Unlucky Thirteen MTG Card

Unlucky Thirteen can create card advantage by exiling opponent’s key cards, disrupting their strategy. Its instant speed allows strategic play, keeping opponents guessing and reacting on their turn. Resource manipulation through well-timed plays can accelerate your game while hindering your opponent.

Unlucky Thirteen - Jumpstart 2022 Front Cards

Type	Card
Released	2022-12-03
Set symbol
Set name	Jumpstart 2022 Front Cards
Set code	FJ22
Number	26
Frame	2015
Layout	Token
Border	Black
Illustred by	Alix Branwyn

Text of card

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Cards like Unlucky Thirteen

Unlucky Thirteen stands out in the realm of Magic: The Gathering as a unique curse enchantment. When examining cards of a similar nature, one might consider Trespasser’s Curse, which also revolves around hindering an opponent in a specific manner. Trespasser’s Curse focuses on creatures entering the battlefield, whereas Unlucky Thirteen takes a broader approach by increasing the cost of targeted opponent spells. Another related card is Curse of Exhaustion, impacting an opponent’s gameplay by allowing only one spell per turn. Though both are curses, Unlucky Thirteen’s trade-up in mana cost can affect the entire spectrum of an opponent’s game rather than just the casting frequency.

While discussing enchantment debuffs, we can also compare it to Overwhelming Splendor. This aura curse comprehensively cripples a single opponent’s capabilities, from creatures to spells casting. Nonetheless, the higher mana value of Overwhelming Splendor contrasts sharply with the lower cost of Unlucky Thirteen, offering flexibility in different game stages. Therefore, while Unlucky Thirteen may not cover all aspects as comprehensively as Overwhelming Splendor, its efficiency for its mana cost makes it a potent tool in a player’s arsenal.

In weighing the strategic advantages of these enchantments, Unlucky Thirteen provides a cost-effective solution for players looking to impose a sustained disadvantage on their opponents throughout the game.

Overwhelming Splendor - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Unlucky Thirteen stands out by potentially eliminating thirteen of your opponent’s cards from the game, which can drastically tip the balance in your favor. Wielding this power, you open up the possibility of stripping away key pieces from an opponent’s strategy, leaving them at a significant disadvantage.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or tokens, Unlucky Thirteen can disrupt your opponent’s resources. By removing essential cards, you can effectively slow them down, gaining a relative acceleration in your own game plan as they scramble to find answers or rebuild their board state.

Instant Speed: The card’s ability to be cast at instant speed is a tactical advantage, allowing you to wait for the perfect moment to strike. This quality lets you keep mana available for reactions on your opponent’s turn, and if an opportune target for Unlucky Thirteen’s effect presents itself, you can decisively act to swing the game.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Unlucky Thirteen card demands players to discard another card as part of its casting cost. This can be particularly taxing during the late game or when your hand is running low. The discard can undermine your game plan if you’re compelled to throw away a pivotal spell or creature.

Specific Mana Cost: Unlucky Thirteen requires a stringent combination of black mana to play. This specificity can restrict deck building, as it mandates a heavy commitment to black mana sources and may not fit smoothly into multicolored or splashed decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana value sitting at a significant four mana, including three black, Unlucky Thirteen’s cost efficiency is up for debate. In the realm of MTG, cards that pack a greater punch for the same, or even lower, mana investment are available, making this card potentially less appealing in competitive settings.

Reasons to Include Unlucky Thirteen in Your Collection

Versatility: The Unlucky Thirteen card is a unique addition to decks that thrive on surprise and unpredictability. It can be used in multiple strategies that exploit card removal or punishing opponents for their successes in the game.

Combo Potential: With its potential to remove precisely thirteen permanents, this card can set the stage for powerful combos, particularly in decks designed around sacrifice mechanics or graveyard synergies. Its precise nature can turn the tides when combined with the right supporting cards.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where players accumulate numerous permanents, Unlucky Thirteen can act as a reset button, disrupting well-set plans. It’s contextual power in the right meta makes it a sleeper hit for sideboards prepared for battle against creature-heavy or permanent-reliant decks.

How to beat

Unlucky Thirteen is a unique card that can be both a threat and an opportunity in Magic: The Gathering. This card can drastically alter the state of the game by imposing a hefty penalty on opponents—forcing the sacrifice of a creature and a planar die roll when thirteen or more are counted among a player’s life total, graveyard, and battlefield. To effectively counteract Unlucky Thirteen, it’s crucial to maintain a versatile deck with options for life gain, graveyard manipulation, and creature protection.

Including cards that regulate life total, like “Soul’s Attendant” or “Authority of the Consuls”, minimizes the risk of your life count contributing to the dreaded thirteen. Additionally, employing graveyard management tactics, such as “Relic of Progenitus” or “Leyline of the Void”, can keep your graveyard from reaching a problematic volume. Lastly, creature-centric defenses, such as “Heroic Intervention” or “Mother of Runes”, protect your valuable creatures from being sacrificed unwillingly.

Being prepared for the condition of Unlucky Thirteen ensures your MTG matches remain within your control. A strategic approach to deck building and in-game decisions can turn the tides away from the misfortune this card could potentially bring to your gameplay.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Unlucky Thirteen MTG card by a specific set like Jumpstart 2022 Front Cards, 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 Unlucky Thirteen and other MTG cards:

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