Avacyn's Judgment MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Madness

Key Takeaways

  1. Hitting multiple targets with Avacyn’s Judgment leverages card advantage and disrupts opponents.
  2. Acts as a tempo accelerator by controlling early threats and maintaining board presence.
  3. Instant speed allows for reactive plays and maximizes in-game impact.

Text of card

Madness (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.) Avacyn's Judgment deals 2 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or players. If Avacyn's Judgment's madness cost was paid, it deals X damage divided as you choose among those creatures and/or players instead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: With Avacyn’s Judgment, players can execute a flexible damage strategy, potentially hitting multiple targets while potentially discarding excess cards for value, especially when madness is triggered, empowering the user to optimize their hand while disrupting the opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Avacyn’s Judgment can act as a game accelerator by efficiently dealing with early threats, enabling a player to maintain or gain a tempo advantage. By managing the board early, players can push their strategic plays without the pressure of opponent’s creatures.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Avacyn’s Judgment at instant speed allows players to make pivotal decisions reactively, ensuring that they can maximize the impact of the card by choosing the optimal moment for its casting, whether it’s during the heat of combat or at the end of the opponent’s turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Avacyn’s Judgment comes with a mandatory discard condition to unlock its full potential. This Madnees cost means that players must part with a valuable card from their hand, potentially depleting their resources at a critical moment in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: To cast Avacyn’s Judgment, you need both red mana and a generic mana. This specific combination can create a stumbling block in multicolored decks that may not always have the right mana available at the right time, restricting its versatility and immediate playability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of two for a standard effect, and an additional cost to utilize its Madness feature effectively, Avacyn’s Judgment has a comparatively high mana investment for its damage output. In fast-paced games, players might find more efficient alternatives that offer more immediate board impact or damage per mana spent.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Avacyn’s Judgment adapts to various game situations, serving as both efficient removal and potential game finisher. Its modal casting cost allows for flexibility in gameplay, aligning with aggro, midrange, and control strategies alike.

Combo Potential: Thanks to its Madness ability, this card can be incorporated into combos where discarding can be leveraged for added value, multiplying its impact when you are dealing with an opponent’s threats or aiming for a decisive blow.

Meta-Relevance: Avacyn’s Judgment maintains its relevance in environments where small creatures and tokens are prevalent. Its scalable damage can sweep away a cluttered board or target particular threats, making it a smart pick for an ever-changing MTG landscape.


How to beat

Avacyn’s Judgment is a versatile card in Magic: The Gathering that presents both a direct damage option and a madness cost advantage. To effectively counter this card, players must understand its dual nature. When the card is cast for its madness cost, it can potentially deal damage divided as its controller chooses among any number of targets. However, without the madness cost, it simply deals 2 damage to a target, which is significantly less threatening.

To mitigate the impact of Avacyn’s Judgment, it is crucial to minimize the opportunities for an opponent to discard and cast it for its madness cost. This can involve using hand disruption to remove it from their grip before they find a way to discard it or countering key madness enablers in their deck. Spot removal of creatures they may target for the damage, or sweepers to clear multiple targets before they can be leveraged for value, are also effective strategies. Moreover, holding up mana for instant-speed interaction allows you to respond to their plays, minimizing the damage Avacyn’s Judgment can inflict.

Being proactive in maintaining a favorable board state and keeping pressure on the opponent can deter them from setting up the ideal conditions for Avacyn’s Judgment to shine. As always, knowing when to play around it and how to anticipate its arrival are key components to mastering the match up against this powerful card.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the strengths and nuances of Avacyn’s Judgment is key to outmaneuvering opponents and refining your MTG strategy. Its capacity for targeted damage and game acceleration, paired with the potential to sculpt your hand via the madness mechanic, are important facets to consider when adapting your playstyle. We encourage you to reflect on these insights and integrate the card into your deck where it best serves your overall strategy. To further enhance your knowledge and optimize your gameplay with Avacyn’s Judgment and other dynamic cards, we welcome you to delve deeper into our resources. Let’s sharpen your skills together, learn more, and embrace the strategic depth of MTG.


Cards like Avacyn's Judgment

Avacyn’s Judgment is a versatile card that finds its place in the pantheon of red spells in Magic: The Gathering. It echoes the flexibility found in cards like Fiery Temper, where dealing damage can be a straightforward path or can synergize with a madness mechanic. Unlike Fiery Temper, Avacyn’s Judgment scales with the amount of mana invested into it, offering a potential board sweep or targeted player damage.

Another parallel can be drawn with Flames of the Raze-Boar, which also provides a scalable damage output contingent on the creatures you control. While Flames of the Raze-Boar can be situationally more powerful, it lacks the immediate versatility Avacyn’s Judgment provides through its madness cost. Conversely, Rolling Temblor provides a level playing field for damage distribution, but Avacyn’s Judgment stands out due to its flexibility and potential impact on the game when discarded for its alternative madness cost.

Assessing the similarities and differences with these akin cards, Avacyn’s Judgment secures a unique stance. Its dual capability as a conventional red spell and a potential surprise play through madness offers players multifaceted strategies in their gameplay arsenal.

Fiery Temper - MTG Card versions
Flames of the Raze-Boar - MTG Card versions
Rolling Temblor - MTG Card versions
Fiery Temper - Torment (TOR)
Flames of the Raze-Boar - Ravnica Allegiance (RNA)
Rolling Temblor - Innistrad (ISD)

Cards similar to Avacyn's Judgment by color, type and mana cost

Scent of Cinder - MTG Card versions
Spitting Earth - MTG Card versions
Volcanic Hammer - MTG Card versions
Rolling Thunder - MTG Card versions
Fanning the Flames - MTG Card versions
Strategy, Schmategy - MTG Card versions
Disorder - MTG Card versions
Warrior's Oath - MTG Card versions
Last Chance - MTG Card versions
Tribal Flames - MTG Card versions
Breath of Darigaaz - MTG Card versions
Lava Blister - MTG Card versions
Pyroclasm - MTG Card versions
Incendiary Flow - MTG Card versions
Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display - MTG Card versions
Nahiri's Lithoforming - MTG Card versions
Mizzium Mortars - MTG Card versions
Burning Wish - MTG Card versions
Recoup - MTG Card versions
Mana Seism - MTG Card versions
Scent of Cinder - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Spitting Earth - Duel Decks: Knights vs. Dragons (DDG)
Volcanic Hammer - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Rolling Thunder - The List (PLST)
Fanning the Flames - Stronghold (STH)
Strategy, Schmategy - Unglued (UGL)
Disorder - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Warrior's Oath - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Last Chance - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Tribal Flames - Modern Masters (MMA)
Breath of Darigaaz - Commander 2015 (C15)
Lava Blister - Odyssey (ODY)
Pyroclasm - Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt (DDK)
Incendiary Flow - Friday Night Magic 2017 (F17)
Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate (CLB)
Nahiri's Lithoforming - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Mizzium Mortars - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Burning Wish - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Recoup - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Mana Seism - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Avacyn's Judgment MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad 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 Avacyn's Judgment and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Avacyn's Judgment Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2016-04-08 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Victor Adame Minguez.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-04-08Shadows over InnistradSOI 1452015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez
22016-04-08Shadows over Innistrad PromosPSOI 145s2015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez
32019-08-23Commander 2019C19 1342015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez
42021-11-19Crimson Vow CommanderVOC 1422015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez
52023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1422015normalblackVictor Adame Minguez

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Avacyn's Judgment 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 Avacyn's Judgment 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 A spell cast for its madness cost is put onto the stack like any other spell. It can be countered, copied, and so on. As it resolves, it's put onto the battlefield if it's a permanent card or into its owner's graveyard if it's an instant or sorcery card.
2016-04-08 Cards are discarded in a Magic game only from a player's hand. Effects that put cards from a player's library into that player's graveyard do not cause those cards to be discarded.
2016-04-08 Casting a spell for its madness cost doesn't change its mana cost or its mana value. You just pay the madness cost instead.
2016-04-08 Effects that cause you to pay more or less for a spell will cause you to pay that much more or less for its madness cost, too.
2016-04-08 If Avacyn's Judgment has multiple targets, and some but not all of them are illegal targets when Avacyn's Judgment resolves, Avacyn's Judgment will still deal damage to the remaining legal targets according to the original damage division.
2016-04-08 If you choose not to cast a card with madness when the madness triggered ability resolves, it's put into your graveyard. You don't get another chance to cast it later.
2016-04-08 If you discard a card with madness to pay the cost of a spell or activated ability, that card's madness trigger (and the spell that card becomes, if you choose to cast it) will resolve before the spell or ability the discard paid for.
2016-04-08 If you discard a card with madness while resolving a spell or ability, it moves immediately to exile. Continue resolving that spell or ability—the card is not in your graveyard at this time. Its madness trigger will be placed onto the stack once that spell or ability has completely resolved.
2016-04-08 Madness works independently of why you're discarding the card. You could discard it to pay a cost, because a spell or ability tells you to, or even because you have too many cards in your hand at the end of your turn. You can't discard a card with madness just because you want to, though.
2016-04-08 When you cast a card with madness, it was still discarded. If it was discarded to pay a cost, that cost is still paid. Abilities that trigger when a card is discarded will still trigger.
2016-04-08 You announce how the damage will be divided as part of casting Avacyn's Judgment. Each chosen target must receive at least 1 damage.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks