Antagonism MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Enchantment
Released	1998-10-12
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Saga
Set code	USG
Number	173
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Donato Giancola

Key Takeaways

Antagonism offers card draw and instant speed play, enhancing player’s hand and reaction capabilities.
It requires careful mana balance and hand management, due to discard and specific casting costs.
The card shines in damage redirection strategies and against aggressive, damage-oriented metas.

Text of card

During each player's discard phase, Antagonism deals 2 damage to that player unless one of his or her opponents was successfully dealt damage that turn.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Antagonism bolsters your hand by enabling you to disrupt your opponent while potentially drawing into more options. The ability to counter an opponent’s spell and then draw a card presents a direct path to overtaking your adversary in card economy.

Resource Acceleration: With Antagonism, you’re not only setting your opponent back a step, but you’re also accelerating your own resources. The card can effectively slow down your opponent, giving you the opportunity to pull ahead and deploy your strategies faster.

Instant Speed: The speed of this card is key, providing flexibility in play. Acting at instant speed means you have the power to react during your opponent’s turn, which can be crucial for disrupting their plans and leaving them at a disadvantage, all while keeping up the pace of your own gameplay.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Antagonism obliges players to discard another card to activate its effect. This can be particularly taxing during the late game when hand resources are crucial for maintaining momentum and responding to an opponent’s threats.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires both red and blue mana for its casting cost, which can make it tricky to fit into decks that do not have a reliable mana base that supports both colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that comprises four mana, including two that are color-specific, Antagonism can feel costly compared to other options in the same mana range that may provide instant benefits or have lower opportunity costs.

Reasons to Include Antagonism in Your Collection

Versatility: Antagonism offers a unique effect that protects your board state, which means it can be a fit in decks that want to preserve their creatures against damage-based board wipes or during combat.

Combo Potential: This card has the ability to create interesting interactions with decks focused on damage redirection or with cards designed to survive damage, amplifying its impact in those combinations.

Meta-Relevance: Where the current environment leans towards aggressive, damage-dealing strategies, Antagonism can act as a counterbalance, mitigating incoming harm and turning the tables in your favor.

How to beat

Antagonism is a unique Aura enchantment that brings an element of strategic disruption to Magic: The Gathering. Unlike other enchantments that might buff your creatures or hinder your opponent’s directly, Antagonism chips away at their life total whenever they cast a spell. This incremental damage can quickly add up, incentivizing players to carefully consider their spell casting choices.

To effectively navigate this obstacle, players should focus on cards that destroy or bypass enchantments. Enchantment removal like Disenchant or Naturalize are straightforward solutions, efficiently dealing with Antagonism at a minimal cost. Additionally, strategies that deploy a suite of persistent threats can mitigate Antagonism’s impact, pressuring the opponent to act and consequently suffer the damaging repercussions or face overwhelming board states.

Counterspells are also an effective way to prevent Antagonism from hitting the battlefield in the first place. By maintaining a reactive stance with cards like Counterspell or Negate in your hand, you can stop Antagonism early in the game. It’s a delicate balancing act, but by deploying the right mix of threat management and strategic counterplay, Antagonism’s disadvantageous effect on your game plan can be nullified.

Cards like Antagonism

Antagonism is a unique enchantment that brings an intriguing dynamic to Magic: The Gathering gameplay. It shares some functional similarities with cards like Mana Barbs, which also deal damage to players due to mana usage. However, Antagonism steps it up by targeting only the opponent and triggering at the untap step. This can steadily drain an opponent’s life total each turn, significantly altering their strategy.

Another parallel can be drawn with Citadel of Pain, an enchantment that punishes players for not tapping their lands. While Citadel of Pain imposes a cost on holding mana back, Antagonism incentivizes aggressive play, creating a subtle yet impactful psychological pressure on the opponent. Yet, the focused damage from Antagonism is what sets it apart, providing a more predictable and consistent effect.

Bearing these comparisons in mind, Antagonism presents itself as a compelling choice for decks that aim to disrupt opponent strategies through incremental damage, especially considering its capability to tip the balance in prolonged games where each point of life becomes critical.

Cards similar to Antagonism by color, type and mana cost

Uncontrollable Anger - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Antagonism MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga, 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 Antagonism and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Antagonism has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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