Night Terrors MTG Card
2011-09-30 - Number 111
2017-03-17 - Number 79
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Target player reveals his or her hand. You choose a nonland card from it. Exile that card.
Innistrad is a place where dreams invade the mind and mere shadows exact a terrible toll.
Cards like Night Terrors
Night Terrors stands out in the realm of hand disruption spells in Magic: The Gathering. When looking at cards like Distress or Duress, Night Terrors delves deeper with its ability to search through an opponent’s entire hand, casting a wide net to catch any nonland card, a significant advantage compared to the former which are more restrictive in their selection. Unlike Thoughtseize, which allows the choice of any nonland card but with the downside of losing life, Night Terrors does the same thorough search without this drawback.
One could compare it to Mind Rot, which forces an opponent to discard two cards at random. While Mind Rot is uncertain in its effect, Night Terrors offers the certainty of removing a potential threat of your choice. The certainty can be strategic, helping you plan further ahead in the game. Additionally, Mind Rot is at sorcery speed, just like Night Terrors, emphasizing the tactical decision of when to best play these hand disruption spells to disrupt an opponent’s game plan most effectively.
Ultimately, Night Terrors, with its comprehensive reveal and selection ability, positions itself as a considerable option for MTG players looking to include potent disruption in their decks. It navigates a specific niche that balances thoroughness and impact without the self-punishing trade-offs seen in other similar cards.
Cards similar to Night Terrors by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Playing Night Terrors can significantly disturb your opponent’s strategy by forcing a discard, essentially granting you an immediate upper hand in card resources.
Resource Acceleration: Although Night Terrors does not directly produce mana or Treasure tokens, the card’s strategic discard can indirectly lead to a resource advantage by disrupting the opponent’s opportunity for acceleration.
Instant Speed: As a card that can be played at instant speed, Night Terrors offers versatile defensive utility. You can disrupt an opponent’s carefully planned turn or respond to their surprise moves, ensuring you maintain control.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Night Terrors forces a player to discard one card in order to cast it. This can be notably detrimental when card advantage is crucial, especially in tight situations where every card in hand counts towards strategy and potential victory.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost of Night Terrors includes black mana, which necessitates its inclusion primarily in black or multicolor decks. This requirement can restrict deck building options and is less flexible for players who favor a wider variety of mana bases.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Night Terrors is relatively expensive for its effect. Considering other available cards within MTG that provide similar or better disruption at a lower cost, this can make Night Terrors a less efficient choice in competitive play.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Night Terrors is an asset to any black deck seeking to disrupt opponents early in the game. Its ability to reveal and exile any nonland card ensures that it can adapt to various threats across multiple deck archetypes.
Combo Potential: Not only does Night Terrors handle immediate threats, but it synergizes well with strategies focusing on hand disruption. Pairing it with cards that benefit from opponents’ higher discard rates can weave a nightmare for any adversary.
Meta-Relevance: As the game’s landscape often includes combo or control decks, Night Terrors serves as a preemptive measure. Exiling key pieces of your opponent’s strategy can give you the upper hand, making it a shrewd inclusion in your arsenal against prevalent decks.
How to beat Night Terrors
Night Terrors stands as a potent disruption tool within Magic: The Gathering, delving into an opponent’s hand to rip out a card of your choosing and consigning it to exile. This black sorcery not only diminishes the opponent’s resources but also provides invaluable information about their hidden arsenal. Despite its power, players can deploy several strategies to diminish its impact or skirt its effects entirely.
To mitigate the potential disadvantage, maintaining a hand with redundant cards or those that function well from the graveyard can be invaluable. Cards with flashback or other similar abilities that allow them to be played from the graveyard transform an apparent loss into a strategic advantage. Additionally, baiting out Night Terrors by holding back key cards until after its resolution ensures you retain your most critical spells or creatures, thereby reducing the effectiveness of your opponent’s tactics.
Ultimately, understanding the timing and composition of Night Terrors allows savvy players to sidestep serious repercussions. By carefully managing hand composition and anticipating your opponent’s moves, you can effectively neutralize this intimidating card and maintain control of the game’s flow.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Night Terrors MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad and Modern Masters 2017, 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 Night Terrors and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Night Terrors Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2011-09-30 and 2017-03-17. Illustrated by Christopher Moeller.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011-09-30 | Innistrad | ISD | 111 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Christopher Moeller | |
| 2 | 2017-03-17 | Modern Masters 2017 | MM3 | 79 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Christopher Moeller |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Night Terrors has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Night Terrors card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-02-01 | If you target yourself with this spell, you must reveal your entire hand to the other players just as any other player would. |