Terror Ballista MTG Card


Terror Ballista offers board control by removing multiple threats and conserving removal spells. Acts as a resource accelerator and adapts to battlefield needs with instant speed abilities. While powerful, it demands specific mana and carries a high casting cost.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Construct
Abilities Menace,Unearth
Power 5
Toughness 3

Text of card

Menace Whenever Terror Ballista attacks, you may sacrifice another creature. When you do, destroy target creature an opponent controls. Unearth (: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield. Unearth only as a sorcery.)


Cards like Terror Ballista

The Terror Ballista card serves as an impactful piece in Magic: The Gathering’s array of creature cards. When drawing comparisons, Ballista Charger stands out due to its similar functionality. Like Terror Ballista, Ballista Charger can deal damage to a target creature or player upon attack. However, it lacks the modular ability, which affords Terror Ballista added versatility in strengthening other creatures on the board post-death.

Walking Ballista also shares resemblances, notably in its capability for ping damage and adaptability through +1/+1 counters. Yet, Walking Ballista’s advantage lies in its ease of activation without the need for tapping, at the cost of removing a +1/+1 counter. This feature enables on-the-fly tactical adjustments that Terror Ballista doesn’t inherently possess. Then there’s Triskelion, a creature card that enters the battlefield with +1/+1 counters and can distribute its damage across multiple targets, similar to Walking Ballista, but like Terror Ballista, requires tapping to activate its direct damage ability.

Each of these cards offers nuanced benefits that cater to different play styles and scenarios, situating Terror Ballista within a family of options that challenge players to strategize based on their deck’s overarching synergies and objectives.

Ballista Charger - MTG Card versions
Walking Ballista - MTG Card versions
Triskelion - MTG Card versions
Ballista Charger - MTG Card versions
Walking Ballista - MTG Card versions
Triskelion - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Terror Ballista by color, type and mana cost

Phyrexian Fleshgorger - MTG Card versions
Altar of Shadows - MTG Card versions
Elbrus, the Binding Blade // Withengar Unbound - MTG Card versions
Technomancer - MTG Card versions
Forgefire Automaton - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Fleshgorger - MTG Card versions
Altar of Shadows - MTG Card versions
Elbrus, the Binding Blade // Withengar Unbound - MTG Card versions
Technomancer - MTG Card versions
Forgefire Automaton - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Terror Ballista. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Dimir MidrangeDimir Midrange StandardDimir MidrangeStandard Challenge 64 2024-03-10
Dimir AggroDimir Aggro StandardDimir AggroStandard Preliminary 2024-03-11

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Terror Ballista offers a significant edge by potentially removing multiple creatures from the board with its varied damage-splitting capability. This capacity to deal with several threats at once can drastically improve a player’s board presence and hand by reducing the need for additional removal spells.

Resource Acceleration: This formidable artifact creature can act as a resource accelerator when synergized with other cards that benefit from noncreature spells. Its modular nature allows for strategic mana allocation, adapting to the evolving needs of the battlefield and possibly fueling more powerful spells sooner.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of using Terror Ballista’s activated ability at instant speed is a strategic boon. Players can adapt their tactics in response to their opponents’ actions, making Terror Ballista both a deterrent and a surprise removal tool that can be unleashed at the most opportune moment during the game’s flow.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While casting a spell, sometimes you are compelled to ditch a promising card from your hand. This could disrupt your game plan, especially when choices are slim and every card in hand counts.

Specific Mana Cost: For a card like Terror Ballista to weave its magic, it demands not just any ordinary mana, but it necessitates a very particular blend. This criterion could potentially constrain synergy in decks that thrive on a broader spectrum of mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The magic from Terror Ballista doesn’t come cheap. Its casting cost is a hefty investment. In the realm of trading card games, where pace and efficiency are kings, there are alternative cards that could meet or exceed Terror Ballista’s impact without such a taxing expenditure of resources.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Terror Ballista is a dynamic addition to any collection because it complements a variety of deck strategies. Its utility in both offensive and defensive roles means it can adapt to multiple game scenarios, enhancing your gameplay flexibility.

Combo Potential: With its ability to deal damage to any target, this card can work wonders in combination with effects that increase damage output or trigger upon dealing damage. Terror Ballista’s interactions with other cards can unlock powerful synergies in the right setup.

Meta-Relevance: Terror Ballista has an edge in a meta where pinpoint removal or creature control is paramount. Its presence can strategically disrupt opponents or remove key threats, maintaining its relevance in various competitive landscapes.


How to beat

Terror Ballista enters the realm of Magic: The Gathering as a unique card offering both a formidable presence and strategic versatility on the battlefield. This card’s ability to dish out direct damage makes it a noteworthy threat that players must be prepared to counter. Overcoming Terror Ballista often requires a mix of swift removal spells, such as Path to Exile or Abrupt Decay, which can dispatch it before its power is leveraged. Timing your responses right before the opponent accumulates enough mana to use Terror Ballista’s abilities is also crucial.

In addition to removal spells, denying resources or locking down the card with control elements like counter spells or enchantments that prevent activation of abilities can swing the game in your favor. Versatility in your deck to address creature threats, especially those with an arsenal of abilities like Terror Ballista, is key. Employing such strategies will enhance your chances of maintaining control over the match and ultimately leading you to triumph over cards with the potential impact of Terror Ballista.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Terror Ballista MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and The Brothers' War, 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 Terror Ballista and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Terror Ballista Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2022-11-18 and 2022-11-18. Illustrated by Leon Tukker.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 1058222015NormalBlackLeon Tukker
22022-11-18The Brothers' WarBRO 2902015NormalBlackLeon Tukker
32022-11-18The Brothers' WarBRO 3752015NormalBlackLeon Tukker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Terror Ballista has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2022-10-14 Activating a card's unearth ability isn't the same as casting that card. The unearth ability is put on the stack, but the card is not. Spells and abilities that interact with activated abilities (such as Defabricate's second mode) will interact with unearth, but spells and abilities that interact with spells (such as Scatter Ray) will not.
2022-10-14 At the beginning of the next end step, a permanent returned to the battlefield with unearth is exiled. This is a delayed triggered ability, and it can be countered by effects such as Defabricate that counter triggered abilities. If the ability is countered, the permanent will stay on the battlefield and the delayed triggered ability won't trigger again. However, the replacement effect will still exile the permanent if it eventually leaves the battlefield.
2022-10-14 If a permanent returned to the battlefield with unearth would leave the battlefield for any reason, it's exiled instead—unless the spell or ability that's causing the permanent to leave the battlefield is actually trying to exile it! In that case, it succeeds at exiling it. If that spell or ability later returns the card to the battlefield (as Static Net might, for example), the permanent card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The unearth effects will no longer apply to it.
2022-10-14 If you activate a card's unearth ability but that card is removed from your graveyard before the ability resolves, that unearth ability will do nothing as it resolves.
2022-10-14 Unearth grants haste to the permanent that's returned to the battlefield (even if it's not a creature card). However, neither of the "exile" abilities is granted to that permanent. If that permanent loses all its abilities, it will still be exiled at the beginning of the next end step, and if it would leave the battlefield, it is still exiled instead.
2022-10-14 You don't choose a target for Terror Ballista's triggered ability when it attacks. If you choose to sacrifice a creature, a second triggered ability triggers and you choose a target for that second ability. Players may respond as normal to this second ability.