Crush MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant
Released	2011-02-04
Set symbol
Set name	Mirrodin Besieged
Set code	MBS
Number	61
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Matt Stewart

Key Takeaways

Crush allows for key resource disruptions, setting your opponents back and accelerating your own game tempo.
Playing at instant speed, it introduces surprise elements that can pivot the game in critical moments.
Demanding a specific mana mix, it can challenge deck flexibility, especially in multi-color builds.

Text of card

Destroy target noncreature artifact.

A golem's hands know no tenderness.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Crush card provides a substantial benefit by potentially removing multiple threats from the board with a single card, thus offering a swing in card advantage. This efficiency can turn the tides in your favor by depleting your opponent’s resources while conserving your own.

Resource Acceleration: Although Crush doesn’t directly accelerate resources, by eliminating key resources or mana-producing creatures of your opponent, it effectively sets them back, giving you a relative increase in your own resource tempo. This can allow you to outpace your opponent in deploying threats or answers.

Instant Speed: The power of acting at instant speed cannot be overstated. Crush’s ability to be played during your opponent’s turn adds an element of surprise and strategic depth. You can disrupt your opponent’s plans at critical moments, preserve your mana for counterspells, or simply choose the most opportune moment to clear the board without giving away your game plan too early.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing a Crush card typically involves discarding another card, which might deplete your hand faster than you’d like, especially when you’re aiming to maintain card advantage against your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: Crush cards often demand a precise combination of mana, including often needing red mana sources. This means they slot awkwardly into multicolor decks or can be a hurdle in formats where mana fixing isn’t as prevalent.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that may tower over similar effects found on other cards, Crush might not be the most efficient choice for a strategy that aims at a quick game tempo. There are many alternative spells or creatures that can achieve the same impact on the battlefield for a lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Crush in Your Collection

Versatility: Crush has the capability to be a game-changer in a variety of deck builds. Its utility as a removal option can seamlessly integrate into aggressive strategies as well as more control-oriented gameplay.

Combo Potential: Its ability to destroy an artifact or enchantment can work as a key interaction in decks designed around sacrificing permanents for greater advantage or as part of a larger chain of destruction effects.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the ever-evolving MTG landscape, having a card like Crush in your repertoire ensures you have an answer to popular artifact and enchantment-based strategies currently shaping the competitive scene.

How to beat

Overcoming the powerful presence of the Crush card on the battlefield presents a unique challenge to many Magic: The Gathering players. This card, renowned for its brutality in squashing opposing creatures, can be a roadblock for many strategies. However, with the right approach, it’s possible to outmaneuver this obstacle and maintain a winning edge in your games.

Counterspells are your first line of defense, nipping the problem in the bud before Crush takes effect. Blue mages aren’t the only ones with tricks up their sleeves; versatile removal spells that exile or shuffle Crush back into a player’s library can prevent graveyard recursion shenanigans. Don’t forget the power of proactive plays; deploying your own threats that outsize those that can be Crushed, or those with hexproof or indestructible, can leave your opponent’s mighty card without valuable targets.

In essence, the strategy to beat Crush involves a blend of preventing its casting, undermining its effectiveness, and resilient battlefield positioning. Players who adapt to the pressure and craft their decks with Crush in mind can turn this seemingly unstoppable force into nothing more than a minor obstacle on their path to victory.

Cards like Crush

Crush is a notable entrant in the arsenal of creature removal options in MTG. It’s akin to other cards such as Shock, which famously deals 2 damage to any target. However, Crush firmly finds its niche with its ability to destroy any target artifact for a single red mana. Shock cannot target artifacts, limiting its versatility in comparison.

Moving along the spectrum, we encounter Smelt, which similarly dispatches artifacts at the same low mana cost, and does so at instant speed, allowing for reactive play. Although Crush matches it in cost, it operates at sorcery speed, which constrains timing and strategic plays. Then comes Abrade, offering more flexibility by granting the choice between damaging a creature or destroying an artifact. Abrade’s slightly higher cost is justified by its instant-speed nature and dual functionality.

In sum, when evaluating removal properties and strategic uses, Crush holds its ground within the removal spells in MTG by offering cost-effective artifact destruction, albeit with the constraints of its sorcery speed.

Cards similar to Crush by color, type and mana cost

March of Reckless Joy - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crush MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin Besieged, 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 Crush and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crush has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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