Douse in Gloom MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides both removal and lifegain, useful for control and maintaining player life totals.
  2. Instant speed allows for reactive play and surprising shifts in board advantage.
  3. While versatile, it’s restricted by its black mana cost and moderate mana investment.

Text of card

Douse in Gloom deals 2 damage to target creature and you gain 2 life.

Orzhov prisoners are steeped in a blackened brew that robs their souls of strength. Patriarchs drink that brew to extend their own lives.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Douse in Gloom not only deals with an opposing creature but also provides a life gain for the player, which can be a subtle form of card advantage. Removing threats while bolstering your own life total impacts the board and your survivability.

Resource Acceleration: While Douse in Gloom doesn’t directly contribute to resource acceleration, it aids in efficiently managing your resources by dealing with creatures without needing to commit multiple cards to the task. This efficient use of mana and cards can indirectly speed up your game plan.

Instant Speed: The ability to cast Douse in Gloom at instant speed offers the tactical advantage of flexibility. You can respond to your opponent’s actions, potentially removing a creature before it can deal damage or before your opponent can capitalize on its presence. This reactive quality keeps opponents on their toes and allows for better control of the game’s flow.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Douse in Gloom doesn’t require players to discard, it does have cons to consider, with mana allocation crucial in deck strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Douse in Gloom’s casting cost requires one black mana, which could restrict insertion solely to black or multicolor mana-based decks, reducing its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At a total of three mana, including one black, Douse in Gloom’s ability to deal 2 damage and grant 2 life may be overshadowed by spells that offer greater board impact or additional benefits for similar or lower mana investments.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Douse in Gloom offers a unique blend of life gain and creature removal, making it a versatile option to include in your black decks. Its ability to handle early threats while padding your life total is valuable in various deck archetypes, especially those seeking stabilization against aggressive strategies.

Combo Potential: While not a combo enabler in the direct sense, Douse in Gloom can be a cog in a machine geared towards life-total manipulation. It can synergize with cards that benefit from life gain or cards that require the removal of creatures to activate specific abilities or conditions.

Meta-Relevance: Given its utility in disrupting creature-based strategies, Douse in Gloom can be a practical sideboard card in a meta swarming with low-toughness creatures. Its ability to affect the board while influencing life totals can be particularly relevant in matches where tempo and incremental advantages are decisive.


How to Beat Douse in Gloom

Douse in Gloom presents itself as a mid-game tool for MTG players looking to manage the board and maintain their life totals. This card provides a double punch – it deals 2 damage to a target creature and gives you 2 life, a decent swing in a tight match. But every spell has a counterplay, and understanding your options against Douse in Gloom can give you an edge.

To effectively negate its impact, consider the timing carefully. The instant nature of Douse in Gloom means anticipating when your opponent might have the mana and the motive to use it. Against creatures with toughness greater than 2, Douse in Gloom loses its teeth. Similarly, creatures with hexproof or protection from black can easily sidestep this gloomy fate. Additionally, countermagic can be your safeguard, ready to cancel out the spell before it takes effect. Lastly, remember that Douse in Gloom’s lifegain is modest, so pressing the advantage with a faster, more aggressive strategy can often eclipse the small life swing it provides.

Awareness of Douse in Gloom’s capabilities and limitations allows you to fine-tune your approach, making it less daunting and keeping your creatures out of the shadows. By making calculated plays and maintaining strategic pressure, you can render this card a mere blip in your path to victory.


Cards like Douse in Gloom

Douse in Gloom is an intriguing option for players seeking targeted creature removal in Magic: The Gathering. Its effects are akin to those of Last Gasp, which also decreases a creature’s power and toughness by a significant amount. However, Douse in Gloom offers the added advantage of providing you with a small life gain. Unlike Last Gasp, which purely focuses on weakening creatures, Douse in Gloom’s ability to bolster your life total can be a subtle yet impactful nuance during gameplay.

Another card with resemblance is Pharika’s Cure. It also provides a blend of damage and life gain, but does so at a lower mana cost. The trade-off, however, lies in Pharika’s Cure’s more restrictive black mana requirement and its limitation to target only creatures. Douse in Gloom, meanwhile, maintains flexibility with its generic mana cost, perhaps offering a more versatile choice for deck inclusion.

Assessing similar cards shows that while many offer creature debilitation, Douse in Gloom positions itself as a balanced tool for players, dealing damage while cushioning their life totals. This double-effect approach potentially swings games, underscoring its utility in various MTG control strategies.

Last Gasp - MTG Card versions
Pharika's Cure - MTG Card versions
Last Gasp - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Pharika's Cure - Theros (THS)

Cards similar to Douse in Gloom by color, type and mana cost

Spoils of Evil - MTG Card versions
Dark Banishing - MTG Card versions
Carrion - MTG Card versions
Sick and Tired - MTG Card versions
Corpse Dance - MTG Card versions
Bone Harvest - MTG Card versions
Slay - MTG Card versions
Afflict - MTG Card versions
Dismember - MTG Card versions
Body Count - MTG Card versions
Reaping the Graves - MTG Card versions
Execute - MTG Card versions
Kill! Destroy! - MTG Card versions
Sudden Death - MTG Card versions
Fevered Strength - MTG Card versions
Hideous End - MTG Card versions
Footbottom Feast - MTG Card versions
Corpse Lunge - MTG Card versions
Necrobite - MTG Card versions
Murder - MTG Card versions
Spoils of Evil - Ice Age (ICE)
Dark Banishing - Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic (DVD)
Carrion - Mirage (MIR)
Sick and Tired - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Corpse Dance - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Bone Harvest - Beatdown Box Set (BTD)
Slay - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Afflict - Odyssey (ODY)
Dismember - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Body Count - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Reaping the Graves - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Execute - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Kill! Destroy! - Unhinged (UNH)
Sudden Death - Time Spiral (TSP)
Fevered Strength - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Hideous End - The List (PLST)
Footbottom Feast - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Corpse Lunge - Innistrad (ISD)
Necrobite - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Murder - Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Douse in Gloom MTG card by a specific set like Guildpact and Fate Reforged, 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 Douse in Gloom and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Douse in Gloom Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2006-02-03 and 2020-07-17. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12006-02-03GuildpactGPT 492003normalblackKev Walker
22015-01-23Fate ReforgedFRF 682015normalblackRyan Yee
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 6322015normalblackRyan Yee
42020-07-17JumpstartJMP 2232015normalblackRyan Yee
52020-09-26The ListPLST FRF-682015normalblackRyan Yee

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Douse in Gloom has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

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