Dark Suspicions MTG Card

Planeshift (PLS)
2001-02-05 - Number 40

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number PLS-40

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment

Key Takeaways

Dark Suspicions can tip the scales in your favor by turning opponents’ card advantage into a liability.
It encourages faster play, potentially disrupting opponents’ tactics and hastening your own victory.
Strategic use of instants with Dark Suspicions can force opponents into disadvantageous plays.

Text of card

At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player loses 1 life for each card in his or her hand more than you have in your hand.

"After four thousand years, you learn to plan for betrayal." —Urza

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Dark Suspicions presents a unique avenue for card advantage by pressuring opponents for having numerous cards in hand. As a player, you benefit as they are forced to discard to avoid additional life loss, indirectly giving you an upper hand over resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating your resources, this card can indirectly influence the pace of the game. It compels opponents to play their cards faster than they might want, potentially accelerating your path to victory as they deplete their hand trying to mitigate the damaging effects of Dark Suspicions.

Instant Speed: Although Dark Suspicions itself is not an instant, it pairs well with instant-speed spells in your arsenal. By threatening continuous damage, you incentivize opponents to act hastily, perhaps walking into your well-timed instant spells, which can be game-changing when timing is everything.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Dark Suspicions demands that its controller divests their hand of cards, often leading to a precarious position when options become limited.

Specific Mana Cost: The required Black mana for Dark Suspicions can hamper the fluidity of a deck, making it less versatile and harder to integrate outside of heavily Black-centric builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost to get Dark Suspicions on the field, other options might offer more cost-effective and immediate impacts on the game state, particularly in faster-paced matches.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Dark Suspicions offers a unique way to keep pressure on your opponents, seamlessly fitting into decks that capitalize on hand disruption strategies or play heavily around the opponent’s hand size.

Combo Potential: This card works wonders in combination with other discard mechanisms, allowing players to capitalize on keeping their opponent’s hand size small while also serving as a potential damage engine each upkeep.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where players tend to hoard cards in their hand, Dark Suspicions serves as an effective deterrent and a consistent source of damage, making it a highly relevant choice for certain meta shifts.

How to beat

Dark Suspicions presents a unique challenge on the battlefield. This card turns the tables by punishing opponents who possess a wealth of cards in their hands. At the beginning of each opponent’s upkeep, it deals damage equivalent to the number of cards in their grasp beyond the playset number of four. A strategic approach to counter this effect is to maintain a low hand size and prioritize casting spells or playing cards rather than holding onto them.

Additionally, implement tools to empty the hand quickly, such as utilizing aggressive creatures, spells that allow for drawing and discarding, or employing library-to-battlefield mechanics. This approach renders Dark Suspicions far less intimidating. Also consider using enchantment removal spells or abilities to eliminate Dark Suspicions directly, thus freeing up your hand and strategy. Cards with cycling can also be advantageous here, as they help adjust your hand while offering other utilities.

To sum up, overcoming the threat of Dark Suspicions involves a combination of hand management and timely removal, ensuring that this potentially destabilizing card does not gain the upper hand.

Cards like Dark Suspicions

Dark Suspicions stands as a unique enchantment in the realm of MTG, reminiscent of cards that levy a tax on a player’s success. Comparable to Underworld Dreams, Dark Suspicions punishes opponents for holding a significant number of cards, imposing a life loss for their card advantage. While Underworld Dreams inflicts damage directly with each draw, Dark Suspicions waits until the upkeep to assess opponents’ card counts, marking a striking difference in timing.

Another parallel can be drawn with Painful Quandary, which also hinges on opponent’s choices, albeit demanding a life payment or card discard with each spell cast. While Painful Quandary is more immediate in its penalty, Dark Suspicions offers a subtler but potentially devastating effect over time. The card Shrieking Affliction shares this passive aggressive strategy, targeting opponents with three or fewer cards for consistent damage, providing a predictable outcome compared to the variable impact of Dark Suspicions.

In the context of MTG strategies, Dark Suspicions may not be the first choice for a punishing enchantment, but its ability to exploit high-card advantages of opponents provides a calculated edge in longer, drawn-out matches where card hoarding can be detrimental.

Shrieking Affliction - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Dark Suspicions by color, type and mana cost

Feast of the Unicorn - MTG Card versions

Erebos, Bleak-Hearted - MTG Card versions

Night of Souls' Betrayal - MTG Card versions

Measure of Wickedness - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dark Suspicions MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift and The List, 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 Dark Suspicions and other MTG cards: