The Black Breath MTG Card
2023-06-23 - Number 529
2023-06-23 - Number 78
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Sorcery |
Text of card
Creatures your opponents control get -1/-1 until end of turn. The Ring tempts you.
"When the black breath blows, death's shadow grows." —A rhyme of old days
Cards like The Black Breath
The Black Breath is a notable card for its impact in MTG, drawing comparison to other cards that manipulate both power and health of creatures. A parallel can be drawn to Grasp of Darkness, which also serves to severely weaken target creatures, but without the lasting detriment beyond a single turn. Another comparable card is Dead Weight, a permanent that chips away at a creature’s strength over time, providing a lingering threat but lacking the immediate punch of The Black Breath.
Further, when comparing enchantment-based control, The Black Breath shines alongside cards like Stab Wound. Both apply a persistent effect to a creature, but The Black Breath incorporates life loss, potentially accelerating an opponent’s defeat. Unlike Stab Wound, The Black Breath’s impact echoes each turn, amplifying the pressure on your opponent.
Overall, The Black Breath holds its own in Magic: The Gathering, thanks to its blend of direct creature weakening and sustained life total erosion, a potent combination that ensures it stands out among similar MTG cards.
Cards similar to The Black Breath by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Black Breath offers the crucial ability to sift through your deck by revealing cards until you hit a nonland card that can be added to your hand. This provides a significant boost in card advantage, keeping your options varied and your plays impactful.
Resource Acceleration: Should the card revealed have a certain mana value, The Black Breath could permit a degree of resource acceleration, allowing you to deploy threats or answers more efficiently than usual.
Instant Speed: Operating at instant speed means this card can be cast in response to opponent plays, on their turn, or after assessing the state of the game at the end of their turn—heightening its strategic value and ensuring you’re always playing with as much information as possible.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While The Black Breath may provide a unique effect, it requires players to discard a card as part of its casting cost. This can put players at a disadvantage, particularly if they are already struggling with card availability or trying to maintain card advantage over their opponent.
Specific Mana Cost: The Black Breath has a very particular mana requirement for casting, which includes black mana. This could restrict its integration in multi-colored decks or make it less appealing for players who do not focus on black mana cards, potentially limiting its versatility across different deck types.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its potential for impactful play, The Black Breath comes at a higher mana cost. In the landscape of the game where tempo and efficiency are crucial, there are alternative cards that might offer similar effects without the substantial mana investment, which could deter players from including it in their decks.
Reasons to Include The Black Breath in Your Collection
Versatility: The Black Breath exemplifies flexibility in black-based decks. As a card that can disrupt your opponent’s hand while providing you with options, it easily slots into various strategies from control to mid-range decks.
Combo Potential: This card opens up avenues for combinations with cards that benefit from opponents discarding or from cards entering the graveyard, amplifying both offensive and defensive tactics in your gameplay.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where hand advantage and strategic discard can tilt games in your favor, The Black Breath stands as a potent tool. It challenges prevalent decks in the meta, potentially giving you the edge in a closely contested match.
How to beat
The Black Breath card introduces a unique dynamic to Magic: The Gathering gameplay, offering significant advantages to players who harness its abilities wisely. As a potent force that can tilt the game’s balance, understanding how to counter it becomes essential for strategic players. The key to overcoming The Black Breath lies in its weakness against graveyard interaction disruptions and removal spells.
One efficient strategy is to use cards that can exile it from the graveyard, restricting the opponent’s ability to play it again. This negates one of The Black Breath’s most formidable strengths – its recursive potential. Similarly, having instant speed removal allows players to respond effectively before their opponent can benefit from The Black Breath’s effects. Cards like Scavenging Ooze that can target particular cards in graveyards or Leyline of the Void, which prevents cards from entering graveyards at all, can serve as robust defenses.
Overall, while The Black Breath can be a challenging card to face, with the right setup and timing, players can mitigate its impact and maintain control over the game. By carefully considering graveyard manipulation and removal timing, you’ll be able to safeguard your strategy against this formidable card.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase The Black Breath MTG card by a specific set like The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, 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 The Black Breath and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The The Black Breath Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-06-23 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by Chris Cold.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023-06-23 | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | LTR | 529 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Chris Cold | |
| 2 | 2023-06-23 | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | LTR | 78 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Chris Cold |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where The Black Breath has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering The Black Breath card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-06-16 | As the Ring tempts you, you get an emblem named The Ring if you don't have one. Then your emblem gains its next ability and you choose a creature you control to become (or remain) your Ring-bearer. |
| 2023-06-16 | Each player can have only one emblem named The Ring and only one Ring-bearer at a time. |
| 2023-06-16 | Each time the Ring tempts you, you must choose a creature if you control one. |
| 2023-06-16 | If the creature you choose as your Ring-bearer was already your Ring-bearer, that still counts as choosing that creature as your Ring-bearer for the purpose of abilities that trigger "whenever you choose a creature as your Ring-bearer" or abilities that care about which creature was chosen as your Ring-bearer. |
| 2023-06-16 | Some spells and abilities that cause the Ring to tempt you may require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. The Ring won't tempt you. |
| 2023-06-16 | The Ring can tempt you even if you don't control a creature. In this case, abilities that trigger "whenever the Ring tempts you" will still trigger. |
| 2023-06-16 | The Ring gains its abilities in order from top to bottom. Once it gains an ability, it has that ability for the rest of the game. |