Misfortune's Gain MTG Card
1999-05-01 - Number 13
2009-09-07 - Number 21
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
Key Takeaways
- Misfortune’s Gain excels in card advantage and instant speed, heightening strategic depth and player adaptability.
- The card demands careful play, with a discard requirement and specific mana costs influencing deck construction.
- Its array of capabilities makes Misfortune’s Gain a versatile addition, influencing deck strategies across various metas.
Text of card
Destroy any one creature. That creature's owner gains 4 life.
The mourning families of commanders and generals were often given land, valuables, or money to compensate for their losses.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Misfortune’s Gain excels in providing a user with additional card choices, as it facilitates the drawing of extra cards. This is crucial in outpacing opponents and ensures that your hand remains full, reinforcing your position in the duel.
Resource Acceleration: The card further amplifies your gameplay by generating extra resources. By creating Treasure tokens, it bolsters your mana pool, which can be instrumental in deploying more powerful spells or creatures ahead of schedule, giving you a decisive edge in battle.
Instant Speed: The ability to cast Misfortune’s Gain at instant speed grants players remarkable flexibility. This feature means you can adapt to the flow of the game, responding to opponents’ actions with precision, or simply enhancing your board state at the most opportune moments without forgoing other tactical plays.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: For Misfortune’s Gain, discarding a card is essential to activating its main ability. This drawback forces players to lose card advantage, potentially depleting their hand and valuable resources that could be critical in the later stages of the game.
Specific Mana Cost: Misfortune’s Gain demands a precise mana combination to cast, requiring both black and green. This requirement can be restrictive, often necessitating a dedicated two-color deck or a more complex mana base to consistently meet its casting conditions.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: When assessing its mana cost against its benefits, Misfortune’s Gain stands on the higher end of the spectrum. Other cards within the same cost range may offer more immediate impact or flexibility, which is an important consideration when optimizing a deck’s strategy and curve.
Reasons to Include Misfortune’s Gain in Your Collection
Versatility: Misfortune’s Gain is a card that efficiently slots into a multitude of deck archetypes. Its ability to interact with opponent’s graveyards while offering life gain makes it a flexible choice for various strategies.
Combo Potential: This card opens up numerous combo possibilities. It synergizes well with strategies that capitalize on life gain or demand graveyard manipulation, seamlessly integrating with decks that thrive on interactive elements.
Meta-Relevance: Given the shifting dynamics of the metagame, Misfortune’s Gain proves to be relevant with its utility in disrupting common graveyard-based strategies, making it a strategic pick for players aiming to counter prevalent deck types.
How to Beat Misfortune’s Gain
Misfortune’s Gain presents a unique challenge on the battlefield by allowing players to benefit from demise. Key to overcoming this card lies in strategic planning and resource management. Consider utilizing card effects that can exile it from the graveyard, preventing its ability to trigger upon death. Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace are solid options to nullify graveyard-based strategies.
Adjusting your offensive strategy is also effective. Instead of destroying the creatures that benefit from Misfortune’s Gain directly, opt for cards that return them to the owner’s hand or deck, such as Unsummon or Terminus. This indirectly mitigates the advantage Misfortune’s Gain offers by keeping those creatures out of the graveyard, thereby not triggering the card’s gainful effect.
Lastly, direct counterplay with spells like Counterspell or Thoughtseize can preemptively address Misfortune’s Gain before it takes effect. By prioritizing the removal of this particular threat before it dictates the game’s tempo, players can maintain control and secure their path to victory against decks that rely on Misfortune’s Gain.
Cards like Misfortune's Gain
Misfortune’s Gain is a unique card that offers an interesting dynamic in MTG decks specializing in lifegain strategies. It shares similarities with other lifegain cards like Blessed Reversal, which provides a life boost based on the number of creatures attacking you. Misfortune’s Gain, however, is distinct in that it gives you the flexibility to choose between gaining life or drawing cards, depending on the current needs of your game.
Comparatively, Revitalize is another card that pivots on life gain while also allowing for card draw. Yet Misfortune’s Gain edges out, giving players more control and potentially more benefit by scaling with the amount of damage prevented. Additionally, Feed the Clan is a card often referenced when debating lifegain potency. It has the potential to gain a significant amount of life under the right conditions, but lacks the card drawing option that Misfortune’s Gain offers.
Assessing the pros and cons of each card, Misfortune’s Gain holds a favorable position for its versatility and potential impact on the game, especially in matchups where its utility in managing life totals or enhancing card advantage can turn the tides in a player’s favor.
Cards similar to Misfortune's Gain by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Misfortune's Gain MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms and Masters Edition III, 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 Misfortune's Gain and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Misfortune's Gain Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1999-05-01 and 2009-09-07. Illustrated by Jiaming.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999-05-01 | Portal Three Kingdoms | PTK | 13 | 1997 | Normal | White | Jiaming | |
| 2 | 2009-09-07 | Masters Edition III | ME3 | 21 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Jiaming |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Misfortune's Gain has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Misfortune's Gain card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-04-01 | The creature’s *owner* gains the life, regardless of who happens to control it. |
| 2009-10-01 | A token’s owner is the player under whose control it entered the battlefield. |
