Destructive Flow MTG Card


Destructive Flow - Planeshift
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment
Released2001-02-05
Set symbol
Set namePlaneshift
Set codePLS
Number102
Frame1997
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byDon Hazeltine

Key Takeaways

  1. Achieve card advantage by leveraging Destructive Flow’s ability to sacrifice nonbasic lands.
  2. Accelerate your resources indirectly while impeding opponents’ mana bases.
  3. Include in your MTG collection for meta-relevance and versatile board control.

Text of card

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a nonbasic land.

Stage two of the Phyrexian invasion included the complete alteration of Dominaria's landscape.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Destructive Flow forces each player to potentially sacrifice a nonbasic land during their upkeep. This can lead to you gaining significant card advantage if your deck is built to function effectively on basic lands or can recover more quickly than your opponents.

Resource Acceleration: By disrupting opponents who rely heavily on nonbasic lands for mana fixing, Destructive Flow can indirectly accelerate your resources. If playing a land destruction strategy, you can capitalize on this advantage to further escalate your board presence while opponents struggle to maintain theirs.

Instant Speed: Though Destructive Flow is not an instant itself, understanding its impact during each upkeep is analogous to the urgency of instant speed plays. Pacing the game around this enchantment can inform when you deploy your own threats or disrupt opponents, essentially mimicking the decision-making process that instant speed interactions facilitate.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Destructive Flow necessitates a sacrificial approach by urging each player to discard if they can’t meet its upkeep. This can backfire, especially if you’re running low on resources and are forced to part with valuable cards from your hand to maintain its field presence.

Specific Mana Cost: Being a multicolored card requiring one black, one red, and one green mana, it imposes a deck-building constraint. It particularly strains mana bases, making Destructive Flow less flexible and harder to cast on curve outside of dedicated three-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including three specific colors, the card can be restrictive and potentially slow to impact the game. While powerful, there are alternatives that could affect the board more immediately or provide more versatility at a lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include Destructive Flow in Your Collection

Versatility: Destructive Flow can be a game-changer in various deck builds, particularly those aiming to control the board. Its inclusion can ensure continuous pressure on opponents using nonbasic lands, thereby disrupting their play.

Combo Potential: This card can be a cornerstone in land destruction decks, combining with other cards that impede land recovery to lock opponents out of crucial resources, and possibly cementing a path to victory.

Meta-Relevance: With an ever-evolving meta, Destructive Flow holds significance in environments rich in multicolored decks that rely on a diverse mana base. It effectively keeps these potent strategies in check, providing a competitive edge.


How to beat

Destructive Flow is a potent card within Magic: The Gathering that can wreak havoc on players’ land bases, especially for those who depend heavily on nonbasic lands. The key to mitigating its impact lies in the strategic selection and management of your lands. Prioritize playing basic lands, as Destructive Flow’s effects only target nonbasic lands, leaving basics untouched. This encourages a deck-building strategy focused on flexibility and resilience.

Another approach is to utilize land-indestructibility effects or employ land-recovery tactics. Cards that grant your lands indestructible or those that allow you to retrieve lands from your graveyard help cushion the blow from Destructive Flow’s relentless erosion. Additionally, swift removal of Destructive Flow through enchantment destruction or countering it before it hits the battlefield is critical. It’s imperative to prepare these responses upon seeing this card in the matchup.

Being proactive in preserving your land assets and having a well-thought-out plan in anticipation of such disruptive cards significantly enhances your chances of outlasting the destructive tide brought forth by Destructive Flow, cementing your position in the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the battlefield in MTG isn’t just about the creatures you summon or the spells you cast. It’s about the intricate dance of strategy, and Destructive Flow plays right into that tune. If you’re seeking to gain an upper hand through meticulous land control, embracing Destructive Flow’s card advantage and combo potential is a smart move. Specific strategies like land destruction benefit immensely from incorporating this card into their arsenal. Craft your decks with savvy to navigate around its drawbacks and unleash its full potential. Eager to explore how Destructive Flow can shape your MTG victories? Deep dive with us and harness this card’s strategic prowess for your next match.


Cards like Destructive Flow

In the landscape of land control within Magic: The Gathering, Destructive Flow stands out as a unique enchantment. Comparable in spirit to cards like Blood Moon, which converts nonbasic lands into basic Mountains, Destructive Flow adds a layer of strategy by gradually eroding the board of nonbasic lands for players who can’t pay the upkeep cost. Unlike the immediate effect of Blood Moon, Destructive Flow’s cumulative destruction can prove to be a slow but certain path to dominance, often leaving opponents scrambling for an answer.

Another analogue is often seen in Price of Progress, an instant that deals damage to players for each nonbasic land they control. While this provides an instant impact as opposed to Destructive Flow’s methodical erosion, the damage is a one-time event, rather than an ongoing threat. On the other side of the spectrum, we have cards like Ruination, which is a sorcery that destroys all nonbasic lands outright. Although it shares Destructive Flow’s thorough approach to land control, its lack of recurring effect makes it a less persistent threat over the course of a game.

Considering the tactical advantages of pacing and the sustained board control it provides, Destructive Flow has a unique position among Magic: The Gathering land disruption cards, proving to be a formidable tool for players who can properly leverage its power in the long-term game.

Blood Moon - MTG Card versions
Price of Progress - MTG Card versions
Ruination - MTG Card versions
Blood Moon - MTG Card versions
Price of Progress - MTG Card versions
Ruination - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Destructive Flow by color, type and mana cost

Riveteers Ascendancy - MTG Card versions
Riveteers Ascendancy - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Destructive Flow MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift, 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 Destructive Flow and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Destructive Flow has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal