Forced March MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mercadian Masques
Set code	MMQ
Number	136
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Key Takeaways

Forced March provides strategic removal at instant speed, handing you game-turning control.
Its black mana cost and sacrifice condition can limit its utility in multi-color decks.
Despite a considerable mana investment, its versatility makes it a worthy collection addition.

Text of card

Destroy all creatures with converted mana cost X or less.

The Caterans call it a screening process. The dead are in no condition to argue.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Forced March shines in scenarios where eliminating multiple creatures at once can shift the game’s momentum in your favor. By spending a little extra mana, you’re often able to clear the battlefield of several threats, maintaining card advantage over your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While Forced March doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it effectively capitalizes on your available mana in the later stages of the game. This efficient use of mana often results in a significant swing, as you remove several of your opponent’s creatures while preferring your own board state.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Forced March at instant speed is what sets it apart from other board clear options. This versatility allows you to respond swiftly to an opponent’s actions during their turn, potentially disrupting their strategies and maintaining the upper hand.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other removal options, Forced March compels you to pay a significant cost beyond mana—sacrificing creatures. In games where board presence is crucial, this could put you at an unwanted disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Forced March’s mana cost is exclusively black, making it less flexible for multi-color decks to incorporate without impacting mana consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a steep triple black mana requirement and additional costs based on the creatures’ converted mana cost, Forced March can be a heavy investment, especially when you need to deal with low to mid-range threats efficiently.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Forced March is a powerful removal option that scales with the game. Its ability to target creatures of a certain converted mana cost allows it to adapt to various battlefield situations, making it useful in both the early and late game.

Combo Potential: This card fits nicely into black-centric control decks or those running a sacrifice theme. Its ability to clear the board can be leveraged to activate death-triggered abilities or to pave the way for your own threats to dominate the board.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s saturated with creature-heavy decks, Forced March shines as a way to deal with multiple threats at once. Given that it bypasses indestructible and protection abilities based on mana cost, it serves as a useful tool against a variety of resilient creatures that are common in competitive play.

How to beat

Forced March is a potent removal card in Magic: The Gathering, with the ability to sweep the board of creatures with a lower converted mana cost. It can be a challenging obstacle, but there are effective tactics to counter its impact. For starters, diversifying the mana cost of your creatures can mitigate the effect of a single Forced March. Deploying a range of high and low-cost creatures makes it less probable that all will meet the same fate to this removal spell.

Additionally, playing creatures that have enter the battlefield or leave the battlefield effects can ensure you gain value even if they are sacrificed to Forced March. Cards with indestructible or other forms of removal protection can also stand firm against it. Lastly, holding up counterspells when you suspect your opponent has Forced March in their deck ensures you can prevent it from resolving at a critical moment, preserving your board state and maintaining the upper hand in the match.

Being mindful of your opponent’s strategy and playing around their potential removal tools is essential to outmaneuver Forced March. It’s all about strategic deployment of assets and protection through varied means to avoid a devastating blow from this powerful card.

Cards like Forced March

Forced March stands out in the realm of mass removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. This card can wipe out creatures on the battlefield with precision based on their mana cost, contrasting with indiscriminate sweepers like Damnation, which simply eradicate all creatures at once. While Damnation is definitive in its effect, costing four mana, Forced March offers a more tailored approach, allowing players to eliminate specifically costed creatures while possibly preserving their own.

When considering alternatives, there’s also Plague Wind, which notably spares your creatures from destruction while annihilating your opponent’s board. However, its high mana cost can make it less accessible than Forced March. Another comparable spell is Toxic Deluge, which allows players to pay life instead of mana to determine the extent of the destruction. This gives Toxic Deluge an edge in flexibility but at a personal cost to your life total, unlike the targeted control Forced March provides.

Comparing these options underlines Forced March’s strategic value within Magic: The Gathering when planning removals. Its ability to tailor your destruction makes it a potentially game-altering card if used with foresight and precision.

Cards similar to Forced March by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Forced March MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Forced March and other MTG cards: