Skull Storm MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost9
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Skull Storm generates substantial card advantage by copying itself based on your commander casts.
  2. Ramping your board while depleting opponents’ creatures amplifies game control through resource acceleration.
  3. Despite its sorcery speed, Skull Storm supports strategies focused on instant-speed spells for tactical flexibility.

Text of card

When you cast this spell, copy it for each time you've cast your commander from the command zone this game. Each opponent sacrifices a creature. Each opponent who can't loses half their life, rounded up.

A rapid and catastrophic decline.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Skull Storm, when played, can significantly increase your hand by allowing you to copy it for each time you’ve cast your commander from the command zone in a game. This can potentially draw you into multiple spells, overwhelming opponents with a surge of options.

Resource Acceleration: Each copy of Skull Storm creates a cascading effect, potentially ramping your board presence by forcing opponents to sacrifice a creature for each copy. With each opponent losing resources, you gain a relative increase in your ability to control the game’s pace.

Instant Speed: While Skull Storm itself is a sorcery, it complements a deck strategy that includes instant-speed spells. Casting it during your main phase can clear the way for unfettered, instant-speed interactions in the post-sorcery game state, giving you tactical flexibility.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Casting Skull Storm often necessitates sacrificing a creature or discarding another card, which can be substantial if your hand or board presence is already thin.

Specific Mana Cost: This card’s requirement for both black and generic mana can present challenges in decks that aren’t finely tuned for mana fixing or in games where your mana base is disrupted.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that includes three black mana and six others, Skull Storm can be a late-game play. In fast-paced games, this can be too slow, giving your opponent the opportunity to establish control or deplete your resources.


Reasons to Include Skull Storm in Your Collection

Versatility: Skull Storm serves as a formidable win condition in Commander and casual formats. It can easily slide into decks that aim to cast their commander multiple times, leveraging the graveyard as a resource.

Combo Potential: With the ability to create copies for each time you’ve cast your commander, Skull Storm can synergize with strategies that focus on casting the commander frequently or with cards that manipulate storm counts.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where commanders are pivotal to deck strategies, Skull Storm can disrupt opponents by forcing sacrifices while providing a scalable effect that gets stronger throughout the game.


How to Beat Skull Storm

Skull Storm, a formidable card in Magic: The Gathering, demands strategic play to overcome. The card’s strength lies in its potential to deal massive damage based on the number of times the caster has commanded spells throughout the game. However, there are ways to mitigate its impact. Containment strategies primarily revolve around limiting the number of creatures your opponent can sacrifice, which directly affects Skull Storm’s potency.

One effective approach is to utilize control elements such as counterspells to prevent Skull Storm from resolving. Counterspells like Cancel and Negate, staples in blue decks, can help maintain the upper hand. Another strategy is to deploy graveyard disruption tools to restrict the opponent’s ability to capitalize on casting commanders multiple times. Cards such as Bojuka Bog and Rest in Peace provide such functionality, ensuring that commanding spells don’t accumulate in the graveyard and feed Skull Storm’s power.

Beyond reactive measures, a more aggressive stance can also be valuable. Pressuring opponents before they gather sufficient mana or the right conditions for Skull Storm is key. Aggressive creature decks and fast-paced strategies can often outpace a player aiming to set up a devastating Skull Storm, pinpointing early victory before the storm can muster its full strength.


BurnMana Recommendations

Enhancing your Magic: The Gathering experience hinges on strategic deck-building, profound knowledge of game mechanics, and the thrill of discovering powerful synergies. Skull Storm can be a game-changer by augmenting your strategy, especially in Commander format, where casting your commander is a repeatable action. It’s essential to balance risk with reward, as this card’s efficacy is rooted in its casting frequency and synergy with your commander. If you’re intrigued by the prospect of creating a cascade of spell copies and dictating the tempo of the game, dive deeper with us. Uncover advanced tactics and deck enhancements to ensure your next duel not only showcases your skill but also delivers a resounding victory. Step up your game with targeted insights and strategic advice tailored for passionate MTG players like you.


Cards like Skull Storm

Skull Storm stands out in the vast array of multi-effect spells within Magic: The Gathering. Its likeness can be paralleled to the card Army of the Damned, as both create multiple creature tokens. Skull Storm, however, has the unique feature of becoming more potent with each commander you’ve cast from the command zone during the game. In contrast, Army of the Damned has a fixed number of tokens it generates.

Another spell to consider is Exsanguinate, a popular choice for its life-draining properties. While not a direct token generator, Exsanguinate similarly scales its effect based on the amount of mana invested, echoing Skull Storm’s scaling potency. Additionally, Exsanguinate offers a critical gain in life, which can be a game-changer, whereas Skull Storm places numerous creature tokens on the battlefield, emphasizing a different type of board control.

Lastly, while contemplating strategic value and distinct utility among comparable MTG cards, Skull Storm certainly claims its niche. Its escalating threat level with each cast of your commander caters to a long-term game plan that can climax in overwhelming advantage, illustrating its unique role in the tapestry of Magic: The Gathering strategies.

Army of the Damned - MTG Card versions
Exsanguinate - MTG Card versions
Army of the Damned - Innistrad (ISD)
Exsanguinate - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Skull Storm MTG card by a specific set like Treasure Chest and Commander 2018, 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 Skull Storm and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Skull Storm Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-11-16 and 2018-08-09. Illustrated by Mark Poole.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-11-16Treasure ChestPZ2 707132015normalblackMark Poole
22018-08-09Commander 2018C18 182015normalblackMark Poole

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Skull Storm has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-07-13 Each Storm’s triggered ability can copy the Storm spell even if that spell is countered before that ability resolves.
2018-07-13 Each Storm’s triggered ability counts only how many times you’ve cast your commander from the command zone before that triggered ability resolves. If you cast your commander again later, you won’t get another copy.
2018-07-13 If your commander was countered, that time you cast it still counts.
2018-07-13 The amount of life to lose is determined only as Skull Storm resolves. For example, if an opponent controls no creatures and has 30 life when you cast Skull Storm and make two copies, the first to resolve causes that opponent to lose 15 life (so they have 15 life left), the second causes that opponent to lose 8 life (7 life left), and the original spell causes that player to lose 4 life, leaving the player at 3 life.
2018-07-13 The copies are created on the stack, so they’re not “cast.” Abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell (such as the Storm’s ability itself) won’t trigger.
2018-10-05 If you have multiple commanders, you’ll copy this spell for each time you’ve cast either of them. For example, if you’ve cast one commander once and one twice, you’ll copy this spell three times.

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