Deadly Poison Sampler MTG Card


Deadly Poison Sampler - Unstable
RarityRare
TypeArtifact — Contraption
Released2017-12-08
Set symbol
Set nameUnstable
Set codeUST
Number174
Frame2015
Layoutnormal
Borderborderless
Illustred byRalph Horsley
Un-set :-)This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card advantage through disruption and hand replenishment, shifting the control balance.
  2. Slows opponents down at instant speed, giving you reactive power and strategic depth.
  3. Requires careful hand and mana management due to its specific costs and discard trade-offs.

Text of card

Whenever you crank Deadly Poison Sampler, until end of turn, target creature gains "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, destroy target creature that player controls."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Adds versatility by providing options to disrupt an opponent’s play while replenishing your own hand, maintaining the balance of control.

Resource Acceleration: This card can tamper with your opponent’s resources, effectively slowing them down and giving you the upper hand in the race for mana efficiency.

Instant Speed: Its ability to be played at instant speed makes it a flexible addition to your arsenal, allowing for reactive play to your opponent’s actions and keeping them guessing.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with the Deadly Poison Sampler requires the strategic decision of discarding another card. This trade-off can be detrimental during gameplay when your hand is wanting for options.

Specific Mana Cost: Tailoring your mana base to include the specific mana needed for this card can be restrictive, especially in multicolored decks that value flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Allocating the necessary resources for a Deadly Poison Sampler might not always align with your game plan, as the cost competes with other impactful plays available in the same mana range.


Reasons to Include Deadly Poison Sampler in Your Collection

Versatility: Deadly Poison Sampler isn’t just a run-of-the-mill card. It can integrate seamlessly into a variety of deck builds. This card can amplify strategies that capitalize on poison counters, offering an additional layer to gameplay.

Combo Potential: This card shines when used in combination with proliferate mechanisms or with creatures that have infect. It can swiftly multiply the threat level to opponents, turning the tide in your favor with strategic play.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where slower, more gradual wins are common, Deadly Poison Sampler could disrupt your opponent’s pace and provide an unanticipated vector for victory. Its niche effect may just be what you need to outmaneuver other players sticking to more conventional win conditions.


How to beat

The Deadly Poison Sampler card presents MTG players with a clever way to undermine opponents’ strategies by dishing out -1/-1 counters. Standout features of this card include its ability to hamper creature-heavy decks and the versatility it provides in both offensive and defensive maneuvers. To successfully navigate against this card, it’s essential to focus on removal spells that can target and eliminate it before the damage can ramp up. Counterspells are also highly effective, providing a preemptive strike against Deadly Poison Sampler’s deployment on the battlefield.

Alternatively, using hexproof or indestructible creatures can nullify the Sampler’s impact, allowing your board to remain unscathed. It’s also worth noting that any strategy that can proliferate the use of +1/+1 counters will act as a counterbalance to this card, effectively neutralizing the threat it poses to your creatures’ survivability. In essence, while the Deadly Poison Sampler can be a thorn in your side, there are numerous ways to work around it, turning potential weaknesses into strategic advantages during gameplay.

When considering your deck’s composition, keep in mind the potential presence of cards like Deadly Poison Sampler and equip your arsenal accordingly to ensure your creatures can thrive even under the pressure of such control tactics.


Cards like Deadly Poison Sampler

Exploring the depths of strategic enhancements in Magic: The Gathering, Deadly Poison Sampler offers an intriguing function in the realm of combat tricks. It stands shoulder to shoulder with certain stalwarts like Giant Growth, which also provides a power and toughness boost to creatures. The Deadly Poison Sampler, however, introduces a tactical twist by potentially deathtouching multiple blockers rather than just amplifying a single creature’s might.

Another card to consider in relation is Virulent Swipe, which not only increases a creature’s power but also confers deathtouch for that turn. Both cards have a keen edge in combat, but Deadly Poison Sampler allows the distribution of deathtouch across several creatures, while Virulent Swipe is limited to one creature but comes with rebound. It’s also noteworthy to compare it to Scale Up, which can transform a creature into a significant threat. Whereas Scale Up has a larger effect on one creature’s size, Deadly Poison Sampler provides more board-wide utility.

Each of these cards offers unique advantages, but Deadly Poison Sampler is exceptional for its potential to alter the course of multiple combat exchanges, a valuable asset in MTG player’s arsenals eager to control the battlefield with sly and deadly interactions.

Giant Growth - MTG Card versions
Virulent Swipe - MTG Card versions
Scale Up - MTG Card versions
Giant Growth - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Virulent Swipe - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Scale Up - Modern Horizons (MH1)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Deadly Poison Sampler MTG card by a specific set like Unstable, 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 Deadly Poison Sampler and other MTG cards:

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Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-01-19 Any Contraption that’s on the battlefield and wasn’t assembled immediately heads to the scrapyard. However, if it’s a not an actual Contraption card (like Copy Artifact isn’t), it goes to your graveyard as normal. Non-Contraption cards can’t be in the scrapyard.
2018-01-19 At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control any Contraptions, move the CRANK! counter to the next sprocket. You may then crank any number of Contraptions on that sprocket, causing their abilities to trigger. Cranking a Contraption is always optional.
2018-01-19 Contraptions are artifacts. Anything that interacts with artifacts will interact with Contraptions.
2018-01-19 Contraptions aren’t put into your main deck. They go into a separate deck called the Contraption deck.
2018-01-19 If a Contraption would leave the battlefield and go to any zone other than exile, it instead goes to the scrapyard, the Contraption deck’s version of the graveyard. Things that affect the graveyard do not affect the scrapyard. You can exile Contraptions just fine.
2018-01-19 If you crank multiple Contraptions, their abilities can be put onto the stack in any order. The ability put onto the stack will resolve first.
2018-01-19 If you or a permanent you control are instructed to assemble a Contraption, reveal the top card of your Contraption deck. Put it onto the battlefield on one of the three sprockets.
2018-01-19 If you or a permanent you control assembles a Contraption and your Contraption deck is empty, nothing happens. You don’t lose the game.
2018-01-19 In Constructed formats, a Contraption deck must have at least fifteen different Contraption cards and no more than one of each.
2018-01-19 In Limited formats, a Contraption deck may include any number of Contraption cards in your card pool. You don’t have to include every Contraption card you draft or open in sealed deck. In those formats, your Contraption deck may include duplicates.
2018-01-19 In silver-bordered games using Contraptions, you have three sprockets, illustrated on the back of Contraption cards. At the start of the game, put a CRANK! counter on sprocket 3.
2018-01-19 While Contraptions you control are on the battlefield, the Contraption deck is not, even if you are using it to signify the three sprockets.

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