Anguished Unmaking MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 14 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Anguished Unmaking’s versatility allows for control over nonland permanents, offering strategic game management.
  2. It offers instant speed responsiveness, impacting game flow and keeping opponents on edge.
  3. The life cost and specific mana needs can influence deck composition and in-game decisions.

Text of card

Exile target nonland permanent. You lose 3 life.

Sorin had created Avacyn, so it was a cruelty beyond imagining, a pain beyond description, that it fell upon him to end her forever.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Anguished Unmaking offers players a significant edge by providing the ability to deal with virtually any nonland permanent on the board. This versatility ensures you can appropriately answer threats and maintain control over the game’s pace.

Resource Acceleration: While Anguished Unmaking itself doesn’t directly accelerate resources, it efficiently uses available mana. At only three mana, one of which is generic, it’s a cost-effective response that fits seamlessly into various deck types, helping players utilize their mana pool with precision.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Anguished Unmaking is a critical feature, allowing players to respond to threats in real-time. This responsiveness keeps opponents off-balance as they must account for the possibility of this removal tool being deployed at any point during the game, even on their turn, right before a pivotal moment.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While not requiring the actual discarding of cards, Anguished Unmaking presents its own resource-depleting cost by making players sacrifice three life points. This life payment can be particularly taxing in tight game situations where every point counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Anguished Unmaking requires one white and one black mana in addition to another generic mana, tying it specifically to decks that can produce both types of mana reliably. Players running mono-colored decks or those that don’t include both black and white may find it challenging to fit Anguished Unmaking into their strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a requirement of three mana, Anguished Unmaking might be less preferable in situations where lower-cost removal spells could suffice. The additional life payment further escalates its cost, making players weigh the immediate benefits against potential long-term consequences.


Reasons to Include Anguished Unmaking in Your Collection

Versatility: Anguished Unmaking stands out as a flexible removal option, seamlessly integrating into various deck archetypes. Its ability to target any nonland permanent ensures that no matter what your opponent throws your way, you have a reliable answer at your disposal.

Combo Potential: This card can play a crucial role in decks that thrive on life manipulation strategies. By paying life to exile a crucial piece of an opponent’s puzzle, you may enable synergies or disrupt their combos while setting up your own board dominance.

Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-present mix of powerful planeswalkers, enchantments, and creatures in the current meta, Anguished Unmaking’s broad application makes it a must-have. It’s a card that remains perennially relevant, adapting to the shifting landscape of competitive play.


How to beat

Anguished Unmaking is a versatile removal card in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to exile any nonland permanent at instant speed makes it a powerful tool for disrupting an opponent’s strategy. To effectively play against Anguished Unmaking, one should anticipate the loss of their key permanents, especially when the opponent has open mana corresponding to its cost of three, which includes one white and one black.

Given its exile effect cannot be thwarted by regeneration or indestructibility, consider using cards with hexproof or playing multiple threats to dilute its impact. Additionally, leveraging the card’s cost to the opponent’s life total can be a tactic – as they pay three life with each use, strategic pressure to their life can make the use of Anguished Unmaking a risky proposition for them. Be mindful of baiting out this removal before committing your most valuable asset to the board.

It is crucial to adapt to the situation and remain unpredictable, as keeping your opponent’s removal options less effective by causing uncertainty is one of the best strategies against powerful spells like Anguished Unmaking.


BurnMana Recommendations

Arming yourself with notable cards like Anguished Unmaking propels your game to new levels, offering versatility to tackle any challenge. The ability to disrupt opponents at instant speed can be a game-changer, making this card a strategic asset across various formats. Whether you’re advancing life-based synergies or simply seeking broad scope removal, expanding your collection with responsive and adaptable spells ensures you stay ahead in the meta. Dive deeper into the intricacies of MTG and bolster your deck with impactful cards like Anguished Unmaking. For more insights and sophisticated strategies, join us and enrich your MTG journey.


Cards like Anguished Unmaking

Anguished Unmaking has earned its place as a versatile removal spell in MTG, similar in effect to cards like Utter End. Where Anguished Unmaking provides an instant speed answer to any nonland permanent at the cost of three life, Utter End does the job without the life payment, albeit at sorcery speed. This subtle difference often places Anguished Unmaking higher in player preferences for its flexibility in reacting to threats on the fly.

Comparatively, Vindicate is another potent card that destroys any permanent, with no life cost attached and at the same converted mana cost. However, it operates at sorcery speed, which gives Anguished Unmaking an edge in reactive gameplay and surprise tactics. On the other end, we have Despark, a more restrictive removal option given its limitation to targets with a mana value of four or greater, though it comes with a lower mana cost and no life penalty.

Through analyzing these similar spells, Anguished Unmaking stands out for its universality and speed, though at the expense of the player’s health. Despite the competition, it remains a strikingly powerful tool, adept at managing an array of threats across different MTG formats.

Utter End - MTG Card versions
Vindicate - MTG Card versions
Despark - MTG Card versions
Utter End - Khans of Tarkir Promos (PKTK)
Vindicate - Apocalypse (APC)
Despark - War of the Spark (WAR)

Cards similar to Anguished Unmaking by color, type and mana cost

Mortify - MTG Card versions
Unmake - MTG Card versions
Harsh Sustenance - MTG Card versions
Kaya's Guile - MTG Card versions
Treacherous Greed - MTG Card versions
Mortify - Tales of Middle-earth Commander (LTC)
Unmake - Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt (DDK)
Harsh Sustenance - Fate Reforged (FRF)
Kaya's Guile - Modern Horizons (MH1)
Treacherous Greed - Murders at Karlov Manor Promos (PMKM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Anguished Unmaking MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Shadows over Innistrad Promos, 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 Anguished Unmaking and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Anguished Unmaking Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2024-03-08. Illustrated by 5 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 604622015normalblackViktor Titov
22016-04-08Shadows over Innistrad PromosPSOI 242p2015normalblackWesley Burt
32016-04-08Shadows over Innistrad PromosPSOI 2422015normalblackViktor Titov
42016-04-08Shadows over Innistrad PromosPSOI 242s2015normalblackWesley Burt
52016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 2422015normalblackWesley Burt
62019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 1382015normalborderlessRafal Wechterowicz
72022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 4692015normalblackWesley Burt
82022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 1702015normalblackWesley Burt
92023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 2292015normalblackWesley Burt
102023-06-23Tales of Middle-earth CommanderLTC 2652015normalblackLiiga Smilshkalne
112024-03-08FalloutPIP 2092015normalblackJavier Charro
122024-03-08FalloutPIP 4732015normalblackJavier Charro
132024-03-08FalloutPIP 7372015normalblackJavier Charro
142024-03-08FalloutPIP 10012015normalblackJavier Charro

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Anguished Unmaking has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Anguished Unmaking card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2016-04-08 If the nonland permanent becomes an illegal target, Anguished Unmaking doesn't resolve. You won't lose 3 life.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks