Super-Duper Death Ray MTG Card
Text of card
Trample (This spell can deal excess damage to its target's controller.) Super-Duper Death Ray deals 4 damage to target creature.
"Comin' through!"
Cards like Super-Duper Death Ray
The Super-Duper Death Ray card serves as an intriguing twist within the burn spell selection in Magic: The Gathering. It’s akin to traditional damage spells like Lightning Bolt, which famously deals three damage to any target. Yet, Super-Duper Death Ray trumps with its trample over damage ability, diverting excess damage to an opponent’s life total if it exceeds the toughness of the creature it targets.
Another similar card is Flame Slash, which offers four damage to a creature for a single red mana. While Flame Slash seems efficient for creature removal, it doesn’t have the unique ability to redirect damage to an opponent. Then there’s Searing Blaze, delivering damage to both a creature and the creature’s controller but requiring specific landfall conditions to maximize its potency. Although Searing Blaze impacts multiple targets, its situational nature and required land drop check can limit its consistency.
Assessing the impact of these spells, Super-Duper Death Ray holds a distinctive niche with its potential for creature removal that can pivot into direct player damage. This duality offers players an aggressive edge in games, making it a noteworthy spell in its category.
Cards similar to Super-Duper Death Ray by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Super-Duper Death Ray goes beyond simple damage, allowing its trample effect to potentially lead to card advantage. If the opposing player’s creature is destroyed and excess trample damage is dealt to the player, this card can create a pressing situation that may cause the opponent to deplete their resources to recover.
Resource Acceleration: While the Super-Duper Death Ray isn’t a direct source of resource acceleration, its single red mana cost makes it a cost-effective removal strategy. This efficiency can accelerate your game plan by leaving more mana available to deploy other threats and answers in the same turn.
Instant Speed: As an instant, Super-Duper Death Ray offers flexibility, enabling you to respond adeptly during your opponent’s turn. Whether it’s countering an attack, neutralizing a creature-based strategy, or simply keeping up the pressure, the quick nature of this card ensures you’re always a step ahead.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Although Super-Duper Death Ray doesn’t have a self-discard mechanic, it necessitates a strategic deck build around its Trample damage to fully utilize its unique advantage. Incorrectly leveraging this could negate potential benefits.
Specific Mana Cost: This spell requires three red mana, which potentially restricts its inclusion to mono-red or red-centric decks, constraining deck diversity and flexibility in multi-colored strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of three, Super-Duper Death Ray competes with numerous other burn spells or removal options that may offer more immediate impact or lower costs. This can potentially make the Death Ray a suboptimal choice in faster-paced games where mana efficiency is crucial.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Super-Duper Death Ray thrives in a variety of deck builds, ready to deal with creatures across multiple scenarios. Its trample damage overflows to hit your opponent directly, providing a unique twist to instant damage spells.
Combo Potential: Cards that synergize with damage spells or have triggers upon castings, like Guttersnipe, can turn Super-Duper Death Ray into a game-ending threat, making it a heavyweight in combo-driven decks.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based strategies dominate, this card’s ability to not only remove a threat but also potentially damage an opponent makes it a relevant choice, offering strategic depth and utility.
How to beat
Super-Duper Death Ray introduces a twist to traditional burn spells in the world of Magic: The Gathering. Diverging from classic damage spells like Lightning Bolt, it tramples over not only creatures but also excess damage onto the opponent. Yet, this unique mechanic also leaves an opening for savvy players to exploit when facing it on the battlefield.
To counter this fiery threat, you’d do well to strategize around its trample aspect. Spells that prevent damage, like the Restoration Angel or the timely use of Dive Down, can be pivotal. Also consider incorporating creatures with high toughness that can absorb the blow, or effects that grant indestructibility, such as Boros Charm. Another approach is to control when Super-Duper Death Ray is cast, using counterspells like Negate or Dovin’s Veto to nullify this burning projectile before it can wreak havoc.
Hence, while Super-Duper Death Ray holds the power to scorch through your defenses and strike directly, it’s not without its counters. Understanding and preparing for this strategic depth within your deck can quash the flames, leaving your adversary with nothing but smoke.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Super-Duper Death Ray MTG card by a specific set like Unstable and Unsanctioned, 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 Super-Duper Death Ray and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Super-Duper Death Ray Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2017-12-08 and 2020-02-29. Illustrated by Even Amundsen.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-12-08 | Unstable | UST | 97 | 2015 | Normal | Silver | Even Amundsen | |
| 2 | 2020-02-29 | Unsanctioned | UND | 59 | 2015 | Normal | Silver | Even Amundsen |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Super-Duper Death Ray card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-02-29 | If Super-Duper Death Ray doesn’t resolve because its target leaves the battlefield or otherwise becomes an illegal target in response, it will have no effect. It won’t deal damage to any creature or player. |
| 2020-02-29 | If damage is already marked on the creature, that damage is considered when calculating excess damage. For example, say your opponent controls a 6/6 creature. Your first Super-Duper Death Ray deals 4 damage to it. Then your SECOND Super-Duper Death Ray (i.e. the one they never see coming) deals 2 damage to the creature and 2 damage to your opponent. |
| 2020-02-29 | Super-Duper Death Ray targets only the creature. It can deal damage to a player with hexproof, for example. |
| 2020-02-29 | Trample on an instant or sorcery is similar to how it works on an attacking creature. If Super-Duper Death Ray would deal more damage that what it would take to destroy the creature (called “excess damage”), it deals the excess to the creature’s controller. For example, if you aim Super-Duper Death Ray at a 1/1 creature, it will deal 1 damage to the creature and 3 damage to its controller. |