Noxious Vapors MTG Card


Noxious Vapors - Planeshift
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeSorcery
Released2001-02-05
Set symbol
Set namePlaneshift
Set codePLS
Number49
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byBen Thompson

Key Takeaways

  1. Noxious Vapors disrupts multiple foes, offering card balance and strategic advantage particularly in multiplayer.
  2. Playing Noxious Vapors at instant speed provides tactical flexibility, relying on timing for optimal disruption.
  3. The card poses a unique challenge, encouraging strategic deck building and in-game adjustments to lessen its impact.

Text of card

Each player reveals his or her hand and chooses one card of each color from it, then discards all other nonland cards from it.

Urborg would just as soon steal your memories as your life.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Noxious Vapors offers a unique approach to disrupting your opponent’s hand while effectively preserving your own card count. This potency is evident in multiplayer games where the ability to selectively discard can strategically cripple several opponents simultaneously without losing card equilibrium on your side of the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Although Noxious Vapors isn’t a direct source of resource acceleration, its utility in stripping away key cards from an opponent’s hand paves the way for a smoother gameplay experience. By removing specific threats or pivotal pieces of an opponent’s strategy, it accelerates your route to victory by ensuring your resources face less resistance and have greater impact.

Instant Speed: The capacity to play Noxious Vapors at instant speed is a distinct tactical advantage, as it allows for flexibility in gameplay. You can navigate through your opponent’s turn, adapt to their plays, and cast Noxious Vapors at the most opportune moment to ensure maximum disruption, all while keeping your mana available for any unexpected situations that might arise.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Noxious Vapors asks each player to discard cards, which can unintentionally harm your strategy if you rely on card advantage or specific combo pieces in hand.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost including black, Noxious Vapors restricts its inclusion mainly to black-centric or multicolor decks that can accommodate its mana requirements without straining the mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring three mana, Noxious Vapors might be considered inefficient compared to other discard spells or board control options, especially when the effect also impacts you, potentially slowing down your own game plan.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Noxious Vapors adds value to decks by offering a strategic edge, acting as a preemptive measure against creature-heavy builds. It’s flexible enough to slide into various deck types, enhancing sideboards where sweepers are essential.

Combo Potential: This card can serve as a linchpin in combination with other cards that thrive on discard mechanics or graveyard interactions, enabling intricate and game-turning plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state that favors creature-based aggro or midrange decks, Noxious Vapors stands out as a capable countermeasure, disrupting opponents’ carefully laid out plans and swinging the momentum in your favor.


How to beat

Noxious Vapors presents a unique challenge for players in the MTG realm. This pestilent card forces all players to reveal their hands and then discard any number of nonblack cards at a pace determined by each player. The distinctive ability to sift through both your and your opponent’s hand compels a strategy adjustment, akin to Pox, which similarly disrupts players’ hands and boards.

To mitigate Noxious Vapors’ effect, one could play a deck with a substantial number of black cards, ensuring your hand remains largely unaffected. Another strategy is to utilize graveyard retrieval cards, such as Reclaim or Regrowth, to recover key components discarded through the vapors’ influence. Moreover, running instant-speed spells that can be cast in response to Noxious Vapors will ensure they don’t fall victim to its toxic grip.

Tactical foresight is crucial. By anticipating this spell and adjusting your gameplay to either lessen its impact or exploit its timing for your benefit, you can turn the tide. Cards like Leyline of Sanctity can provide preemptive defenses. Through smart deck construction and reactive play, overcoming Noxious Vapors is a test of resilience and strategic acumen.


Cards like Noxious Vapors

In the diverse world of Magic: The Gathering, Noxious Vapors represents an intriguing option for players looking to control the battlefield. It echoes the purpose found in Pernicious Deed, which allows players to selectively purge the board of threats. Noxious Vapors, however, offers a preemptive cleanse, forcing players to discard any creature cards with the same name. This sets the stage for a potentially devastating blow to decks that rely on creature redundancy.

Like Noxious Vapors, Delirium Skeins also imposes a discard effect, albeit a more democratic one, reaching all players’ hands. Delirium Skeins doesn’t target specific card types, making it a less refined but broader sweep of hand disruption. Then there is Necrogen Mists, a repeated effect that slowly strips players of their hand, one card at a time, potentially suffocating opponents in a war of attrition. Noxious Vapors stands unique in its surgical approach, particularly against tribal decks or those capitalizing on specific creature synergies.

Whether tailoring a sideboard option or commanding a main deck strategy, Noxious Vapors offers a tactical advantage in MTG’s constantly evolving meta. It might not be the right fit for every deck, but in the right scenario, it can decisively shift the tide of a game.

Pernicious Deed - MTG Card versions
Delirium Skeins - MTG Card versions
Necrogen Mists - MTG Card versions
Pernicious Deed - Apocalypse (APC)
Delirium Skeins - Dissension (DIS)
Necrogen Mists - Mirrodin (MRD)

Cards similar to Noxious Vapors by color, type and mana cost

Darkpact - MTG Card versions
Demonic Attorney - MTG Card versions
Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
Touch of Death - MTG Card versions
Wicked Pact - MTG Card versions
Nature's Ruin - MTG Card versions
Buried Alive - MTG Card versions
Choking Sands - MTG Card versions
Brush with Death - MTG Card versions
Infernal Contract - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Crippling Fatigue - MTG Card versions
Flaying Tendrils - MTG Card versions
Victimize - MTG Card versions
Pain's Reward - MTG Card versions
Recover - MTG Card versions
Darkpact - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Demonic Attorney - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Jovial Evil - Legends (LEG)
Touch of Death - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Wicked Pact - Portal (POR)
Nature's Ruin - Portal (POR)
Buried Alive - Odyssey (ODY)
Choking Sands - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Brush with Death - Stronghold (STH)
Infernal Contract - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Hand of Death - Starter 1999 (S99)
Forced March - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Stupor - Arena League 2000 (PAL00)
Coercion - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Mind Rot - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Crippling Fatigue - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Flaying Tendrils - Friday Night Magic 2016 (F16)
Victimize - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Pain's Reward - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Recover - Mystery Booster (MB1)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Noxious Vapors 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 Noxious Vapors and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Noxious Vapors has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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