Hand of Cruelty MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While the Hand of Cruelty might not directly allow you to draw cards, its presence on the battlefield can significantly disrupt your opponent’s strategy. By demanding answers due to its inherent resilience and combat capabilities, you effectively pressure your opponent into using more of their resources to handle it, indirectly translating into card advantage for you.

Resource Acceleration: This card does not inherently accelerate resources in the traditional sense of ramping or producing additional mana. However, its efficiency in cost to power/toughness ratio allows for swift deployment, leaving mana available for other spells and interactions early in the game. Its low casting cost aids in resource management, helping you to develop your board while keeping mana reserved for reactive or supplementary plays.

Instant Speed: While Hand of Cruelty is not an instant, its static abilities can have a profound impact during the entire game cycle. The instant-speed advantage comes in the form of its immediate activation once on the battlefield. Protecting itself from spells of a certain color and boasting a solid stat line for its mana cost, this card demands instant-speed responses from your opponent, often at a higher resource cost to them. Its potency during each turn reinforces your board state and can sway the dynamics of the game, akin to the strategic depth provided by instant speed plays.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Hand of Cruelty doesn’t actually necessitate discarding, having a hand with fewer cards can hinder its synergy with other cards in your deck, thus reducing its potential strategic value.

Specific Mana Cost: Hand of Cruelty demands specific mana (black), which might restrict deck-building options, particularly for those looking to run a multi-color deck that might not prioritize black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two mana, albeit not expensive, there are other creatures with a similar mana cost that provide more immediate board impact or have more versatile abilities.

Reasons to Include Hand of Cruelty in Your Collection

Versatility: Hand of Cruelty offers a reliable two-drop creature that’s well suited for black decks seeking to establish early board presence. Its inherent protection from white spells renders it a solid defensive choice in a color known for offense.

Combo Potential: Thanks to its static abilities, Hand of Cruelty pairs well with cards that benefit from color-specific interactions and protection dynamics, enhancing both offensive and defensive combo plays within your strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where white strategies prevail, Hand of Cruelty stands out as an excellent meta choice. Its resilience against white removal and blocking capabilities can give players an upper hand, making it an asset in competitive gameplay.

How to beat

Hand of Cruelty presents a unique challenge for Magic: The Gathering players due to its combination of protection and efficient damage capabilities. With a characteristic that makes it immune to white spells and abilities, this black Samurai is often seen as a threatening presence on the battlefield. The key to overcoming it lies in circumventing its protection. Utilizing spells that don’t target, such as global removals like “Wrath of God” or “Damnation,” can efficiently clear the creature from the board. Moreover, engaging in combat with formidable creatures that aren’t white can also be a practical way to handle this adversary.

Players need to adopt flexible strategies that aren’t reliant on targeting when facing cards similar to Hand of Cruelty. Including a mix of removals and board control cards can prove invaluable against creatures with protection. Additionally, adopting an aggressive approach with larger, non-white creatures could apply pressure and nullify the advantage that Hand of Cruelty may possess. In the arena of Magic: The Gathering, a diverse deck and an adaptable game plan are crucial in claiming victory over protective threats like Hand of Cruelty.