Murderous Compulsion MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery
Abilities Madness

Key Takeaways

  1. Allows indirect card advantage by effectively eliminating opponents’ invested resources.
  2. Its madness mechanic enables surprise plays, adding a layer of strategy.
  3. Demands a discard, potentially complicating its inclusion in some strategies.

Text of card

Destroy target tapped creature. Madness (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)

"Thank you. This blade becomes so hot in my hand, but your blood has quenched it."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Murderous Compulsion offers its controller a pivotal opportunity to deal with threats on the battlefield. By removing an opponent’s creature, you effectively negate any investment they’ve made into that creature, whether it be through mana spent or cards used, thus creating indirect card advantage for yourself.

Resource Acceleration: While Murderous Compulsion itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it enables you to be more liberal with your mana allocation. Since it’s usually cast as a removal tool, you’re afforded the freedom to develop your board with creatures or set up further game plans without the pressure of immediate threats.

Instant Speed: Although Murderous Compulsion is a sorcery, it has the madness mechanic, which means if you discard it, you can cast it for its madness cost at any time you could cast an instant. This surprise element can drastically shift the pace of the game, allowing you to optimally navigate through your opponent’s turns and seize control during critical moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In order to activate its Madness ability, Murderous Compulsion requires you to discard it. This condition can sometimes be a drawback, especially if you are not holding any cards with Madness or if doing so doesn’t align with your strategy, leaving you with one less card in hand.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Murderous Compulsion strictly requires two mana, one of which is black. This can make it a challenging fit in multicolored decks that may struggle with color consistency or in decks that prioritize mana efficiency over single elimination spells.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its potential for removal, the standard casting cost is deemed high for sorcery-speed removal. This can be an issue when faced with faster, more aggressive decks that require immediate answers.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Murderous Compulsion offers a unique take on removal, as it deals with creatures that aren’t currently threatening on the board. This makes it a strategic addition to decks that force opponents to tap creatures, thereby setting them up for destruction.

Combo Potential: In synergy with cards that tap creatures, Murderous Compulsion can effectively become a cheaper murder spell. It’s an ideal complement to control strategies that manipulate the state of the board.

Meta-Relevance: This card shines in environments heavy with aggressive creature-based strategies. As players commit to swinging with their creatures, Murderous Compulsion can serve as an efficient way to remove key threats during your turn, maintaining a clean slate and tempo control.


How to beat

Murderous Compulsion is a removal card that finds itself in the darker corners of MTG decks. Holding an ace up your sleeve against this card is crucial to outsmarting your opponent. One might compare Murderous Compulsion with other removal spells like Doom Blade or Go for the Throat in functionality, but what sets it apart is its Madness mechanic, allowing the player to cast it for a different cost when they discard it.

One way to gain the upper hand against it is utilizing cards that grant indestructibility or regenerate abilities to your creatures for the turn. Pair this strategy with untapped mana and watch as the attempted murder by your opponent’s Compulsion fizzles into ineffective obscurity. Other escape routes include hexproof or shroud abilities, which shield your creatures from being targeted by any spells your opponents could cast. By always being prepared for these kill shots with a protective measure, your strategic plan will throw a wrench in the designs of any Murderous Compulsion.

Ultimately, knowing when to brace for such impactful spells and having counteractive measures in place can transform what might seem like a definitive end for your creatures into a cunning display of tactical prowess in the MTG arena.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of removal in MTG often turns the tides of battle in your favor. With cards like Murderous Compulsion, the metagame gains another level of depth and strategy. Key elements such as card advantage, instant-speed plays through Madness, and the synergy with board-controlling tactics define its utility. However, while being a potent tool against tapped creatures, its effectiveness can be curtailed by its prerequisite for discard and strict mana requirements. Whether you’re tweaking your deck or seeking answers to overcome opponents using this card, it’s essential to stay informed and prepared. Discover more about optimizing your gameplay and turning removal spells into your strategic advantage with us.


Cards like Murderous Compulsion

Murderous Compulsion offers a unique spot in the realm of removal spells within Magic: The Gathering. When analyzed alongside similar cards, its distinctive Madness mechanic allows players to cast it for a reduced cost and at times when they wouldn’t normally be able to cast a sorcery. When compared to Doom Blade, another two-mana black removal spell, Murderous Compulsion requires a tapped creature as its target. However, Doom Blade’s downside is that it can’t affect black creatures.

Then consider Go for the Throat, an instant that can destroy any non-artifact creature without the needing the target to be tapped. It provides instant-speed versatility, differing from Murderous Compulsion’s sorcery speed. On the other hand, Walk the Plank serves as another example, which, despite being a sorcery like Murderous Compulsion, doesn’t have the same restriction on tapping, yet cannot target Merfolk. This puts Murderous Compulsion in a special light, highlighting how conditions for removal can shape strategy during gameplay.

Murderous Compulsion’s strength becomes particularly apparent in a deck designed to leverage Madness, showcasing how it can be both a cost-effective and situationally superior choice in comparison to its peers.

Doom Blade - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions
Doom Blade - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Murderous Compulsion by color, type and mana cost

Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Demonic Tutor - MTG Card versions
Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Word of Binding - MTG Card versions
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Imperial Edict - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Intent - MTG Card versions
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Chainer's Edict - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions
Predators' Hour - MTG Card versions
Nausea - MTG Card versions
Hunger of the Nim - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Demonic Tutor - MTG Card versions
Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Word of Binding - MTG Card versions
Soul Exchange - MTG Card versions
Dry Spell - MTG Card versions
Hymn to Tourach - MTG Card versions
Mind Knives - MTG Card versions
Shattered Crypt - MTG Card versions
Disturbed Burial - MTG Card versions
Death Stroke - MTG Card versions
Exhume - MTG Card versions
Imperial Edict - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Intent - MTG Card versions
Decompose - MTG Card versions
Chainer's Edict - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions
Predators' Hour - MTG Card versions
Nausea - MTG Card versions
Hunger of the Nim - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Murderous Compulsion MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad and Commander 2019, 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 Murderous Compulsion and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Murderous Compulsion Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by David Palumbo.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 1262015NormalBlackDavid Palumbo
22019-08-23Commander 2019C19 1222015NormalBlackDavid Palumbo
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 7182015NormalBlackDavid Palumbo
42020-09-26The ListPLST SOI-1262015NormalBlackDavid Palumbo

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Murderous Compulsion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2016-04-08 A spell cast for its madness cost is put onto the stack like any other spell. It can be countered, copied, and so on. As it resolves, it’s put onto the battlefield if it’s a permanent card or into its owner’s graveyard if it’s an instant or sorcery card.
2016-04-08 Cards are discarded in a Magic game only from a player’s hand. Effects that put cards from a player’s library into that player’s graveyard do not cause those cards to be discarded.
2016-04-08 Casting a spell for its madness cost doesn’t change its mana cost or its converted mana cost. You just pay the madness cost instead.
2016-04-08 Effects that cause you to pay more or less for a spell will cause you to pay that much more or less for its madness cost, too.
2016-04-08 If you choose not to cast a card with madness when the madness triggered ability resolves, it’s put into your graveyard. You don’t get another chance to cast it later.
2016-04-08 If you discard a card with madness to pay the cost of a spell or activated ability, that card’s madness trigger (and the spell that card becomes, if you choose to cast it) will resolve before the spell or ability the discard paid for.
2016-04-08 If you discard a card with madness while resolving a spell or ability, it moves immediately to exile. Continue resolving that spell or ability—the card is not in your graveyard at this time. Its madness trigger will be placed onto the stack once that spell or ability has completely resolved.
2016-04-08 Madness works independently of why you’re discarding the card. You could discard it to pay a cost, because a spell or ability tells you to, or even because you have too many cards in your hand at the end of your turn. You can’t discard a card with madness just because you want to, though.
2016-04-08 When you cast a card with madness, it was still discarded. If it was discarded to pay a cost, that cost is still paid. Abilities that trigger when a card is discarded will still trigger.

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