Mana Short MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 16 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Mana Short offers card advantage by setting back your opponent, granting a strategic lead in the game.
  2. Instant speed allows reactive play, disrupting opponents’ strategies during their crucial turns.
  3. While potent, the card’s mana cost and discard requirement need careful deck consideration and timing.

Text of card

All opponent's lands are tapped, and opponent's mana pool is emptied.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The disruption caused by Mana Short can potentially set an opponent back several turns, which, in turn, indirectly gives you card advantage as you stabilize your board and your opponent is trying to recover.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, Mana Short can temporarily accelerate your in-game position by hindering your opponent’s available resources, giving you a valuable time window to deploy your strategies effectively.

Instant Speed: Mana Short operates at instant speed, offering you the flexibility to strategically interrupt your opponent’s plays during their most critical moments—like just before they enter their main phase, ensuring they can’t use their lands for the rest of the turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Mana Short forces the discard of a card, posing a risk of depleting valuable hand assets which might be crucial in later stages of the game.

Specific Mana Cost: It demands a specific combination of mana, namely three blue mana, which can be a strict requirement for multicolor decks and may not always be conveniently available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of three blue mana, Mana Short’s price for its effect can seem steep, especially when compared to other disruption spells in the MTG card pool which may offer similar effects for less mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mana Short is a versatile card with the ability to disrupt opponents at crucial moments. It shines in control decks that aim to dictate the pace of the game and can be a game-changer when timing is key.

Combo Potential: This card offers significant combo potential by setting up turns where opponents are unable to respond to your plays. Mana Short effectively clears the way for your own combo executions, ensuring that your strategic plays go uninterrupted.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors heavy spell casting or relies on intricate combos, Mana Short can serve as a powerful asset. By restricting your opponent’s available mana, you can prevent them from establishing the board state they need to win, making it highly relevant in current metagames favoring strategy and skill.


How to Beat Mana Short

Mana Short is a unique and potentially crippling blue instant card within Magic: The Gathering that disrupts opponents by tapping all their lands and emptying their mana pool. To tactfully navigate around this spell, players need to be mindful of their opponent’s untapped blue mana and the possibility of Mana Short during the opponent’s end step. Planning and playing around this card involves maintaining land untapped on your turn if you suspect the opponent could cast Mana Short, thus preserving your resources for responses.

Another strategy is to bait the Mana Short play with less critical spells, allowing you to safeguard your valuable spells and resources for a turn where you can play them without disruption. Predictive play, recognizing patterns, and understanding the timing of your opponent’s actions are key in diminishing the impact of this control card. Additionally, instant-speed counter spells serve as a crucial check, preventing Mana Short from resolving and preserving your mana access for the entire turn. Reacting smartly and adopting a proactive defensive posture against such control tactics can effectively negate the card’s advantage, maintaining your tempo and strategic positioning in the game.


Cards like Mana Short

Mana Short is a unique disruption spell in Magic: The Gathering, which denies opponents access to their mana pool during a crucial turn. A parallel can be drawn with Exhaustion, which doesn’t empty the mana pool but prevents all the target player’s lands from untapping the next turn. Mana Short, however, clears the mana and causes lands to tap, neutralizing any untapped mana for that phase of the turn.

Another kindred spirit to Mana Short is Turnabout. Turnabout also taps all lands or untaps them at the caster’s discretion, which can be employed both offensively and defensively. While Turnabout serves multiple purposes and can be a pivotal playmaker, it lacks the straightforward disruptive surge of denying the opponent’s entire mana pool in a single, unpredicted stroke like Mana Short.

In scrutinizing these spell effects, we see that Mana Short occupies a special niche within the realm of Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to upset an opponent’s strategy at a critical moment makes it an addition worth considering in your control arsenal, albeit situational compared to its counterparts.

Exhaustion - MTG Card versions
Turnabout - MTG Card versions
Exhaustion - Portal (POR)
Turnabout - Urza's Saga (USG)

Cards similar to Mana Short by color, type and mana cost

Psionic Blast - MTG Card versions
Capsize - MTG Card versions
Intuition - MTG Card versions
Forbid - MTG Card versions
Frantic Search - MTG Card versions
Exclude - MTG Card versions
Crystal Spray - MTG Card versions
Hibernation - MTG Card versions
Circular Logic - MTG Card versions
Keep Watch - MTG Card versions
Archmage's Charm - MTG Card versions
Commander's Insight - MTG Card versions
Rushing River - MTG Card versions
Ixidor's Will - MTG Card versions
Catalog - MTG Card versions
Vex - MTG Card versions
Thirst for Knowledge - MTG Card versions
Murmurs from Beyond - MTG Card versions
Venser's Diffusion - MTG Card versions
Dream Fracture - MTG Card versions
Psionic Blast - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Capsize - World Championship Decks 1998 (WC98)
Intuition - Tempest (TMP)
Forbid - World Championship Decks 1998 (WC98)
Frantic Search - Wilds of Eldraine Commander (WOC)
Exclude - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Crystal Spray - Invasion (INV)
Hibernation - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Circular Logic - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Keep Watch - Judgment (JUD)
Archmage's Charm - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Commander's Insight - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Rushing River - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
Ixidor's Will - Onslaught (ONS)
Catalog - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Vex - Darksteel (DST)
Thirst for Knowledge - Modern Masters (MMA)
Murmurs from Beyond - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Venser's Diffusion - Future Sight (FUT)
Dream Fracture - Conspiracy (CNS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mana Short MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Mana Short and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Mana Short Magic the Gathering card was released in 14 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 651993normalblackDameon Willich
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 661993normalblackDameon Willich
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 661993normalwhiteDameon Willich
41993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 661993normalblackDameon Willich
51993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 661993normalblackDameon Willich
61994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 671993normalwhiteDameon Willich
71994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 671993normalblackDameon Willich
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 671993normalwhiteDameon Willich
91995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 851993normalwhiteDameon Willich
101995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 851993normalblackDameon Willich
111999-04-21Classic Sixth Edition6ED 801997normalwhiteDameon Willich
122001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 86★1997normalblackGreg Staples
132001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 861997normalwhiteGreg Staples
142002-08-14World Championship Decks 2002WC02 cr86sb1997normalgoldGreg Staples
152022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 3621997normalblackDameon Willich
162022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 652015normalblackDameon Willich

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Mana Short has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 If you play Mana Short in response to a spell, it will have no effect on that spell since the mana has already been paid.
2004-10-04 It even taps lands that do not produce mana.
2004-10-04 Since this is an instant, your opponent may use instants in response to the casting of this spell. Note that such spells and abilities will be resolved before the mana pool is emptied by the Mana Short. This makes it useless as a countermeasure for spells. To use it effectively, you need to use it during Upkeep and even then it will not prevent the use of instant spells and abilities.

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