Gut Shot MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Gut Shot offers tempo advantage with its low cost and instant playability, disrupting opponent’s early play.
  2. Its versatility allows inclusion in various deck types and enhances combo potential for aggressive strategies.
  3. Card compares favorably with similar spells for its speed and mana adaptability, despite some mana efficiency concerns.

Text of card

({PR} can be paid with either or 2 life.) Gut Shot deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

"Down here, we have a more pointed version of the scriptures." —Urabrask's enforcer


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gut Shot’s most significant strength lies in its ability to disrupt an opponent’s early game without costing you a card from hand, thanks to its “phyrexian mana” cost. This enables you to remove an essential one-toughness creature while still developing your board or keeping up mana for other spells.

Resource Acceleration: While Gut Shot itself doesn’t directly contribute to resource acceleration, its low cost can effectively keep your tempo up. By spending only two life points or a single red mana, you maintain your mana pool to advance your board state unhindered. This subtle tempo gain can lead to significant resource advantages as the game progresses.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Gut Shot at instant speed offers strategic flexibility. You can strategically respond to your opponent’s plays, removing key creatures in response to buffs or during their end step to limit their options and hinder their strategy. This can significantly alter the pace of the game in your favor without interrupting your own turn’s mana use.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Gut Shot can be a free spell with its Phyrexian mana cost, it comes at the price of 2 life. This can be significant in formats where high-speed, aggressive strategies dominate and life totals are consistently under pressure.

Specific Mana Cost: Gut Shot’s color identity is red, which means that it slots into red or multicolored decks but won’t be a fit for mono-colored decks outside of red. Moreover, for decks that emphasize mana efficiency, paying the alternative Phyrexian mana cost might not always be the most advantageous strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the option exists to pay life instead of the single red mana, when casting it for its mana cost, some players might find it less than efficient. Dealing only one damage for one mana can be cost-ineffective compared to other one-mana burn spells that have the potential to deal more damage or offer additional benefits.


Reasons to Include Gut Shot in Your Collection

Versatility: Gut Shot shines in its ability to adapt to multiple game scenarios. Its ability to be cast for a mere 2 life points using the Phyrexian mana makes it a handy card to have in early game, or when mana is tight. It can fit well into aggressive red decks or even as a sideboard option in various other deck types.

Combo Potential: This red instant spells unimaginable combo possibilities when paired with cards that reward you for casting spells, like prowess creatures or spells that benefit from casting multiple spells in one turn. This could allow for explosive turns and surprise wins out of nowhere.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame often includes decks with X/1 creatures, Gut Shot provides an immediate answer without spending mana, countering key plays and disrupting opponent’s early game. With many decks trying to optimize their curve, dropping a key one-toughness creature can pivot the game advantage to your favor.


How to beat

Gut Shot is a versatile and potent card in Magic: The Gathering, offering players instant speed interaction without spending mana due to its Phyrexian mana cost. This card can disrupt early game creatures or finish off weakened targets. However, to counteract Gut Shot’s influence, players should consider a strategy that minimizes its impact.

One effective tactic is to prioritize creatures with toughness greater than two. Gut Shot loses much of its allure against sturdier creatures that it can’t take down in a single shot. Another approach is utilizing cards that grant your creatures hexproof or indestructible temporarily, shielding them from being targeted by such spells. Similarly, playing cards that can regenerate your creatures or bolster their toughness in response to Gut Shot can be equally thwarting for an opponent relying on this removal method.

Understanding that Gut Shot is commonly played in decks aiming to maintain tempo or protect early game leads, adjusting your playstyle to be less vulnerable in the initial turns may reduce Gut Shot’s effectiveness. By varying your creatures’ toughness and being cautious about when to deploy your most valuable creatures, you can navigate around the threat that Gut Shot poses and maintain a strong board presence.


BurnMana Recommendations

Strategy and card selection are core elements that can turn the tide in MTG. With your newly gained insights on Gut Shot, consider the versatility it can bring to your gameplay, whether it’s by dismantling early threats or enabling surprise combos. As part of your deck-building or sideboard strategy, remember to evaluate your mana curve, synergies, and the meta to decide if Gut Shot earns a slot. Hungry for more tactics and card analysis? Delve deeper and join a community of enthusiasts eager to discuss not just cards like Gut Shot but all aspects of MTG strategy. Enhance your deck, outsmart your opponents, and claim victory with insights from BurnMana.


Cards like Gut Shot

Gut Shot, known for its instant-speed removal, is a unique addition to any player’s arsenal in MTG. It’s reminiscent of other one-damage spells like Shock, which also deals damage directly but at the cost of two mana. Gut Shot, however, offers flexibility with its Phyrexian mana option, allowing players to pay health instead of mana, a critical advantage in fast-paced games.

Pillar of Flame is another card that deals with small creatures by inflicting two damage for one red mana. While it doesn’t have the mana-flexibility of Gut Shot and isn’t free to cast, it exiles the target, preventing any death triggers. In contrast, Lightning Bolt stands as a mighty competitor, delivering three damage for the same one red mana; the clear winner in terms of raw power but lacking Gut Shot’s improvisational casting cost.

Thus, while there are several options for one-mana removal in MTG, Gut Shot’s rare blend of speed and payment adaptability cements its place as a strategically versatile choice, particularly in decks that value tempo or cannot afford to hold back mana for creature removal.

Shock - MTG Card versions
Pillar of Flame - MTG Card versions
Lightning Bolt - MTG Card versions
Shock - Stronghold (STH)
Pillar of Flame - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Lightning Bolt - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)

Cards similar to Gut Shot by color, type and mana cost

False Orders - MTG Card versions
Chaoslace - MTG Card versions
Red Elemental Blast - MTG Card versions
Tunnel - MTG Card versions
Artifact Blast - MTG Card versions
Lightning Bolt - MTG Card versions
Active Volcano - MTG Card versions
Shock - MTG Card versions
Panic - MTG Card versions
Vertigo - MTG Card versions
Telim'Tor's Edict - MTG Card versions
Hearth Charm - MTG Card versions
Pyroblast - MTG Card versions
Fighting Chance - MTG Card versions
Shower of Sparks - MTG Card versions
Heat Ray - MTG Card versions
Overload - MTG Card versions
March of Reckless Joy - MTG Card versions
Burst Lightning - MTG Card versions
Fever Charm - MTG Card versions
False Orders - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Chaoslace - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Red Elemental Blast - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Tunnel - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Artifact Blast - Antiquities (ATQ)
Lightning Bolt - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Active Volcano - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Shock - Arena Beginner Set (ANB)
Panic - Ice Age (ICE)
Vertigo - Ice Age (ICE)
Telim'Tor's Edict - Mirage (MIR)
Hearth Charm - Visions (VIS)
Pyroblast - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Fighting Chance - Exodus (EXO)
Shower of Sparks - Duel Decks: Heroes vs. Monsters (DDL)
Heat Ray - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Overload - Invasion (INV)
March of Reckless Joy - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Burst Lightning - Zendikar (ZEN)
Fever Charm - Onslaught (ONS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gut Shot MTG card by a specific set like New Phyrexia and Modern Masters 2015, 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 Gut Shot and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Gut Shot Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2011-05-13 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Greg Staples.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-05-13New PhyrexiaNPH 862003normalblackGreg Staples
22015-05-22Modern Masters 2015MM2 1172015normalblackGreg Staples
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 9692015normalblackGreg Staples
42020-09-26The ListPLST MM2-1172015normalblackGreg Staples

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gut Shot has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-06-01 A card with Phyrexian mana symbols in its mana cost is each color that appears in that mana cost, regardless of how that cost may have been paid.
2011-06-01 As you cast a spell or activate an activated ability with one or more Phyrexian mana symbols in its cost, you choose how to pay for each Phyrexian mana symbol at the same time you would choose modes or choose a value for X.
2011-06-01 If you’re at 1 life or less, you can’t pay 2 life.
2011-06-01 Phyrexian mana is not a new color. Players can’t add Phyrexian mana to their mana pools.
2011-06-01 To calculate the converted mana cost of a card with Phyrexian mana symbols in its cost, count each Phyrexian mana symbol as 1.

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