Screams of the Damned MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Odyssey
Set code	ODY
Number	160
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jerry Tiritilli

Key Takeaways

Enables graveyard manipulation, crucial for reanimation or threshold strategies.
Instant speed play offers tactical flexibility and opponent disruption.
Demands careful hand management due to its discard activation cost.

Text of card

o1o B, Remove a card in your graveyard from the game: Screams of the Damned deals 1 damage to each creature and each player.

It's important to face your inner demons . . . unless they're the kind of demons that can kill you.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Screams of the Damned provides an efficient method of filling your own graveyard, which can be leveraged in decks that thrive on having a well-stocked graveyard for various synergistic purposes such as reanimation strategies or powering up threshold and delve abilities.

Resource Acceleration: For strategies that benefit from the self-milling mechanism, this card can accelerate the availability of creature cards in the graveyard, thus acting as a resource acceleration tool for strategies that animate or utilize cards from the graveyard.

Instant Speed: Being playable at instant speed grants the flexibility to use Screams of the Damned during your opponent’s turn or in response to an action, allowing for strategic plays that can disrupt your opponent’s game plan while advancing your own.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Screams of the Damned is the necessity to discard a card to activate its ability. This can put you at a disadvantage especially when you are in a position where your hand is already depleted, making it challenging to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: The activation cost of Screams of the Damned is fairly stringent, requiring not only three generic mana but also two black mana. This specific requirement may deter players from incorporating it into multicolor decks that might not always have the necessary black mana readily available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: In terms of efficiency, the mana cost to get Screams of the Damned on the field is on the higher side. For five mana, players might expect an immediate impact on the board, whereas Screams of the Damned’s effect is conditional and requires further investment to make use of its ability.

Reasons to Include Screams of the Damned in Your Collection

Versatility: Screams of the Damned is a dynamic card that can serve multiple roles within different deck archetypes. Being able to manipulate graveyards gives a strategic edge in formats where recursion and graveyard-based strategies are prevalent.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in intricate combos, particularly in decks that capitalize on discard or death triggers. It opens up possibilities for synergy with other cards that benefit from penalizing opponents for having less creatures or rewarding you for sacrificing your own.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-heavy decks are dominant, Screams of the Damned can act as a valuable tool for controlling the board and maintaining card advantage. It’s also useful as a response to strategies that rely heavily on their creature base, allowing you to disrupt your opponent’s plans while furthering your own.

How to beat

Screams of the Damned is a card that resonates with depth and strategy within the Magic: The Gathering universe. As a player going up against this daunting card, understanding its mechanics is crucial. The key to neutralizing its impact is disrupting the graveyard synergy that empowers it. Graveyard hate cards like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can effectively neuter its effect, preventing the accumulation of value that Screams of the Damned thrives upon.

Additionally, countering the very casting of Screams of the Damned with spells such as Negate can stop its menacing presence before it even begins. It’s also beneficial to apply pressure with a fast-paced aggressive deck, pushing the game tempo and forcing your opponent to deal with your threats rather than establishing their own game plan. Timing is essential in making sure that Screams of the Damned doesn’t turn the tides of battle with its eerie whispers and overwhelming potential.

Ultimately, winning against Screams of the Damned requires a fine balance of proactive disruption, strategic counters, and efficient aggression. By anticipating and diluting its powerful graveyard interactions, players can silence these screams and emerge victorious on the MTG battlefield.

Cards like Screams of the Damned

Screams of the Damned holds its own within the realm of enchantment cards in Magic: The Gathering. It’s worth looking into how it fares against similar cards that share the same eerie vibe and manipulation of life totals. One such card is Exquisite Blood, an enchantment that gains you life whenever an opponent loses life, creating a potential for infinite combos in the right deck setup. Unlike Screams of the Damned, Exquisite Blood has a passive effect that works off any life loss, not just from sacrificing creatures.

Killing Wave offers another comparable effect, forcing players to choose between paying life or sacrificing creatures, but it’s a one-off sorcery, unlike the repeatable action that Screams of the Damned provides. Then there’s Pestilence, an infamous card that allows players to deal damage to all creatures and players at a repeatable cost, akin to a controllable version of what Screams of the Damned might resemble in play.

In the end, while each has unique benefits and playstyles, Screams of the Damned stands out for its blend of continuous threat and strategic depth, making it a compelling choice for decks that thrive on the art of the sacrifice.

Cards similar to Screams of the Damned by color, type and mana cost

Curse of Death's Hold - MTG Card versions

Dreadbringer Lampads - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Screams of the Damned MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Screams of the Damned and other MTG cards: