Withering Wisps MTG Card
1995-06-03 - Number 168
2008-09-22 - Number 114
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Enchantment |
Text of card
At the end of any turn, if there are no creatures in play, bury Withering Wisps. oo B Withering Wisps deals 1 damage to each creature and each player. You cannot spend more o B in this way each turn than the number of snow-covered swamps you control.
Cards like Withering Wisps
Withering Wisps presents itself as an intriguing black enchantment option among board control cards in Magic: The Gathering. This card has an innate comparison to the much revered Pestilence, which also serves as a method to deal damage to each creature and each player. While both possess the potential to clear the board of smaller creatures, Withering Wisps requires a snow-covered land to stay in play, hence tying it more closely to decks that are tailored to take advantage of snow land mechanics.
On the same spectrum, Pyrohemia is another card mirroring this ability in red. Like Withering Wisps, Pyrohemia lets the player spend mana to deal damage to all creatures and players. Nonetheless, Pyrohemia remains on the battlefield as long as there’s a creature present, which creates a different type of leverage and deck-building consideration. Then there’s the card Toxic Deluge, an alternative yet powerful sweeper that can clear out larger creatures by paying life in addition to mana, unlike the recurring damage potential of Withering Wisps.
Overall, while evaluating the utility and adaptability across various game scenarios, Withering Wisps displays a specific niche within board control spells, catering especially well to synergistic deck designs that value consistent damage and snow land mechanics.
Cards similar to Withering Wisps by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Withering Wisps offers a repeatable effect that can clear out multiple smaller creatures over several turns. This continuous creature control can lead to gaining card advantage as opponents are forced to commit more resources to the board only to have them removed.
Resource Acceleration: Although not directly contributing to resource acceleration, the card’s ability to keep the board clear can indirectly accelerate your game plan by hindering your opponent’s development, allowing you to utilize your resources more efficiently.
Instant Speed: While Withering Wisps operates at the speed of an enchantment, its ability can be activated at instant speed. This offers strategic flexibility, enabling you to decide the most opportune moment to weaken or remove opposing threats during your opponent’s turn or at the end of their turn, before you take yours.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Withering Wisps can potentially clear the board of smaller creatures, it requires you to discard a card to keep it active. This can put you at a disadvantage by depleting your hand, especially if you’re already behind in the game.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a heavy commitment to black mana. Its casting cost requires three black mana, which restricts its inclusion to mono-black decks or those that can generate sufficient black mana reliably.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Withering Wisps comes with a steep four total mana cost, which is significant for its effect. When weighed against other cards that can achieve similar results or offer better board control, this cost might not represent the best value for the mana spent.
Reasons to Include Withering Wisps in Your Collection
Versatility: Withering Wisps serves as a flexible control piece, able to consistently clear the board of small creatures. It’s a perfect fit for decks that need to stabilize against faster, swarm strategies.
Combo Potential: This card creates opportunities to set up combos with life-gain mechanics or with cards that benefit from death triggers, enriching your strategy as you control the board state.
Meta-Relevance: If you’re facing a meta crowded with aggro decks, Withering Wisps can be particularly effective, keeping the swarm at bay and preserving your life total while setting up for late-game dominance.
How to beat
Withering Wisps is a unique card known for its ability to clear the battlefield of smaller creatures round after round. Its strength lies in dealing one damage to all creatures and players during each of your upkeep phases, as long as you control a Swamp. This represents a persistent threat, particularly to players who rely on a swarm strategy with a multitude of low-toughness creatures.
To effectively play against Withering Wisps, consider utilizing creatures with toughness greater than one to withstand the damage. Alternatively, running enchantment removal spells allows you to remove Withering Wisps before it accumulates too much value over time. A strategic approach involves deploying creatures with resistance to black or with regeneration to recover from the damage they receive. Deploying your own threats post-Wisps activation can also ensure they enter the battlefield without immediately facing its damaging effect.
Having a solid understanding of your deck and the timing of when to play your cards can hinder the impact of Withering Wisps, turning a potential drawback into sophisticated gameplay ballet. Mastering this counterplay will elevate your game performance against decks wielding this potent enchantment.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Withering Wisps MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Masters Edition II, 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 Withering Wisps and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Withering Wisps Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by NéNé Thomas.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1995-06-03 | Ice Age | ICE | 168 | 1993 | Normal | Black | NéNé Thomas | |
| 2 | 2008-09-22 | Masters Edition II | ME2 | 114 | 1997 | Normal | Black | NéNé Thomas |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Withering Wisps has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Withering Wisps card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-10-01 | If all creatures leave the battlefield during a turn’s End step (after any “at the beginning of the end step” triggers would have triggered that turn), Withering Wisps will remain on the battlefield because the trigger condition has already passed. |
| 2008-10-01 | The number of snow Swamps you control and the number of times Withering Wisps’s ability has been activated so far that turn are checked each time you attempt to activate the ability. |
| 2008-10-01 | Withering Wisps’s triggered ability has an “intervening ‘if’ clause.” That means (1) the ability won’t trigger at all unless there are no creatures on the battlefield when a turn’s end step begins, and (2) the ability will do nothing if there are any creatures on the battlefield by the time the ability resolves. |