Larceny MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the distinct benefits of Larceny is its ability to continuously strip cards from your opponent’s hand whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to them. This ongoing disruption can significantly diminish your opponent’s strategic options over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: While Larceny itself doesn’t create mana or tokens, the card puts indirect pressure on your opponent’s resources. By forcing discards, Larceny can effectively slow down your opponent’s gameplay, giving you the upper hand in resource tempo and paving the way for a more assertive board presence.

Instant Speed: While Larceny operates at sorcery speed, its continuous effect can have an instant impact on the game state. The threat of triggering its effect can alter how your opponent plays, often deterring them from leaving valuable cards in hand if they suspect an attack might get through.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Larceny’s ability mandates that a player must discard a card upon dealing combat damage to them. This can become less effective late in the game when opponents have fewer cards in hand, thus reducing its potential impact on their strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Larceny has a specific mana cost that requires three black mana sources. This can pose a challenge in multicolored decks and limit its inclusion to primarily black-focused decks or those with a reliable mana base to accommodate the color-intensive requirement.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Larceny competes with other high-impact cards in the same mana range. Considering the aggressive nature of decks that would use this card, the cost can be a significant setback, potentially slowing down the overall tempo of the deck.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Larceny slips into a variety of deck archetypes with ease, particularly those aiming to disrupt opponents through discard strategies while mounting an offensive with creatures.

Combo Potential: This enchantment pairs exceptionally well with evasion-enabling cards, enhancing its ability to maintain consistent pressure on your opponent’s hand while advancing your own board position.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where hand size is crucial, Larceny shines by systematically depriving opponents of resources. This can tilt games in your favor, especially against control decks that rely on a broad selection of answers.

How to beat

When facing off against the Larceny enchantment in Magic: The Gathering, strategy shifts to a high priority. This pesky card can drain your hand quickly, as it forces you to discard whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to an opponent. To counter this, it’s essential to control the battlefield. Deploying creatures with defender attributes can prevent opponents from hitting you directly and triggering Larceny’s effect. Alternatively, using instant removal spells or abilities that can destroy or return the opponent’s creatures to their hand before they can inflict combat damage will keep your hand safe. Sweepers can also clear the board of enemy creatures, nullifying Larceny’s ability to cripple your strategy.

Enchantment removal is your direct line of defense. Cards like Disenchant can take out Larceny directly, allowing you to protect your hand size and maintain your strategic depth. Playing around Larceny involves thoughtful deck building and in-game decision-making to mitigate its effects and limit your opponent’s ability to capitalize on its hand-disruptive power.