Shattered Dreams MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Sorcery |
| Released | 2004-06-04 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Fifth Dawn |
| Set code | 5DN |
| Number | 59 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Greg Staples |
Key Takeaways
- Shattered Dreams offers hand disruption at instant speed, challenging opponents to adapt their plans.
- While versatile in certain decks, its discard requirement and black mana need can limit use.
- Its effectiveness depends on the meta’s reliance on artifacts, enhancing its strategic value.
Text of card
Target opponent reveals his or her hand. Choose an artifact card from it. That player discards that card.
Victims are lucky if they remember ever having had what was lost.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Shattered Dreams excels in disrupting your opponent’s hand, potentially stripping away a key piece of their strategy. This can tip the balance in your favor by setting back their game plan and giving you the upper hand.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly increasing your mana pool, the information gained from seeing a player’s hand can be a form of strategic acceleration. Knowing what resources your adversary has at their disposal allows you to make more informed and efficient decisions with your plays.
Instant Speed: The ability to play Shattered Dreams at instant speed provides you with the flexibility to react during your opponent’s turn, keeping them on their toes and forcing them to consider an additional layer of complexity as they plan their moves.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Shattered Dreams necessitates the discarding of a card from your hand, potentially depleting your strategic options and leaving you at a disadvantage if your hand is already dwindling.
Specific Mana Cost: This card requires black mana, making it less flexible and more challenging to incorporate in multi-colored decks that may not prioritize black mana or have a reliable source for it.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Shattered Dreams provides an avenue to disrupt your opponent’s strategy, it comes at a relatively steep cost for its effect when compared with other hand disruption or control spells available in the game.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Shattered Dreams slides seamlessly into a variety of deck builds, especially those that thrive on disrupting opponents and resource denial strategies. Its capacity to scope out an opponent’s hand and force the sacrifice of an artifact makes it a utility player in black control decks.
Combo Potential: The card excels when combined with other discard mechanics, amplifying the strain on an opponent’s resources. It can be a key cog in decks that capitalize on opponents’ empty hands or those that benefit from artifact removal, knitting together synergies that can destabilize many opponents’ tactics.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where artifact-heavy strategies are prevalent, Shattered Dreams earns its place by providing a targeted and efficient answer to key components of opponents’ setups. Its relevance rises as the presence of artifacts in competitive play increases, making it a proactive choice for deck tech against certain metagame trends.
How to beat
Confronting Shattered Dreams in a game of Magic: The Gathering demands a keen understanding of its disruptive power. This card specializes in disrupting your hand, forcing you to discard cards, which can derail your strategy if not properly mitigated. The most straightforward tactic to counteract this is by maintaining a surplus of cards in hand, effectively reducing the impact Shattered Dreams can have on your key plays.
Deck builders often include cards that enable card draw or grant alternative resources when discarded to offset such strategies. This cushion of cards can come from abilities that trigger on discarding or by including less vital cards in your deck that you can afford to lose without sacrificing your route to victory. Additionally, employing instant-speed draw spells enables you to replenish your hand quickly, thereby minimizing the disruption caused by discard effects.
Remember, when pitted against cards like Shattered Dreams, the key is to adapt your playstyle. Anticipate the discard, play around it, and keep your most significant resources secure. A well-prepared deck can absorb the blow and continue towards victory with minimal detours.
Cards like Shattered Dreams
Shattered Dreams stands as a niche player within the realm of disruptive spells in Magic: The Gathering. It bears a resemblance to cards like Duress, both of which whittle away at an opponent’s strategic assets by targeting their hand. What differentiates Shattered Dreams is its specificity in discarding artifacts, a narrow focus compared to Duress’s broader ability to dispose of noncreature, nonland cards.
Joining these hand disruption options is also the card Despise, which puts a dent in the creatures and planeswalkers in an adversary’s hand. While not impacting the wide array of cards like Duress, it also doesn’t carry the artifact-specific limitation of Shattered Dreams. Another analogous spell is Drill Bit, which allows you to peek and pluck cards from an opponent’s hand provided you’ve dealt some damage beforehand. Unlike Shattered Dreams, Drill Bit’s versatility can target a larger array of nonland cards.
Ultimately, Shattered Dreams carves out its own space for players looking to strategically dismantle artifact-based strategies, suggesting its inclusion in a deck should be a considered choice tailored to confront specific metagames where artifacts are prevalent.
Cards similar to Shattered Dreams by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Shattered Dreams MTG card by a specific set like Fifth Dawn, 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 Shattered Dreams 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Shattered Dreams has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |