Scourge of the Skyclaves MTG Card
2020-09-25 - Number 343
2020-09-25 - Number 122
2020-09-25 - Number 122s
2020-09-25 - Number 122p
2002-06-24 - Number 83792
| Card sets | Released in 5 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Mythic |
| Type | Creature — Demon |
| Abilities | Kicker |
| Power | * |
| Toughness | * |
Key Takeaways
- Leveraging health as a resource maximizes Scourge’s card advantage and board impact.
- Indirect tempo gains from its presence can accelerate winning conditions.
- Instant-speed spells complement Scourge, enhancing its threat at crucial moments.
Text of card
Kicker When you cast this spell, if it was kicked, each player loses half their life, rounded up. Scourge of the Skyclaves's power and toughness are each equal to 20 minus the highest life total among players.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Scourge of the Skyclaves has the potential to be a powerhouse in decks built around life total manipulation. By enabling its power to scale with the health of both players, it can inadvertently create card advantage. The card forces opponents to consider their life total as a resource more carefully, changing the dynamics of card trades and threats on the battlefield.
Resource Acceleration: Although Scourge of the Skyclaves does not directly accelerate resources, it can indirectly quicken the tempo of the game. When played early and followed by aggressive life total reduction, it helps to shorten the game, thereby accelerating your route to victory. The sheer presence of this card on the field can act as a catalyst for faster, more decisive plays.
Instant Speed: While Scourge of the Skyclaves itself is not an instant, its dynamic power scaling can benefit from instant-speed spells in your arsenal. Actions taken at instant speed that alter life totals can immediately enhance its power, making it a formidable threat at any point in the combat sequence. Its synergy with instant-speed interactions elevates its potential impact on the game, adding a layer of strategic depth to each match.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: When incorporating Scourge of the Skyclaves into your strategy, be mindful of its reliance on the number of cards in each player’s hand. This dynamic can work against you if your opponent capitalizes on the discard mechanic, potentially leaving you at a disadvantage.
Specific Mana Cost: The card’s demand for both black and generic mana types may not always align seamlessly with deck construction, particularly in multi-color decks that might struggle to produce the necessary black mana consistently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Scourge of the Skyclaves offers a unique power level that scales with life totals, its casting cost can be steep when compared to other creatures at similar mana values. Players often evaluate the impact of adding this card against other options in their deckbuilding process.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Scourge of the Skyclaves seamlessly adapts to various aggressive and midrange decks. Its ability to scale its power and toughness with the combined life total lost makes it a dynamic threat in any game state.
Combo Potential: The card excels in decks focused on life total manipulation. It pairs well with effects that swiftly lower life totals, enabling it to become a substantial creature quickly. This synergy can lead to explosive turns that overpower opponents.
Meta-Relevance: As players continually adjust their strategies to the evolving competitive landscape, Scourge of the Skyclaves holds its ground as a formidable play. It challenges current decks that stabilize at higher life totals and can act as a game-closer against various archetypes, ensuring its relevance in the meta.
How to beat
Scourge of the Skyclaves is a formidable creature in Magic: The Gathering, renowned for its potential to become a massive threat on the battlefield. Its power and toughness are determined by the amount of life both players have lost, which can grow exponentially in an aggressive match. To effectively counter this creature, players should focus on life gain strategies and removal spells. Cards that can efficiently remove creatures without dealing damage, such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push, are particularly useful as they do not contribute to the Scourge’s growth.
Maintaining a higher life total is also key, which means including options like lifelink creatures or recurring life gain effects is beneficial. It’s additionally wise to be cautious with how much damage you deal to your opponent if you suspect they might cast a Scourge of the Skyclaves, as lowering their life total can backfire. Board control is essential, and keeping creature removal in hand until the Scourge hits the battlefield can be a winning move.
Ultimately, flexibly adapting your strategy while staying mindful of the life totals in play is paramount to overcoming the challenge posed by Scourge of the Skyclaves and securing victory on the MTG battlefield.
Cards like Scourge of the Skyclaves
Scourge of the Skyclaves carves its place in Magic: The Gathering, bringing a unique dynamic to the battlefield. Its kinship is with Death’s Shadow, a card that similarly thrives on low life totals to grow in power. While Death’s Shadow’s strength is directly tied to the player’s health, Scourge’s might scales with the total loss of life both players have endured. This small variance introduces a new layer of strategy, making it a fearsome card in any duel.
Another parallel can be drawn with Ebondeath, Dracolich, offering a different twist on the concept of resurrection. Scourge of the Skyclaves lacks Ebondeath’s recurring ability but compensates with the potential to hit the ground as a massive creature early on in the game. This highlights the adaptability and raw power that Scourge can unleash, often turning the tides of a match.
When evaluating the utility and potential impact on the game, Scourge of the Skyclaves stands out for its aggressively engineered nature. It leverages not just the wielder’s ingenuity but also capitalizes on the entire game’s progression to potentially dominate the board.
Cards similar to Scourge of the Skyclaves by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Scourge of the Skyclaves MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Zendikar Rising, 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 Scourge of the Skyclaves and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See Magic products
Printings
The Scourge of the Skyclaves Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2020-09-25 and 2020-09-25. Illustrated by Chase Stone.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 83792 | 2015 | normal | black | Chase Stone | ||
| 2 | 2020-09-25 | Zendikar Rising | ZNR | 343 | 2015 | normal | black | Chase Stone | |
| 3 | 2020-09-25 | Zendikar Rising | ZNR | 122 | 2015 | normal | black | Chase Stone | |
| 4 | 2020-09-25 | Zendikar Rising Promos | PZNR | 122s | 2015 | normal | black | Chase Stone | |
| 5 | 2020-09-25 | Zendikar Rising Promos | PZNR | 122p | 2015 | normal | black | Chase Stone |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Scourge of the Skyclaves has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Scourge of the Skyclaves card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2020-09-25 | An ability that triggers when a player casts a kicked spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger, but after targets have been chosen for that spell. It resolves even if that spell is countered. |
| 2020-09-25 | An ability that triggers when a player casts a spell resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered. Notably, Scourge of the Skyclaves may have its toughness change from less than 0 to greater than 0 as a result of its triggered ability before it resolves and enters the battlefield. |
| 2020-09-25 | If the highest life total among players is greater than 20, Scourge of the Skyclaves has negative power and toughness equal to the difference. |
| 2020-09-25 | If you copy a kicked spell, the copy is also kicked. If a card or token enters the battlefield as a copy of a permanent that’s already on the battlefield, the new permanent isn’t kicked, even if the original was. |
| 2020-09-25 | If you put a permanent with a kicker ability onto the battlefield without casting it, you can’t kick it. |
| 2020-09-25 | In a Two-Headed Giant game, Scourge of the Skyclaves causes each team to lose twice half their life rounded up, which is their full life total or, if it’s odd, that much life plus 1. This causes the game to end in a draw. |
| 2020-09-25 | Kicker represents an optional additional cost that you may choose to pay as you cast the spell. A spell cast with that additional cost paid is “kicked.” |
| 2020-09-25 | Some instant or sorcery spells require alternative or additional targets if they’re kicked. You ignore these targeting requirements if those spells aren’t kicked, and you can’t kick those spells unless you can choose the appropriate targets. On the other hand, you can kick a permanent spell even if you won’t be able to choose targets for an enters-the-battlefield ability of that permanent once the spell resolves. |
| 2020-09-25 | The ability that defines Scourge of the Skyclaves’s power and toughness applies in all zones, not just the battlefield. |
| 2020-09-25 | To determine a spell’s total cost, start with the mana cost (or an alternative cost if another card’s effect allows you to pay one instead), add any cost increases (such as kicker), then apply any cost reductions. The converted mana cost of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was. |
| 2020-09-25 | You can’t pay a kicker cost more than once. |
