Disembowel MTG Card

Disembowel - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
2005-10-07 - Number 85

Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
2024-01-12 - Number 74

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant

Key Takeaways

Disembowel allows players to disrupt opponents’ strategies by targeting key creatures at instant speed.
The requirement to discard a card presents a strategic trade-off, emphasizing hand management.
While mana intensive, Disembowel’s flexibility makes it a versatile choice in creature-heavy metas.

Text of card

Destroy target creature with converted mana cost X.

"We thought we found the victim's clothes lumped in the street. As it turned out, it *was* the victim, insides sucked out—just a sack of skin and robes." —Agrus Kos

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Disembowel, targeting and removing a creature from the game can disrupt your opponent’s strategy. Providing you with the card advantage, as you reduce their threats on the board while maintaining your own.

Resource Acceleration: This card does not directly contribute to resource acceleration. However, freeing the board from potential mana-producing creatures indirectly accelerates your resources by setting your opponent back.

Instant Speed: Disembowel’s instant speed is a significant pro. It offers the flexibility to react during your opponent’s turn, allowing for strategic plays and the element of surprise. This timing can also influence your adversary’s decisions, compelling them to play around your open mana and potential removal capabilities.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable drawback is the card’s demand for discarding another card to activate its effect. This can be particularly taxing when your hand is already diminished, forcing you to relinquish potentially necessary resources or strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Disembowel necessitates a precise mana alignment to cast, specifically black mana, which could restrict its integration into multicolored decks or those that don’t primarily operate within the black mana sphere.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that might be considered steep for its targeted removal capability, there are other spells in the MTG universe that could achieve similar or better results with less of a strain on your mana pool.

Reasons to Include Disembowel in Your Collection

Versatility: Disembowel offers the flexibility to adapt to various threats by providing targeted removal. Its mana cost scales with the creature’s power, making it a handy tool for handling both early-game menaces and late-game behemoths.

Combo Potential: Disembowel works seamlessly within decks that utilize death-trigger mechanics or benefit from clearing the board. This removal can pave the way for your own creature-based combos by eliminating potential blockers.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-heavy decks are dominant, Disembowel proves its worth by efficiently dealing with key opposing threats. Its place in your sideboard can give you a strategic edge in post-board games.

How to beat

Disembowel is a versatile removal spell that can create challenging obstacles for Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts. The card’s strength lies in its adaptability, allowing players to manage threats across a range of creature sizes, provided the mana cost is met. In essence, it’s an essential tool in black’s removal suite, capable of adapting to various stages of the game.

Confronting Disembowel requires a strategic approach. Priority should be on maintaining a diverse range of creatures, especially those with lower mana costs, to circumvent the spell’s scalable removal potential. Furthermore, deploying creatures with hexproof or shroud traits can safeguard them from falling victim to Disembowel’s grasp. Equally, by holding instant-speed protection spells or abilities to safeguard your key creatures in response to the cast of Disembowel, players can effectively nullify its effect, thus maintaining a stable board presence.

Ultimately, while Disembowel may seem daunting, it’s certainly not unbeatable. By understanding its mechanics and planning accordingly, players can ensure their powerful creatures survive and continue to thrive within their MTG battles.

Cards like Disembowel

Disembowel offers players a flexible piece of removal in Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relatives in terms of functionality are cards such as Doom Blade and Go for the Throat. Both offer the ability to destroy a creature at a low cost. Doom Blade, however, is restricted to non-black creatures, while Go for the Throat cannot target artifact creatures, showcasing Disembowel’s broader scope due to its variable mana cost.

Murder is another parallel, providing unconditional creature removal but at a fixed three mana. Disembowel’s advantage lies in its scalability – it can be tailored to the size of the threat and available resources, from a small creature for one mana to a titan for several. Finally, we have Vendetta, a one mana instant like Disembowel for small creatures. Yet, Vendetta does come with a potential downside of losing life equal to the destroyed creature’s power. This comparison reflects how Disembowel fits into a suite of versatile removal spells, adaptable in different game situations within Magic: The Gathering.

Disembowel’s combination of flexibility and utility ensures that it has a unique position when faced with a myriad of threats on the battlefield, cementing its status as a reliable option for players who require dynamic responses to ever-changing game states.

Go for the Throat - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Disembowel MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica: City of Guilds and Ravnica Remastered, 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 Disembowel and other MTG cards: