Smothering Abomination MTG Card


Smothering Abomination provides consistent card advantage through creature sacrifices, enhancing strategic depth. Sacrifice demands can be a con, depleting resources and pressuring board presence each upkeep. Its synergy with sacrifice and instant-speed effects makes it versatile in specific MTG decks.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Eldrazi
Abilities Devoid,Flying
Power 4
Toughness 3

Text of card

Devoid (This card has no color.) Flying At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature. Whenever you sacrifice a creature, draw a card.


Cards like Smothering Abomination

Smothering Abomination stands out in the realm of card advantage and creature-based strategies in Magic: The Gathering. This card reminds seasoned players of the classic Harvester of Souls, both offering the benefit of drawing cards upon the death of creatures. Harvester of Souls does this indiscriminately for any nontoken creature’s demise, while Smothering Abomination requires the sacrifice of a creature to unlock its potential, but provides this advantage every upkeep.

Furthermore, we can look at Grim Haruspex. Though this creature shares the theme of profiting from sacrifices, it’s more limited with the trigger only on nontoken creatures you control. However, Grim Haruspex boasts a lower casting cost compared to Smothering Abomination. Then there’s Dark Prophecy which converts any creature death into a draw, resembling Harvester of Souls, but it comes with a life loss that can be a double-edged sword.

In essence, when evaluating the selection of creatures and enchantments that turn death into card draw, Smothering Abomination delivers consistent advantage for sacrifice-heavy decks, ensuring a steady stream of new cards to maintain pressure on the opponent.

Harvester of Souls - MTG Card versions
Grim Haruspex - MTG Card versions
Dark Prophecy - MTG Card versions
Harvester of Souls - MTG Card versions
Grim Haruspex - MTG Card versions
Dark Prophecy - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Smothering Abomination by color, type and mana cost

Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
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Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Dirge Bat - MTG Card versions
Gixian Puppeteer - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Akuta, Born of Ash - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Dirge Bat - MTG Card versions
Gixian Puppeteer - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Akuta, Born of Ash - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Smothering Abomination excels at providing card advantage. By sacrificing another creature during your upkeep, you get to draw an additional card, ensuring a consistent stream of resources that can help you outmaneuver your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This flying creature can act as an engine for resource acceleration in decks that are designed around sacrificing creatures. Each act of sacrifice not only thins your board for tactical advantages but also fuels your hand with more options for the turns ahead.

Instant Speed: While Smothering Abomination itself is not an instant, it synergizes well with instant-speed sacrifice effects you may run in your deck. This interaction allows you to respond to opponents’ actions by sacking a creature, potentially saving it from exile or destruction while still reaping the card draw benefit on your upkeep.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Smothering Abomination pressures you to sacrifice a creature each upkeep, diminishing your board presence and potentially exhausting valuable resources.

Specific Mana Cost: With two black mana in its cost, Smothering Abomination demands a dedicated mana base, making it less flexible and harder to cast in multi-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Requiring four mana, it competes with other impactful four-drops, and it demands immediate sacrifice to draw cards, which might be too slow or costly in fast-paced games.


Reasons to Include Smothering Abomination in Your Collection

Versatility: Smothering Abomination offers utility across various black-aligned decks. Its consistent card draw mechanism makes it a solid inclusion for decks that require a steady flow of resources, particularly in strategies involving creature sacrifice.

Combo Potential: This Eldrazi presents excellent synergy with decks centered around token generation and sacrifice. By exploiting its ability to draw a card when another creature you control dies, players can create powerful interactions and maintain card advantage.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting meta, Smothering Abomination showcases its relevance in environments where sacrificing creatures is beneficial. It can be a key player in disrupting opponent strategies and replenishing your hand, adjusting well to various competitive landscapes.


How to beat

Smothering Abomination is a demanding force on the battlefield, with its ability to devour your creatures for card advantage in MTG. Contending with this creature requires tactical precision. Removal spells are your best friend here; consider efficient solutions like Path to Exile or Fatal Push that can swiftly remove it from the game before its devour ability overwhelms you.

Additionally, graveyard disruption can be effective. Cards like Relic of Progenitus can limit the value gained from Smothering Abomination’s sacrifice effect, ensuring that any creatures sacrificed for cards don’t provide additional benefits from graveyard synergies. If your deck can’t run these cards, focus on taxing their resource – either by applying pressure to deplete their creature base or by employing counterspells like Dovin’s Veto to keep Smothering Abomination off the board entirely.

Playing around Smothering Abomination also means keeping in mind your board state. Force your opponent to make tough decisions about what creatures to sacrifice by controlling the pace of the game. Ultimately, knowing when to disrupt and when to apply pressure will guide you to victory against the voracious threat of Smothering Abomination.


BurnMana Recommendations

Smothering Abomination’s strengths lie in powering up decks centered around sacrificing creatures for gain, bolstering your hand each upkeep, and maintaining card advantage in MTG. If you’re looking to add depth to your black-aligned deck or exploit token sacrifice synergies, this card can be a cornerstone. Understanding its role in the current meta and recognizing similar cards’ utilities is key. Looking to further enhance your strategy and transform your deck performance? Delve deeper into our insights and recommendations. For more strategic explorations and to refine your MTG prowess, dive in with us.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Smothering Abomination MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar Promos and Battle for Zendikar, 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 Smothering Abomination and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Smothering Abomination Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2015-10-02. Illustrated by Aleksi Briclot.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 99s2015NormalBlackAleksi Briclot
22015-10-02Battle for ZendikarBFZ 992015NormalBlackAleksi Briclot

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Smothering Abomination has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2015-08-25 A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost.
2015-08-25 Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play.
2015-08-25 Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield.
2015-08-25 If Smothering Abomination is the only creature you control as its first triggered ability resolves, you must sacrifice it.
2015-08-25 If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid.
2015-08-25 Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless.
2015-08-25 Sacrificing Smothering Abomination will cause its last ability to trigger.
2015-08-25 You choose which creature you control to sacrifice as the first triggered ability resolves. Players can respond to this ability triggering, but once you choose a creature to sacrifice, it’s too late for anyone to respond.