Lay Waste MTG Card

Lay Waste disrupts opponents by destroying land, potentially unbalancing their mana resources during critical game moments. While requiring a card discard, its instant speed allows sneaky play and strategic land destruction. Despite its four mana cost, Lay Waste offers deck versatility and can be a game-changer in land-heavy metas.

Urza's Saga (USG)
1998-10-12 - Number 201

Onslaught (ONS)
2002-10-07 - Number 216

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Cycling

Text of card

Destroy target land. Cycling (You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant.)

Cards like Lay Waste

Lay Waste, in Magic: The Gathering, shares its foundational effect with other land destruction cards, but it comes with its unique characteristics. Stone Rain, which is essentially the granddaddy of land destruction spells, removes land at a lower cost. However, Lay Waste distinguishes itself with the flexibility of its kicker cost. When you pay the kicker, the card also allows you to destroy all lands that share a type with the chosen target, making it a potentially more devastating play.

Taking a different approach, we have Raze, a cheaper alternative that costs you only one mana but requires the sacrifice of a land as well. So, while it’s mana efficient, it does come at another price. Then there’s Demolish, which offers a broader target range by allowing you to destroy artifacts in addition to lands; an advantage in versatility, yet at a higher mana cost than Raze.

Ultimately, within the realm of land elimination in Magic: The Gathering, Lay Waste stands out for its potential mass destruction ability, a feature that while being mana intensive, could shift the game’s balance significantly during play.

Cards similar to Lay Waste by color, type and mana cost

Draconic Intervention - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Lay Waste offers strategic flexibility by destroying a land, potentially setting your opponent back and disrupting their mana base. While not drawing cards, the card provides a different kind of advantage by subtracting from opponents’ resources.

Resource Acceleration: Though Lay Waste does not directly accelerate your resources, the removal of an opponent’s land can act as a relative acceleration by hindering their development while your resources remain unaffected.

Instant Speed: This spell operates at instant speed, granting you the ability to respond to your opponent’s plays or end-of-turn actions, which can catch an adversary unprepared and maximize the strategic impact of land destruction.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Lay Waste necessitates discarding a card, which can be quite taxing when your hand is already dwindling. This cost must be paid on top of its mana requirement, often forcing players to make tough decisions about resource allocation during crucial moments of gameplay.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands two red mana in its casting cost, which could pose a challenge in multicolored decks. Players who operate with a varied mana base might find this restrictive, potentially hindering the card’s versatility across different deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total cost of four mana, including the specific red mana requirement, Lay Waste might be less appealing when stacked against other options. Cards that provide land destruction or direct damage often do so at a lower cost, making them more accessible and potentially more efficient in a fast-paced match.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Lay Waste can be a flexible addition to decks that need land disruption capabilities. Its ability to destroy target land can tactically dismantle an opponent’s mana base, providing strategic advantage in numerous gameplay scenarios.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with strategies focusing on land destruction or resource denial. Coupled with cards that penalize land loss or take advantage of opponents’ reduced resources, Lay Waste can amplify the effects of such dynamics in your deck.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where land-heavy or multicolored decks prevail, the capacity to interrupt land mechanics can tip the scales in your favor. By inserting Lay Waste into your collection, you position your deck to adapt and respond to shifts in the competitive landscape, allowing you to effectively challenge dominant deck archetypes.

How to beat

Lay Waste is regarded as a tactical spell in the arsenal of land destruction cards within Magic: The Gathering. This card makes an impact by setting your opponent back, disrupting their mana base, and potentially altering the tide of the game. Unlike other land disruption spells, Lay Waste adds versatility with its cycling ability, allowing players a fallback option to draw a card should the direct destruction not be immediately necessary.

To counteract the effect of Lay Waste, savvy players often incorporate land recovery strategies into their decks. Traditional ramp spells, like Cultivate or Kodama’s Reach, can swiftly recuperate lost resources, ensuring that a brief setback doesn’t turn into a full-fledged defeat. Players can also employ artifact-based mana resources such as Sol Ring or mana dorks like Llanowar Elves to bypass the need for ample lands, thus mitigating the blow from a targeted Lay Waste.

Ultimately, while Lay Waste can pose a significant hurdle, it is not insurmountable. By strategically curating a deck that either rebounds from land destruction or lessens reliance on lands, players can navigate around the roadblock presented by Lay Waste and maintain their advantage on the battlefield.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lay Waste MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga and Onslaught, 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 Lay Waste and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Lay Waste Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1998-10-12 and 2002-10-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1998-10-12	Urza's Saga	USG		201	1997	Normal	Black	Terese Nielsen
2	2002-10-07	Onslaught	ONS		216	1997	Normal	Black	Carl Critchlow

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lay Waste has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2008-10-01	Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.