Molten Disaster MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Kicker

Key Takeaways

  1. Molten Disaster can decisively shift the game by wiping multiple creatures simultaneously.
  2. Its Split Second ability with Kicker adds uncounterable control, resembling instant speed.
  3. While powerful, the high mana cost requires strategic planning for late-game impact.

Text of card

Kicker (You may pay an additional as you play this spell.) If the kicker cost was paid, Molten Disaster has split second. (As long as this spell is on the stack, players can't play spells or activated abilities that aren't mana abilities.) Molten Disaster deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Molten Disaster offers the potential for significant card advantage by potentially eliminating multiple creatures on the board. This can allow players to wipe out an opponent’s threats while maintaining their own board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While Molten Disaster doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, its Split Second ability ensures that your opponents cannot respond with their own instants, potentially accelerating your game plan by uninterrupted execution of this powerful spell.

Instant Speed: Although Molten Disaster is a sorcery, its Kicker cost gives it an instant-speed-like quality. Paying the additional cost enables the Split Second ability, meaning as it resolves, no other spells or abilities can be played, resembling the control granted by actual instant speed spells.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Molten Disaster doesn’t demand a discard, its kicker cost necessitates additional mana. Allocating extra mana can mean sacrificing the opportunity to play or hold other cards that could be essential during the late game.

Specific Mana Cost: The card has a cost that is both color-specific and significant, requiring two red mana. This characteristic can be restrictive for decks that aren’t heavily red, potentially causing it to be a dead draw in multi-color decks that can’t consistently produce the needed red mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Molten Disaster carries a high base mana cost, with an additional kicker cost that increases its impact on the game but also strains your mana resources. In fast-paced games, the need to allocate a substantial amount of mana to cast it with the kicker could delay crucial plays, leading to unfavorable board states.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Molten Disaster offers a flexible mechanic that allows players to adjust its damage output based on the mana invested, making it an adaptable choice for both aggressive and control-based red decks.

Combo Potential: This card can work in synergy with spells that copy instants or sorceries, potentially doubling its effect on the battlefield. It also complements strategies that play around spell damage amplification or cast triggers.

Meta-Relevance: With the ability to decide whether Molten Disaster has split second via its kicker cost, it can adapt to the pace of the current meta, providing a critical advantage against decks that rely heavily on instant-speed interaction.


How to beat

Molten Disaster is a potent force on the battlefield, offering both flexibility and destructive power in a single card, a characteristic trait among red spells in Magic: The Gathering. What makes Molten Disaster especially daunting is its kicker feature which, when paid, allows it to deal damage that cannot be prevented and potentially clear away opposing creatures en masse.

To counteract this explosive threat, consider employing counterspells or utilizing instant-speed spells that can safely remove it from the stack before it wreaks havoc. Additionally, cards that grant your creatures indestructibility or regeneration can be key in surviving the blast. Since Molten Disaster deals damage to each player, running life-gain strategies can also bolster your resilience against such direct damage spells. Lastly, remember that haste and end-of-turn effects can help you maneuver around Molten Disaster’s sorcery speed, possibly allowing you to take advantage of an opponent’s tapped-out state after deploying such an intensive spell.

Understanding your opponent’s potential to cast Molten Disaster and maintaining a proactive defensive stance can be decisive in outlasting its fiery onslaught, thus claiming victory in your MTG matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Grasping the ebb and flow of strategic play is key in MTG and cards like Molten Disaster can be a game-changer, clearing boards and turning the tide in your favor. Yet, with great power comes great responsibility — and a need for precise timing and resource management. Whether you’re incorporating Molten Disaster into a high-octane red deck or looking for versatile cards to handle a variety of threats, understanding its pros and cons is vital. Curious to learn more about how to maximize its potential or perhaps searching for strategies to defend against it? Continue your journey with us, as we delve deeper into the strategic use of this impactful card and others to refine your MTG prowess.


Cards like Molten Disaster

Molten Disaster is a unique spell in the world of Magic: The Gathering, with its potential for widespread damage and a kicker ability that brings versatility to a player’s strategy. When comparing this card to similar ones, Earthquake emerges as a classic example. Earthquake, too, deals damage to each creature without flying and each player. However, it lacks the kicker option that elevates Molten Disaster, allowing it to be uncounterable and impacting the gameplay significantly.

Another card worth mentioning is Rolling Earthquake, which has a parallel effect to Molten Disaster, extending its damage to creatures with horsemanship as well. Despite this, it doesn’t offer the kicker benefit, highlighting Molten Disaster’s tactical advantage in matches where counter spells are prevalent. Pyroclasm provides a fixed damage alternative, dealing 2 damage to each creature. Unlike Molten Disaster, Pyroclasm doesn’t offer the player an uncounterable option or the flexibility to increase damage output with additional mana investment.

Overall, while there are several cards in Magic: The Gathering that share the mass damage theme, Molten Disaster holds its ground with its unique kicker element, giving players the upper hand in controlling the game’s flow and bypassing counter strategies.

Earthquake - MTG Card versions
Rolling Earthquake - MTG Card versions
Pyroclasm - MTG Card versions
Earthquake - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Rolling Earthquake - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Pyroclasm - Ice Age (ICE)

Cards similar to Molten Disaster by color, type and mana cost

Scent of Cinder - MTG Card versions
Spitting Earth - MTG Card versions
Fanning the Flames - MTG Card versions
Strategy, Schmategy - MTG Card versions
Disorder - MTG Card versions
Warrior's Oath - MTG Card versions
Tribal Flames - MTG Card versions
Incendiary Flow - MTG Card versions
Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display - MTG Card versions
Nahiri's Lithoforming - MTG Card versions
Mizzium Mortars - MTG Card versions
Volcanic Hammer - MTG Card versions
Burning Wish - MTG Card versions
Mana Seism - MTG Card versions
Yamabushi's Storm - MTG Card versions
Face to Face - MTG Card versions
Pyroclasm - MTG Card versions
Goblin Sleigh Ride - MTG Card versions
Hurly-Burly - MTG Card versions
Brood Birthing - MTG Card versions
Scent of Cinder - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Spitting Earth - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)
Fanning the Flames - Stronghold (STH)
Strategy, Schmategy - Unglued (UGL)
Disorder - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Warrior's Oath - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Tribal Flames - Modern Masters (MMA)
Incendiary Flow - Friday Night Magic 2017 (F17)
Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Nahiri's Lithoforming - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Mizzium Mortars - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Volcanic Hammer - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Burning Wish - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Mana Seism - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Yamabushi's Storm - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Face to Face - Unhinged (UNH)
Pyroclasm - Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt (DDK)
Goblin Sleigh Ride - Happy Holidays (HHO)
Hurly-Burly - Lorwyn (LRW)
Brood Birthing - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Molten Disaster MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight and Modern Masters, 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 Molten Disaster and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Molten Disaster Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2007-05-04 and 2013-11-01. Illustrated by Ittoku.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-05-04Future SightFUT 1022003normalblackIttoku
22013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1232003normalblackIttoku
32013-11-01Commander 2013C13 1172003normalblackIttoku

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Molten Disaster has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2007-05-01 If Molten Disaster was kicked, Molten Disaster has split second as long as it’s on the stack.
2021-03-19 After a spell with split second resolves (or otherwise leaves the stack), players may again cast spells and activate abilities before the next object on the stack resolves.
2021-03-19 Casting a spell with split second won’t affect spells and abilities that are already on the stack.
2021-03-19 If the resolution of a triggered ability involves casting a spell, that spell can’t be cast if a spell with split second is on the stack.
2021-03-19 Players may turn face-down creatures face up while a spell with split second is on the stack.
2021-03-19 Players still get priority while a card with split second is on the stack; their options are just limited to mana abilities and certain special actions.
2021-03-19 Split second doesn’t stop triggered abilities from triggering, such as that of Chalice of the Void. If one does, its controller puts it on the stack and chooses targets for it, if any. Those abilities will resolve as normal.

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