one. This can be particularly devastating, as it essentially renders affected creatures ineffective.

Alongside Davriel’s Withering sits Grasp of Darkness, another card aimed at reducing a creature’s capabilities. Grasp of Darkness offers a temporary but stronger effect, diminishing a creature’s power and toughness by four. While not permanent, the impact it has can be enough to remove most threats on the board. Conversely, Davriel’s Withering’s enduring power and toughness reduction can be leveraged over several turns, greatly reducing an opponent’s offensive potential over the long game.

Considering the subtle nuances and long-term strategic benefits, Davriel’s Withering is a distinctive card within Magic: The Gathering, offering creative players a different avenue to control the battlefield and their opponents’ creatures.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Davriel's Withering MTG card by a specific set like Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, 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 Davriel's Withering and other MTG cards: