Throes of Chaos MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Cascade,Retrace

Key Takeaways

  1. Throes of Chaos provides card advantage and potential for chain casting without spending extra mana.
  2. Its Retrace ability allows for repeated casting from the graveyard, optimizing mana usage.
  3. Despite its benefits, a four mana cost may restrict its inclusion in fast-paced, mana-efficient decks.

Text of card

Cascade (When you cast this spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.) Retrace (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Throes of Chaos comes with a built-in mechanism for card advantage through its cascade ability. Each time it’s cast, you are able to potentially cast another spell from your deck without spending any extra mana, driving you ahead in resources.

Resource Acceleration: While Throes of Chaos itself does not directly produce mana or tokens, its capacity to potentially cascade into ramp spells helps with resource acceleration. This can be pivotal for setting up powerful game states ahead of your opponent.

Instant Speed: Although Throes of Chaos is cast at sorcery speed, the Retrace ability allows you to cast it multiple times from your graveyard thus maximizing use of your mana at crucial moments and ensuring your resources are spent efficiently throughout the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For Throes of Chaos, a card discard is not a prerequisite making it easier on your hand resources compared to other disruptive spells.

Specific Mana Cost: Throes of Chaos calls for a precise mana arrangement of one red and three other mana of any type. This can be a hurdle for decks not invested in red mana resources or those that operate on a tight color spread.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost comprising four mana to cast initially, Throes of Chaos may not seem as alluring in terms of raw efficiency. Decks that want to stay lean and nimble with their mana might find this to be a limiting factor when opting for more immediate impact plays.


Reasons to Include Throes of Chaos in Your Collection

Versatility: Throes of Chaos is a card that supports a variety of deck types due to its unique cascade mechanic, which allows you to potentially chain into powerful spells for less mana.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in decks focused on spell synergy. Its repeatable casting from exile ensures continuous combo triggering, making it an exceptional engine in the right setup.

Meta-Relevance: As players constantly adapt to shifting metas, Throes of Chaos lends itself well to environments where leveraging every card cast can tip the scales in high-stakes matches.


How to beat

Throes of Chaos is a unique card in Magic: The Gathering, providing a persisting cascade effect that can give a player repeated value over time. The card enables a player to recast it from their graveyard using its Retrace ability, potentially turning every land drawn into a new spell. To counter it effectively, controlling opponents’ graveyards is key. Cards such as Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void can prevent Throes of Chaos from being cast multiple times, as they remove cards from play.

Hand disruption is another strategy to deal with Throes of Chaos. By causing your adversary to discard it before they have the chance to cast it, you nip the problem in the bud. Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek can effectively remove Throes of Chaos from a player’s hand, mitigating its impact on the game.

Ultimately, efficient counterplay against Throes of Chaos involves early disruption and diligent graveyard control to prevent the repeated cascade from overwhelming your defenses and allowing your opponent to maintain a potent spell flow.


BurnMana Recommendations

Unlocking the full potential of Throes of Chaos in your MTG collection requires foresight and tactical finesse. Its cascade ability provides not just a singular benefit but a gateway to manifold strategic layers. Optimizing your red mana resources and understanding when to leverage its retrace feature are key to harnessing its power. Dedicated players seeking to enhance their deck’s performance while enjoying a robust cascade mechanic will find value in our deeper insights. Discover how to incorporate Throes of Chaos into various deck archetypes and adapt to the evolving MTG meta. Expand your strategic horizons—join us for an enriched MTG experience.


Cards like Throes of Chaos

Throes of Chaos offers a unique replayability effect in the landscape of red spells in Magic: The Gathering. Its Cascade ability sets it apart, allowing you to cast spells from your deck for no mana cost when it’s cast from your hand. However, its distinction is best understood in relation to other Cascade spells, such as Bloodbraid Elf. While Bloodbraid Elf provides an immediate creature presence in addition to the Cascade effect, Throes of Chaos’s unique “Retrace” mechanic allows players to cast it multiple times from the graveyard, given that a player has lands to discard.

Another comparator, Shardless Agent, embodies the synergistic nature of Cascade spells by offering a creature body alongside the potential for a free cast spell. Different from Throes of Chaos, Shardless Agent does not have a built-in method for repeated use, yet it brings immediate board presence, which can be crucial for tempo strategies. Furthermore, Throes of Chaos magnifies its potential in longer games where the ability to repetitively utilize the Cascade mechanic can outvalue the single-use creatures with Cascade.

Assessing the utility and applications of Cascade-spells, Throes of Chaos carves a niche for itself in decks that capitalize on repeated, randomness-induced value, making it a unique and potentially powerful tool for the players who wield it.

Bloodbraid Elf - MTG Card versions
Shardless Agent - MTG Card versions
Bloodbraid Elf - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Shardless Agent - Planechase 2012 (PC2)

Cards similar to Throes of Chaos by color, type and mana cost

Flashfires - MTG Card versions
Shatterstorm - MTG Card versions
Anarchy - MTG Card versions
Phoenix Heart - MTG Card versions
Reign of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Deadshot - MTG Card versions
Aftershock - MTG Card versions
Ruination - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Flood - MTG Card versions
Relentless Assault - MTG Card versions
Flameshot - MTG Card versions
Bend or Break - MTG Card versions
Scorching Missile - MTG Card versions
Reckless Crew - MTG Card versions
Draconic Intervention - MTG Card versions
Illuminate History - MTG Card versions
Demolish - MTG Card versions
Granulate - MTG Card versions
Touch and Go - MTG Card versions
Sunder from Within - MTG Card versions
Flashfires - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Shatterstorm - Antiquities (ATQ)
Anarchy - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Phoenix Heart - Celebration Cards (PCEL)
Reign of Chaos - Mirage (MIR)
Deadshot - Tempest (TMP)
Aftershock - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Ruination - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Flowstone Flood - Exodus (EXO)
Relentless Assault - Commander Legends (CMR)
Flameshot - The List (PLST)
Bend or Break - Invasion (INV)
Scorching Missile - Odyssey (ODY)
Reckless Crew - Kaldheim Promos (PKHM)
Draconic Intervention - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Illuminate History - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Demolish - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Granulate - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Touch and Go - Unhinged (UNH)
Sunder from Within - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Throes of Chaos // Throes of Chaos MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons Art Series 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 Throes of Chaos // Throes of Chaos and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Throes of Chaos // Throes of Chaos Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2019-06-14 and 2023-10-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12019-06-05Modern Horizons Art SeriesAMH1 92015art_seriesborderlessIgor Kieryluk
22019-06-14Modern HorizonsMH1 1502015normalblackIgor Kieryluk
32021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 1462015normalblackIgor Kieryluk
42021-08-26Jumpstart: Historic HorizonsJ21 5262015normalblackIgor Kieryluk
52023-10-13Doctor WhoWHO 2272015normalblackDavid Frasheski
62023-10-13Doctor WhoWHO 8182015normalblackDavid Frasheski

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Throes of Chaos has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
GladiatorLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2019-06-14 Throes of Chaos does nothing as it resolves. All of its chaos happens before it resolves.
2019-06-14 When a spell you cast with retrace resolves or is countered, it's put back into your graveyard. You may use the retrace ability to cast it again.
2021-06-18 A spell's mana value is determined only by its mana cost. Ignore any alternative costs, additional costs, cost increases, or cost reductions.
2021-06-18 Cascade triggers when you cast the spell, meaning that it resolves before that spell. If you end up casting the exiled card, it will go on the stack above the spell with cascade.
2021-06-18 Due to a 2021 rules change to cascade, not only do you stop exiling cards if you exile a nonland card with lesser mana value than the spell with cascade, but the resulting spell you cast must also have lesser mana value. Previously, in cases where a card's mana value differed from the resulting spell, such as with some modal double-faced cards or cards with an Adventure, you could cast a spell with a higher mana value than the exiled card.
2021-06-18 If a spell with cascade is countered, the cascade ability will still resolve normally.
2021-06-18 If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2021-06-18 If you cast a card "without paying its mana cost," you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those to cast the card.
2021-06-18 The mana value of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. If cascade allows you to cast a split card, you may cast either half but not both halves.
2021-06-18 When the cascade ability resolves, you must exile cards. The only optional part of the ability is whether or not you cast the last card exiled.
2021-06-18 You exile the cards face up. All players will be able to see them.

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