Merciless Resolve MTG Card

Offers card advantage by transforming dispensable permanents into new, potentially game-changing cards. Enables instant-speed reactions, adding a flexible layer to your strategic plays. Demands sacrifices, potentially disrupting your board or mana base if not managed wisely.

Merciless Resolve - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)

Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
2016-04-08 - Number 123

Merciless Resolve - Mystery Booster (MB1)

Mystery Booster (MB1)
2019-11-07 - Number 710

Merciless Resolve - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)

Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
2023-03-21 - Number 122

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number SOI-123

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant

Text of card

As an additional cost to cast Merciless Resolve, sacrifice a creature or land. Draw two cards.

"You sought to anger me, Nahiri. Soon you will see how well you have succeeded."

Cards like Merciless Resolve

Merciless Resolve offers players in Magic: The Gathering an interesting choice for card advantage with a small sacrifice involved. When compared to other cards like Altar’s Reap, both cards require sacrificing a creature or land to draw two cards, which is a small price to pay for keeping the cards flowing into your hand. Merciless Resolve, however, offers something slightly different with its additional option to sacrifice a land, giving more flexibility in a pinch or when creatures are scarce.

Cost-wise, Merciless Resolve sits comfortably in the mana curve. Village Rites, a close comparative card, also allows sacrificing a creature for card draw at one less mana cost, but Merciless Resolve’s additional versatility can outweigh the extra mana point in many strategic scenarios. Costly Plunder shares the same mana cost and effect as Merciless Resolve but lacks the widespread popularity, perhaps due to its later emergence into the game’s vibrant environment.

Overall, Merciless Resolve can be a strategic inclusion in decks that benefit from card draws and sacrifice mechanics. Its ability to turn any resource into potential new answers makes it a card worth considering for players who want to stay ahead of their opponents in MTG’s complex and ever-changing battlefield.

Cards similar to Merciless Resolve by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Merciless Resolve offers the player a strategic edge by converting unneeded permanents into new cards, essentially refreshing their hand and providing options to counter an opponent’s moves.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana or tokens, this card can indirectly accelerate resources by allowing you to dig deeper into your deck to find crucial mana sources or key spells to deploy earlier in the game.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of instant speed lets you wait until the last moment before your turn to decide the best course of action, whether that’s sacrificing a creature in response to an opponent’s removal or simply maximizing the use of your mana each round.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Merciless Resolve demands that you sacrifice a creature or land in addition to its casting cost. This requirement can set you back, especially if you’re in a situation where your board presence or land drops are critical to maintaining your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s casting cost comprises one generic and one black mana, which can be restrictive. It makes the card less flexible, especially in multicolored decks that might struggle with color fixing or in formats where mana efficiency is paramount.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For two mana, Merciless Resolve only nets you two cards. There are alternative draw spells in MTG that could offer you a greater number of cards drawn or additional benefits beyond merely replacing the card you’ve sacrificed, making it less ideal when deck building for value and efficiency.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Merciless Resolve is an asset to any deck that demands resource flexibility. This card allows players to trade in expendable creatures or excess lands for card advantage, making it a valuable tool for maintaining momentum.

Combo Potential: In decks that revolve around sacrificing for gain, Merciless Resolve fuels powerful synergies. It can easily fit into strategies that benefit from sending cards to the graveyard, setting up for potent graveyard retrieval plays or enabling delirium.

Meta-Relevance: For decks facing removal-heavy opponents, Merciless Resolve turns potential losses into opportunities, ensuring you maintain card presence. In metas where attrition wars are common, having such a card can mean the difference between a dwindled hand and prepared defenses.

How to beat

Merciless Resolve is a utility card that offers players in Magic: The Gathering a chance to sacrifice a creature or land to draw two cards. Understanding how to undermine this action can be crucial in gameplay. To effectively counteract Merciless Resolve, it is wise to limit the opponent’s board presence. Without expendable creatures or unnecessary lands, the card loses its potential value and can become a liability rather than an asset for your opponent.

Spot removal spells are quite effective against creatures targeted by your opponent for the purpose of Merciless Resolve. By removing the creature in response to the spell, you can fizzle their attempt to draw and maintain card advantage. Similarly, land destruction can be employed to minimize the effectiveness of Merciless Resolve, although it’s a less common and often more risky strategy. By maintaining pressure and managing resources smartly, one can minimize the impact of Merciless Resolve and keep the opposition from gaining the upper hand through extra card draw.

Control decks that can manage the pace and flow of the game often have the easiest time dealing with such sacrificial strategies. Ensuring you have the right counterspells or removal at the right time can turn the tide against Merciless Resolve.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Merciless Resolve MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Mystery Booster, 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 Merciless Resolve and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Merciless Resolve Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Chase Stone.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2016-04-08	Shadows over Innistrad	SOI	123	2015	Normal	Black	Chase Stone
2	2019-11-07	Mystery Booster	MB1	710	2015	Normal	Black	Chase Stone
3	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST	SOI-123	2015	Normal	Black	Chase Stone
4	2023-03-21	Shadows over Innistrad Remastered	SIR	122	2015	Normal	Black	Chase Stone

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Merciless Resolve has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2016-04-08	Players can respond to this spell only after it’s been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to destroy the creature or land you sacrificed to stop you from casting this spell or to make you sacrifice a different one.
2016-04-08	You must sacrifice exactly one creature or land to cast Merciless Resolve. You can’t cast it without sacrificing a permanent, and you can’t sacrifice additional permanents.