One with Death MTG Card
2019-11-07 - Number 45
2021-08-20 - Number 45
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Instant |
Key Takeaways
- Offers a burst of card advantage while demanding precise timing and a card discard.
- Its specific mana requirements can challenge multi-color deck consistency.
- Despite its costs, One with Death can massively shift game dynamics.
Text of card
You lose the game.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: One with Death shines in the realm of card advantage due to its potential to refill your hand based on the number of creatures you have in play. The moment you cast this spell, the payoff can be significant, tipping the scales in your favor during a game.
Resource Acceleration: Though One with Death isn’t directly a resource accelerator, it sets the stage for explosive turns. By digging deeper into your deck and providing you with more options, it indirectly accelerates your resource deployment by ensuring you hit your land drops and have access to your most impactful spells sooner.
Instant Speed: The instant speed nature of One with Death offers unparalleled flexibility, allowing you to wait for the optimum moment to cast it. Whether it’s at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to an action that would significantly alter the board state, the timing of this spell can be as crucial as its effect on the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One with Death requires a card to be discarded as part of its casting cost. This condition can be a setback when your hand is already dwindling or when every card in your hand is crucial for your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: One with Death demands a precise blend of mana for its activation, including at least one black mana. This necessity can be cumbersome for multicolor decks that might struggle with mana consistency, especially in the early game when fixing resources is critical.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that’s on the higher end, One with Death may not be the most economical choice in situations where you need to maintain tempo against an opponent. There are alternative cards that could provide a similar or greater impact for a lesser mana investment, allowing for a more efficient use of your resources.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: One with Death is a card that can be adapted into various deck styles. This lies especially in those that seek to capitalize on life-total manipulation or surprise “win-condition” strategies.
Combo Potential: This card has significant combo potential in the right setup. It can create unexpected win scenarios, particularly when combined with effects that prevent you from losing the game for having 0 or less life.
Meta-Relevance: Considering the current dynamics of gameplay, One with Death could disrupt many common strategies, giving you an edge when opponents are unprepared for such an abrupt shift in game state.
How to beat
One with Death is a unique card that can be a game-ender in Magic: The Gathering, instantly losing the game for the player who plays it under the right win conditions. It’s vital to strategically plan your interaction with this card in anticipation of its abrupt impact.
In order to counteract One with Death’s potential game-ending effect, consider employing instant-speed removal or counterspells to disrupt your opponent’s strategy before they can execute the lethal combination. Playing cards like Counterspell or Naturalize can be crucial in dismantling the combo, allowing you to remove the key pieces required to activate One with Death’s lethal condition. Additionally, utilizing graveyard disruption such as Tormod’s Crypt or Leyline of the Void may help preemptively eliminate the potential for this card to be a threat by removing it from the game before it can be activated.
Ultimately, being aware of the moment and being prepared with the right cards to prevent or eliminate the threat, you can maintain control over the game state and nullify the danger posed by One with Death.
Cards like One with Death
One with Death is a unique card within the roster of Magic the Gathering. It shares thematic similarities with other ‘lose the game’ cards like Pact of Negation, which carries the grave consequence of losing the game if its additional cost isn’t paid. One with Death, however, stands out by centralizing its entire focus on this singular, dramatic condition. This card dictates an immediate game loss—a risky move that can strategize around manipulating defeat conditions.
Approaching comparison, we can look at Stunning Reversal, which saves a player on the brink of losing and gives them another chance with a fresh hand of cards. The trade-off here is evident; One with Death is an absolute and cheaper gambit that capitalizes on certain deck builds or situations, whereas Stunning Reversal provides a safety net. Furthermore, comparable are the so-called ‘alternative win condition’ cards such as Thassa’s Oracle. While not putting you at risk of losing the game, they offer a route to victory under specific criteria, contrasting with One with Death’s immediate lose condition.
Clearly, while there are cards that interact with win and loss conditions, One with Death is a card that sits in a league of its own, daring the Magic the Gathering player to tempt fate in an all-or-nothing bid for strategic advantage or unforeseen synergy.
Cards similar to One with Death by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase One with Death MTG card by a specific set like Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 and Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021, 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 One with Death and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The One with Death Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-11-07 and 2021-08-20. Illustrated by Robert J Schuster.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 | CMB1 | 45 | 2015 | normal | black | Robert J Schuster | |
| 2 | 2021-08-20 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 | CMB2 | 45 | 2015 | normal | black | Robert J Schuster |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering One with Death card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2019-11-12 | One with Death has no target, so a spell or ability that changes targets can’t be used to have another player lose the game. |
| 2019-11-12 | Yes, seriously. |
| 2019-11-12 | Yes, you lose the game. |
