Magmatic Sinkhole MTG Card
2019-06-14 - Number 135
2021-06-18 - Number 17
2002-06-24 - Number 91291
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Instant |
| Abilities | Delve |
Key Takeaways
- Delve mechanic offers a form of card advantage by efficiently using graveyard cards.
- Instant speed enables pivotal reactive plays, removing threats at crucial moments.
- Despite the discard requirement, it remains a versatile removal tool especially in red strategies.
Text of card
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for .) Magmatic Sinkhole deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
Opening like the maw of a hellion, the earth swallowed the traveler whole.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Magmatic Sinkhole itself doesn’t directly let you draw cards, its Delve mechanic can provide a secondary type of card advantage. By allowing you to utilize cards from your graveyard to help pay the mana cost, you efficiently use resources that would otherwise remain untapped, effectively giving you more utility out of the cards you’ve already played.
Resource Acceleration: Magmatic Sinkhole may not produce additional mana or tokens, yet it is a form of resource acceleration in a broader sense. It accelerates your game plan by removing a high-toughness creature or planeswalker, clearing the way for your attacks or protecting your board state without expending much mana, thanks to its Delve ability.
Instant Speed: The instant speed of Magmatic Sinkhole is a significant advantage. It allows you flexibility to react during your opponent’s turn, potentially removing a threat before it can deal damage or disrupt your strategy. This reactive capability can be a game-changer, making Magmatic Sinkhole a card to be held in reserve until the most opportune moment.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Unlike some burn spells, Magmatic Sinkhole demands a player to delve, essentially discarding multiple cards from their graveyard, which could deplete valuable resources.
Specific Mana Cost: Tailored to red-heavy decks, Magmatic Sinkhole’s color cost might not be a perfect fit for multicolored or color-light strategies, potentially limiting its versatility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that may appear steep, Magmatic Sinkhole could be a resource commitment that doesn’t always align with a player’s game tempo or mana curve compared to other removal options available.
Reasons to Include Magmatic Sinkhole in Your Collection
Versatility: Magmatic Sinkhole serves as an efficient removal tool in a variety of decks. Its Delve mechanic allows players to cast it for a potentially reduced cost, making it a dynamic addition to red decks that manage their graveyard resources effectively.
Combo Potential: While not a traditional combo enabler, this card can fit into strategies focused on instants and sorceries, enhancing spellslinger decks that capitalize on casting numerous spells in a single turn.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where powerful creatures and planeswalkers can dominate the board, Magmatic Sinkhole’s ability to deal with either is invaluable. Its relevance grows in metas saturated with high-toughness threats, granting red decks a much-needed answer to otherwise difficult-to-remove obstacles.
How to beat
Magmatic Sinkhole is a powerful removal spell in the world of Magic: The Gathering, particularly for its ability to deal with big threats for a relatively low mana investment. This red instant spell makes it efficient at removing large creatures and planeswalkers due to its delve mechanic, which allows players to exile cards from their graveyard to help pay the mana cost.
To effectively counter Magmatic Sinkhole, consider playing around the delve mechanic by using graveyard hate cards like Relic of Progenitus or Tormod’s Crypt to keep your opponent’s graveyard empty, minimising their chance to utilise the spell at a reduced cost. Additionally, protecting your key creatures and planeswalkers with hexproof or indestructibility can be crucial. Cards like Blossoming Defense or Heroic Intervention provide a surprise factor and keep your threats safe. It’s also beneficial to force the Magmatic Sinkhole player to use the spell sub-optimally, like casting low-impact creatures to bait out the removal, preserving your high-value targets for later stages of the game.
Understanding and predicting when your opponents might have Magmatic Sinkhole ready is key, allowing you to strategically play your cards to minimize its impact on your game plan, and ultimately gain the upper hand.
Cards like Magmatic Sinkhole
Magmatic Sinkhole is an impactful removal spell in MTG’s vast array of damage dealing options. This card is likened to other spells such as Flame Slash, which offers four damage to a creature at a low cost. Where Magmatic Sinkhole differentiates itself is its delve ability, enabling players to potentially cast it at a much cheaper rate by using cards from the graveyard. In contrast, Flame Slash doesn’t have this flexibility and is limited to sorcery speed.
Another parallel can be drawn to Roast, which dishes out five damage but solely to a creature without flying. While Roast handles beefier creatures, Magmatic Sinkhole boasts the versatility to target planeswalkers as well, granting a broader range of options for players at instant speed. However, it’s the delve mechanic that’s truly compelling, providing a strategic edge in utilizing the graveyard as a resource.
Assessing the value of removal options in MTG, Magmatic Sinkhole emerges as a contender for its cost efficiency and reach. It’s especially potent in longer games, where graveyard-fueling strategies can lead to a significant mana advantage and the swift removal of critical threats.
Cards similar to Magmatic Sinkhole by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Magmatic Sinkhole MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Modern Horizons, 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 Magmatic Sinkhole and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The Magmatic Sinkhole Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2021-06-18. Illustrated by Mark Behm.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 91291 | 1997 | normal | black | Mark Behm | ||
| 2 | 2019-06-14 | Modern Horizons | MH1 | 135 | 2015 | normal | black | Mark Behm | |
| 3 | 2021-06-18 | Modern Horizons 1 Timeshifts | H1R | 17 | 1997 | normal | black | Mark Behm |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Magmatic Sinkhole has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Magmatic Sinkhole card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-03-19 | Because delve isn’t an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs, such as flashback. It can also be used to pay for additional costs that include generic mana. |
| 2021-03-19 | Delve doesn’t change a spell’s mana cost or mana value. For example, Treasure Cruise’s mana value is 8 even if you exiled three cards to cast it. |
| 2021-03-19 | You can exile cards to pay only for generic mana, and you can’t exile more cards than the generic mana requirement of a spell with delve. For example, you can’t exile more than seven cards from your graveyard to cast Treasure Cruise unless an effect has increased its cost. |
