Ballista Squad MTG Card

Ballista Squad - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)

Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
1999-10-04 - Number 5

Ninth Edition (9ED)
2005-07-29 - Number 5★

Ninth Edition (9ED)
2005-07-29 - Number 5

Tenth Edition (10E)
2007-07-13 - Number 8

Card sets	Released in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Human Rebel
Power	2
Toughness	2

Key Takeaways

Ballista Squad offers key creature removal at the cost of card advantage and precise mana.
Its instant-speed ability adds tactical flexibility, fitting well into various deck strategies.
Despite potential drawbacks, Ballista Squad’s adaptability makes it valuable in the right context.

Text of card

o Xo W, oc T: Ballista Squad deals X damage to target attacking or blocking creature.

The perfect antidote for a tightly packed formation.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ballista Squad has the potential to provide strategic benefits by removing key creatures from the opponent’s board. This disrupts their play and can effectively swing the momentum in your favor by reducing their resources while maintaining your own.

Resource Acceleration: Though not directly accelerating resources, Ballista Squad’s ability can be synchronized with mana-generating cards, allowing you to efficiently allocate resources to control the board state and dictate the pace of the match, leading to a form of indirect acceleration.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of using Ballista Squad’s activated ability at instant speed provides a tactical edge. It enables you to react to threats in real-time and make critical decisions during the opponent’s turn, keeping them on their toes and potentially disrupting their strategies before they fully unfold.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: This mechanic necessitates you to discard a card, a drawback if you’re already tight on hand options or playing a strategy that values card retention. For decks that don’t benefit from graveyard synergies or can’t easily replenish their hand, this is especially problematic.

Specific Mana Cost: Ballista Squad’s activation cost demands a precise combination of mana, which can be challenging in multicolored decks that might not always have the right mana at the crucial moment. This limitation can make it less flexible compared to more universally castable cards.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When you factor in the necessity to invest separate mana to leverage its ability, the overall mana investment for Ballista Squad can become steep. This can be disadvantageous in faster-paced games where more immediate and cost-effective solutions are necessary to maintain tempo against opponents.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ballista Squad can seamlessly integrate into a range of decks, making it a flexible card for players who appreciate tactical adaptability. Its ability to fit into artifact-centric, soldier, or control decks showcases its broad utility.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with strategies that capitalize on putting +1/+1 counters on creatures or those that leverage tap and untap mechanics for cumulative advantages, highlighting its potential to be a game-changer in combo builds.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting landscape of the game, the power of the Ballista Squad continues to be relevant, particularly in environments where managing creature threats on the board is crucial to maintaining control and securing victory.

How to beat

Ballista Squad is a noteworthy card within the strategic landscape of Magic: The Gathering (MTG), offering players a unique combination of creature control and board impact. The card’s capability to deal damage based on the amount of mana invested presents a versatile tool in any player’s arsenal. It can easily become a focal point of your opponent’s strategy, removing key creatures and maintaining board control. Understanding its strengths is pivotal to devising a counteractive approach.

To outplay Ballista Squad, players should consider utilizing instant-speed removal spells to eliminate it before its ability can be activated. This denies the opportunity for your adversary to leverage its damage-dealing effects. Additionally, strategies encompassing hexproof or shroud can efficaciously protect your creatures, rendering the Ballista Squad’s ability ineffective. Cards with indestructible also prove to be resilient against its targeted damage. When evaluating your deck’s defenses, remember to prioritize resources that can either neutralize or bypass this card’s tactical advantages.

By integrating these elements into your gameplay, Ballista Squad’s potential impact diminishes, allowing you to retain pivotal creatures and maintain board presence against decks depending on this MTG card’s unique control dynamics.

Cards like Ballista Squad

Ballista Squad joins the arsenal of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering that have the ability to deal direct damage. It shares similarities with cards like Goblin Sharpshooter, which also can ping creatures or players. However, Ballista Squad requires a mana payment for each damage dealt, making it a more flexible yet potentially costlier option compared to the Sharpshooter’s tap mechanism.

Another card that parallels the Ballista Squad is Triskelion, which enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters and can remove them to deal damage. Unlike the Squad, Triskelion’s damage is limited by the number of counters it has, offering a finite resource compared to the repeatable mana investment with Ballista Squad. The Walking Ballista, an even more adaptable version, can add counters itself for scalability in damage.

Concluding, Ballista Squad stands out in Magic: The Gathering’s repertoire of damage-dealing creatures. While it may not have the free activations of the Goblin Sharpshooter or the built-in counters of Triskelion, its versatility in managing the damage output makes it a noteworthy option for players who prefer to keep their opponents on their toes.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ballista Squad MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Ninth Edition, 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 Ballista Squad and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ballista Squad Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2007-07-13. Illustrated by Matthew D. Wilson.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1999-10-04	Mercadian Masques	MMQ	5	1997	Normal	Black	Matthew D. Wilson
2	2005-07-29	Ninth Edition	9ED	5★	2003	Normal	Black	Matthew D. Wilson
3	2005-07-29	Ninth Edition	9ED	5	2003	Normal	White	Matthew D. Wilson
4	2007-07-13	Tenth Edition	10E	8	2003	Normal	Black	Matthew D. Wilson