Scorched Earth MTG Card

Tempest (TMP)
1997-10-14 - Number 200

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number TMP-200

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery

Key Takeaways

Scorched Earth creates card advantage and fuels land recursion tactics in MTG decks.
Instant speed action allows strategic reactions, boosting proactive or conservative plays.
It demands land card discards and specific mana, a potential constraint in gameplay.

Text of card

Choose and discard X land cards: Destroy X target lands.

"Fire cleanses as well as destroys; that is the nature of change." —Oracle *en*-Vec

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Scorched Earth offers a distinct edge by allowing you to create a potential card advantage. This can be particularly potent in decks built around land recursion or when myriad lands are not essential at later game stages.

Resource Acceleration: With the ability to sacrifice any number of lands, Scorched Earth is a tool that can fuel resource acceleration strategies. Whether it’s setting up for a big play or simply thinning the deck to reach key cards quicker, the acceleration effect cannot be understated.

Instant Speed: This card’s instant speed provides flexibility, allowing you to react to your opponent’s actions. Deciding when to exchange your lands for fresh cards can be a substantial strategic advantage, be it during your turn for aggressive play or at your opponent’s end step for more conservative strategies.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the main drawbacks of Scorched Earth is its demand that a player discards a land card in order to activate its potential. During a game where maintaining hand advantage is crucial, getting rid of precious land can put a player in a vulnerable position.

Specific Mana Cost: Scorched Earth commands a specific mana cost which includes red mana. This cost confines the card’s integration to decks that can produce red mana, potentially excluding it from various multi-color or mono-color deck strategies that don’t align with red’s attributes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For its destructive ability, Scorched Earth carries a relatively steep mana cost, which can delay its execution. Considering the pace of some MTG games, there could be more mana-efficient cards available to players looking to disrupt opponents’ land bases without setting themselves back so substantially in the mana curve.

Reasons to Include Scorched Earth in Your Collection

Versatility: Scorched Earth offers a robust option for decks that aim to disrupt opponent’s mana bases. Its ability to destroy multiple lands has a place in control and land-destruction archetypes, enhancing their strategy to limit the opponent’s plays.

Combo Potential: This card can be particularly synergistic with strategies that benefit from landfall triggers or graveyard interaction. By discarding lands, you can set up powerful plays for a potential game-winning momentum.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where mana bases are complex and crucial to the deck’s functionality, Scorched Earth’s capacity to dismantle your opponent’s land can shift the balance in your favor, making it a relevant choice for competitive play.

How to beat

Scorched Earth presents a unique challenge in MTG, offering strategic land control often pivotal in the late game. This card enables a player to trade lands in hand for the destruction of an equal number of lands on the battlefield. This can have devastating effects on your mana base and disrupt your pace.

To effectively counter Scorched Earth, having land regeneration strategies in place is key. Cards that allow you to retrieve lands from your graveyard, such as Life from the Loam or Crucible of Worlds, provide resilience against such mass land removal tactics. Cards like Terra Eternal can also protect your lands, rendering Scorched Earth ineffective.

Moreover, consistently applying pressure on the Scorched Earth player can constrain their resources, making it difficult for them to capitalize on the benefits of the card. Keeping a diversified set of permanents and not overly relying on land-dependent strategies will minimize Scorched Earth’s impact, ensuring your gameplay remains fluid and your win condition achievable.

Cards like Scorched Earth

Scorched Earth is a noteworthy card with a unique land manipulation strategy in Magic: The Gathering. It stands out for allowing players to sacrifice any number of land cards to force each player to discard the same number of cards. This effect resonates with the powerful disruption strategies like Pox, which also decimates the opponent’s resources, but does so indiscriminately, affecting life totals, creatures, and lands alike.

Examining its similarity to Devastating Dreams, we see that both cards provide a red area-of-effect that can unbalance the board. Devastating Dreams requires a card discard as part of its cost and can destroy lands while also dealing damage to creatures, setting it apart from Scorched Earth’s pure discard and land sacrifice aspects. Finally, if we consider Molten Vortex, which allows repeated land conversion into direct damage, we find a different angle on land utilization. It lacks the mass discard impact but offers more targeted control, adapting to a slightly different style of play.

Scorched Earth offers a dynamic that can be devastating in the right deck, particularly in formats where land destruction and resource denial are play strategies, making it a card worth considering in MTG’s vast array of strategic options.

Cards similar to Scorched Earth by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Scorched Earth MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and The List, 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 Scorched Earth and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Scorched Earth Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1997-10-14 and 1997-10-14. Illustrated by Nicola Leonard.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1997-10-14	Tempest	TMP		200	1997	Normal	Black	Nicola Leonard
2	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST		TMP-200	1997	Normal	Black	Nicola Leonard

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Scorched Earth has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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