Despoil MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Released	2000-06-05
Set symbol
Set name	Prophecy
Set code	PCY
Number	62
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Scott M. Fischer

Key Takeaways

Despoil can effectively unbalance an opponent’s mana, subtly gaining you a strategic hand.
Though requiring specific mana, it’s adaptable and boosts your deck’s tactical flexibility.
In right metas, Despoil’s land disruption can swing games, proving its worthiness in your collection.

Text of card

Destroy target land. Its controller loses 2 life.

Nothing could grow where the vile smoke had been, and no one could breathe it and live.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Despoil offers the strategic benefit of potentially disrupting your opponent’s land balance, which can translate to a form of card advantage. By forcing your opponent to sacrifice a land, you are effectively removing one of their resources from the game while maintaining your own count, a subtle but impact way to gain an upper hand.

Resource Acceleration: Although Despoil doesn’t produce additional resources directly for you, the fact that it hinders your opponent’s mana base can act as a form of resource acceleration in comparison to your adversary. It levels the playing field in situations where you might be behind on land drops or if it cripples a pivotal moment for your opponent’s strategy.

Instant Speed: Despoil functions at sorcery speed, providing a deliberate and timed disruption to your opponent’s game plan. Its timing allows you to strategically weave this disruption into your turn, ensuring maximum impact on your opponent’s upcoming plays. While not at instant speed, the card’s effect at a crucial juncture can be just as decisive.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Despoil requires an opponent to discard a land card, which might not always be impactful, especially if the opponent has a surplus of land cards or ways to retrieve them from their graveyard.

Specific Mana Cost: Despoil’s mana cost demands two black mana, which could be restrictive for multicolored decks, making it less versatile than other land destruction options that have more flexible mana requirements.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Four mana for a single land destruction effect is on the higher side when considering alternative spells in MTG that can disrupt an opponent’s mana base at a lower cost.

Reasons to Include Despoil in Your Collection

Versatility: Despoil offers a dual utility as both a land destruction option and a method for mana fixing when needed. This allows for adaptation to various in-game scenarios, making it a handy card to have in decks that require flexibility.

Combo Potential: For decks that benefit from opponents’ land disruption or seek to capitalize on landfall triggers, Despoil can serve as a pivotal combo piece. This card synergizes with strategies that revolve around denying resources while advancing your board state.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where mana bases are intricate and the mana curve is critical, disrupting an opponent’s lands can be a game-changer. Including Despoil in your collection ensures that you have access to this tactical advantage, potentially swinging games in your favor if the meta-game supports land-interaction plays.

How to beat

Despoil is a distinct land destruction spell in MTG that stands out for its secondary effect of forcing the opponent to discard a land card if they can’t sacrifice one. This creates a unique challenge when devising strategies to mitigate its impact. To withstand Despoil’s potential to disrupt your gameplay, having a land surplus is beneficial. Utilize cards that allow you to search for additional land cards or deploy creatures that can tap for mana, compensating for the potential loss.

Moreover, employing counter spells can prove to be a reliable way to negate Despoil’s effects altogether. Another effective technique is to leverage cards with land regeneration abilities that can promptly bring your destroyed lands back into play. Diligently managing your land resources and being prepared for possible land removal tactics positions you favorably against this disruptive spell.

In essence, maintaining a resilient mana base and keeping counterspell or regeneration options at the ready are strategic avenues to address the challenge posed by Despoil. With careful deck construction and in-game foresight, the impact of this powerful land disruption spell can be effectively diminished.

Cards like Despoil

Despoil finds its place in the wide array of land destruction spells in Magic: The Gathering. It brings to mind cards like Rain of Tears, which precisely aims to destroy a land without any additional frills. However, Despoil stands distinct with the strategic leverage it provides in the form of a basic land’s cost reduction – a subtle but potent advantage when timing is crucial.

Considering other peers, Icequake adds a layer of impact by inflicting damage to an opponent’s resources during winter when nonbasic lands are transformed into snow lands. This could tilt the scales in a meta where snow lands are prevalent. On the other hand, Stone Rain is a classic favorite with its straightforward, cost-effective approach to crippling an opponent’s mana base. Despoil echoes this simplicity but nudges ahead with its ability to reduce its casting cost under specific circumstances, giving savvy players a potential edge in resource management.

Ultimately, Despoil offers a unique blend of potential cost-efficiency and solid tactical disruption within the realm of land destruction, securing its place as a viable option for players aiming to unsettle their opponent’s strategic groundwork.

Cards similar to Despoil by color, type and mana cost

Terisiare's Devastation - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Despoil MTG card by a specific set like Prophecy, 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 Despoil and other MTG cards: