Consume Spirit MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 12 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Consume Spirit’s scalability offers both offensive and defensive edge, turning tide in games.
  2. Needs significant mana, specifically black, which can limit its use in multi-color decks.
  3. Versatile and meta-relevant, it fits into various deck strategies, enhancing reach and resilience.

Text of card

Spend only black mana on X. Consume Spirit deals X damage to target creature or player. You gain X life.

Mephidross changes all who dwell there, taking their lives and adding them to its own.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Consume Spirit provides scalability that can lead to significant card quality advantage. Utilizing it effectively can eliminate a threat on the board while simultaneously extending your lifeline, thus pivoting the game increasingly in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: Although Consume Spirit itself doesn’t generate additional mana, its flexible X cost allows it to fit into strategies focused on resource acceleration. In decks capable of generating vast amounts of mana, this card can become a game-ender by dealing a large amount of damage directly to your opponent or their creatures.

Instant Speed: While Consume Spirit is a sorcery, pairing it with cards that allow you to cast sorceries as though they had flash can give it pseudo instant-speed capability. This strategy lets you adapt to the state of the game more fluidly, keeping opponents guessing and on the defensive.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Consume Spirit doesn’t demand a literal discard, it requires a significant investment of both mana and cards in hand to be effective, which can leave your resources depleted if the spell doesn’t end the game or significantly alter the board in your favor.

Specific Mana Cost: Consume Spirit’s effectiveness is heavily tied to black mana. For those running multicolored decks, the need for numerous black mana can be restrictive, especially in a mana pool filled with various colors trying to fulfill different spell requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Consume Spirit’s X cost means you must pour a considerable amount of mana into it to reap substantial benefits. In many cases, players find that there are other spells that can offer either more direct damage or life gain for a lower, more fixed cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Consume Spirit offers a dual purpose, serving both as a direct damage spell and a life gain source. This flexibility allows it to be slotted into various black decks, from control to combo, enhancing their resilience and reach.

Combo Potential: The card scales with mana investment, making it potent in decks that can generate substantial amounts of mana or combine it with effects that double spell damage or life gain. It’s a key piece in decks that aim to drain opponents’ life while maintaining a high life total.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games tend to go longer, Consume Spirit shines as a finisher or as critical lifeline stabilizing your health. It’s a solid response to creature-heavy boards while keeping you firmly in the race against decks that focus on incremental damage.


How to beat

Consume Spirit is a unique spell in the MTG universe, possessing the dual capacity to deal damage and heal you in one fell swoop, based on the amount of mana invested into it. However, navigating a game with this card in play can be less daunting if you understand its mechanics. Like any spell requiring X mana for its cost, the power of Consume Spirit is directly tied to the available mana pool. Limiting the opponent’s resources, therefore, becomes a primary strategy. Denying your adversary lands through counter spells or land destruction can impede their ability to utilize Consume Spirit effectively.

Additionally, protection from black or spells granting you or your creatures indestructibility for a turn can nullify the damage component of Consume Spirit. Considering the spell is black, leveraging the color-specific defenses within MTG, such as “protection from black” abilities, can thoroughly subvert its potential. It is also paramount to keep in mind that Consume Spirit targets only one creature or player. Disseminating threats across the board can dilute its impact, diminishing the value your opponent gets for their mana investment.

To outmaneuver Consume Spirit, consider the timing and the flexibility it offers your opponent. Prepare to employ disruption or defensive maneuvers when their mana pool is maximized for the turn, as this is likely when they’ll seek to cast it for maximum effect.


Cards like Consume Spirit

Consume Spirit stands as a unique entry in the field of life-draining spells in Magic: The Gathering. This card shares some common ground with cards like Corrupt, providing both damage to a target and life gain equal to the damage dealt. Yet, the flexibility of Consume Spirit due to its “X” casting cost allows players to pour any amount of mana into it, setting it apart from the fixed cost of Corrupt. This versatility can be pivotal in both the early and late game scenarios.

Another comparable spell is Drain Life, which also revolves around the X casting cost mechanic. Like Consume Spirit, Drain Life permits players to adjust the spell’s power according to available mana, offering a similar strategic advantage. However, Consume Spirit’s broader range of targets, including the ability to target creatures or players over Drain Life’s creature-only focus, provides an edge in variable game conditions.

In studying life-draining options within the game, Consume Spirit emerges as an adaptable tool. It accommodates the player’s mana capacity and tactical choices, making it an effective and flexible component in any MTG player’s arsenal, especially in decks that capitalize on maximizing the use of mana.

Corrupt - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Corrupt - Urza's Saga (USG)
Drain Life - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)

Cards similar to Consume Spirit 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
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
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
Distress - MTG Card versions
Cruel Edict - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Demonic Tutor - Commander Masters (CMM)
Sinkhole - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Word of Binding - Renaissance (REN)
Soul Exchange - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Dry Spell - Homelands (HML)
Hymn to Tourach - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Mind Knives - Portal (POR)
Shattered Crypt - Weatherlight (WTH)
Disturbed Burial - Tempest (TMP)
Death Stroke - Stronghold (STH)
Exhume - Jumpstart (JMP)
Imperial Edict - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Decompose - Odyssey (ODY)
Chainer's Edict - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Walk the Plank - The List (PLST)
Predators' Hour - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Nausea - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Distress - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Cruel Edict - Ninth Edition (9ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Consume Spirit MTG card by a specific set like Mirrodin 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 Consume Spirit and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Consume Spirit Magic the Gathering card was released in 11 different sets between 2003-10-02 and 2014-12-05. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12003-10-02MirrodinMRD 602003normalblackMatt Thompson
22005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 119★2003normalblackMatt Thompson
32005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 1192003normalwhiteMatt Thompson
42007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 1312003normalblackMatt Thompson
52009-04-10Duel Decks: Divine vs. DemonicDDC 562003normalblackMatt Thompson
62009-07-17Magic 2010M10 892003normalblackJustin Sweet
72009-09-04PlanechaseHOP 212003normalblackJustin Sweet
82010-06-04Duels of the PlaneswalkersDPA 202003normalblackJustin Sweet
92011-07-15Magic 2012M12 882003normalblackJustin Sweet
102012-01-01IDW Comics InsertsPIDW 62003normalblackDan Scott
112014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. DemonicDVD 562015normalblackMatt Thompson
122020-09-26The ListPLST DDC-562003normalblackMatt Thompson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Consume Spirit has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2009-10-01 If the targeted permanent or player is an illegal target by the time Consume Spirit would resolve, the entire spell doesn’t resolve. You won’t gain any life.
2009-10-01 The amount of life you gain is equal to the number chosen for X, not the amount of damage Consume Spirit deals (in case some of it is prevented).

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