Nature's Ruin MTG Card

Portal (POR)
1997-05-01 - Number 103

Vintage Masters (VMA)
2014-06-16 - Number 129

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery

Key Takeaways

Nature’s Ruin offers game-tilting card advantage by eliminating multiple green threats at once.
Strategically playing this card can mimic instant speed effects, disrupting opponents’ plays.
Its specific mana cost and requisite discard may challenge deck inclusion and strategy.

Text of card

Destroy all green creatures. (This includes your green creatures.)

One chill blast—the exhalation of the grave.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the core strengths of Nature’s Ruin is its potential for significant card advantage. Against decks that rely heavily on green creatures, casting this card can remove multiple threats with a single spell, tipping the scales in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While Nature’s Ruin itself doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, its ability to wipe out a swath of opposing creatures can indirectly accelerate your game plan. By clearing the board of potential blockers or threats, you pave the way for your own creatures to attack and utilize abilities unimpeded, effectively speeding up your path to victory.

Instant Speed: Nature’s Ruin is a sorcery, and while it can’t be cast at instant speed, its decisive impact often mimics the surprise factor of an instant. By playing this card at the right moment, preferably before your opponent’s turn, you can disrupt their plays and force them to expend additional resources to recover—giving you the upper hand.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nature’s Ruin demands players to make tough decisions, specifically with hand management. Requiring a player to discard could lead to a strategic drawback, especially if your hand is curated with key cards for your game plan.

Specific Mana Cost: Nature’s Ruin’s casting cost includes black mana, which confines its playability to black-inclusive decks or formats where black mana is easily accessible, making it less versatile for a player’s arsenal.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that may require valuable turn progression, players might find Nature’s Ruin burdensome against quicker, more mana-efficient options that disrupt opponents or develop one’s board state more effectively.

Reasons to Include Nature’s Ruin in Your Collection

Versatility: Nature’s Ruin offers a powerful option for black-themed decks looking for targeted creature control. Its ability to destroy all green creatures is highly beneficial in formats where green creature decks are prevalent.

Combo Potential: This card serves as a key piece in decks that aim to clear the battlefield for game-ending combos. It swiftly removes blockers and other creature-based obstacles, paving the way for your strategy to unfold uninterrupted.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta-game dominated by green creatures and ramp strategies, Nature’s Ruin rises as an essential sideboard card. Its impact can shift the game in your favor, especially in tournaments where anticipating your opponent’s deck type is crucial.

How to beat

Nature’s Ruin is a potent black sorcery spell in MTG that can disrupt players heavily invested in green creatures. This card specifically targets green creatures by destroying them all, which can turn the tide of a game in a dramatic fashion. However, like all powerful cards, it has its vulnerabilities and ways to be countered.

One strategy to overcome Nature’s Ruin is to diversify your board presence with creatures of various colors. By not relying solely on green creatures, you can ensure that Nature’s Ruin doesn’t obliterate your entire board. Another tactic is to utilize spells or abilities that grant your creatures indestructible or regenerate them, allowing them to survive the mass removal attack. Additionally, having instant speed removal or counterspells can disrupt a Nature’s Ruin play before it ever resolves, safeguarding your creatures from its wrath.

Implementing efficient card draw engines and flexible reactionary cards in your deck composition lets you maintain a hand with answers and alternative plays, regardless of how many green creatures you lose. Ultimately, while Nature’s Ruin can be a devastating blow to green-heavy decks, it’s not unbeatable. A balanced deck with the right strategies can navigate and thrive even in the presence of this potent spell.

Cards like Nature's Ruin

Nature’s Ruin stands out in Magic: The Gathering as a potent spell specifically targeting green creatures. It draws a direct comparison to Perish, another card that singularly affects green creatures, ensuring they can’t survive the spell. Nature’s Ruin offers a decisively ominous fate for green-dominated decks, eliminating all green creatures for three mana.

Another akin spell is Virtue’s Ruin, which rather than focusing on green, targets white creatures in the same sweeping manner. This change in color focus offers deck builders the opportunity to prepare for different opponents, though the mana cost remains the same. With these cards, strategic planning is key, allowing players to tailor their sideboards against particular matchups, ensuring Nature’s Ruin and its counterparts offer a tailored solution to the multicolored fabric of Magic: The Gathering.

In comparing these spells, Nature’s Ruin holds its ground due to its specialization. For players confronting decks heavy in green creatures, it proves to be a highly efficient tool. By analyzing such strategic card choices, MTG players can gain a clearer understanding of how to optimize their deck’s performance against prevalent meta game trends.

Cards similar to Nature's Ruin by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Nature's Ruin MTG card by a specific set like Portal and Vintage Masters, 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 Nature's Ruin and other MTG cards: