Pay Tribute to Me MTG Card
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Scheme |
| Released | 2017-06-16 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Archenemy: Nicol Bolas Schemes |
| Set code | OE01 |
| Number | 14★ |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Scheme |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Aaron Miller |
Key Takeaways
- Gaining control of creatures creates consistent advantages, outpacing opponents’ resources without additional mana costs.
- Be mindful of the discard requirement and the specific mana needs, which can shape your deck’s design.
- “Pay Tribute to Me” shines in control decks and metas, adding strategic depth to each game.
Text of card
When you set this scheme in motion, each opponent sacrifices a creature. If you control six or more lands, each opponent sacrifices another creature.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: This enchantment has the potential to provide continuous card advantage by allowing you to gain control of opponents’ creatures when certain conditions are met. It’s not just a one-time use, setting up the possibility of outpacing the opponent in resources over time.
Resource Acceleration: “Pay Tribute to Me” can act as a form of acceleration by putting creatures under your control without expending mana for casting them. It can efficiently speed up your game plan by harnessing your opponent’s resources.
Instant Speed: Though not an instant itself, this card can benefit from instant-speed interactions. If you have instant speed removal or flash creatures, you can manipulate the game state at the end of your opponent’s turn to satisfy the conditions “Pay Tribute to Me” sets out for creature control.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: For players considering adding Pay Tribute to Me to their decks, it’s important to note that it requires you to discard a card. This can be particularly taxing for those who’ve already played many of their resources, leaving their hand size diminished and making it more difficult to maintain card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost not only demands three generic mana but also includes two black mana. This specific mana requirement can be restrictive, often requiring a dedicated or heavily influenced black mana base within a player’s deck to consistently cast it on curve.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total of five mana to cast, Pay Tribute to Me falls into the higher end of the mana curve, which may make it less appealing considering other card options. For players seeking to optimize their mana spending, this card may compete with other powerful spells that offer immediate board impact or nuances that are aligned with their strategic objectives.
Reasons to Include Pay Tribute to Me in Your Collection
Versatility: Pay Tribute to Me is a highly adaptable card that can effortlessly slide into various deck archetypes. It excels in settings that demand specific answers to threats or where player choices significantly shape the game’s outcome.
Combo Potential: This card opens up an avenue for synergistic plays, enabling it to work in tandem with strategies centered around player decisions or punishment mechanics. It can be a keystone piece in decks designed to capitalize on forcing opponents into difficult situations.
Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where psyching out your opponent is as important as the cards you play, Pay Tribute to Me holds its ground. It finds its place in metas where control and anticipation play a considerable role, granting an upper hand to strategic players who can predict and manipulate their opponents’ moves.
How to beat
“Pay Tribute to Me” integrates powerfully into decks that capitalize on opponent decisions. To effectively navigate around this card, players should consider maintaining a balance of expendable and critical creatures on the battlefield. Being forced to choose between a set of undesirable options, the opponent must carefully weigh which creatures to sacrifice. Flexible removal spells or abilities, which can eliminate your own creatures in response to the tribute trigger, could also mitigate the impact of this potent card. This ensures that the sacrifice is somewhat within your control, keeping essential creatures in play while also negating the opponent’s intended advantage.
In addition, running instant-speed interaction enables you to either disrupt the opponent’s strategy or adjust your board state in anticipation of the tribute demand. Having creatures with death-triggered abilities can turn the act of sacrificing into a beneficial event for you. As with all predicaments in MTG, being aware of the possible threats and thoughtfully planning your own plays around them is key to overcoming cards like “Pay Tribute to Me” and maintaining the upper hand in the match.
Cards like Pay Tribute to Me
Pay Tribute to Me is an intriguing strategic choice in Magic the Gathering, inviting comparisons with other cards that involve player choices. A notable parallel is Fact or Fiction, which allows a player to reveal the top five cards of their deck and an opponent separates them into two piles. The player then chooses one pile to add to their hand, which echoes the theme of choice provided by Pay Tribute to Me. However, unlike Fact or Fiction’s potential card advantage, Pay Tribute to Me leverages the political aspect of gameplay, forcing an opponent to choose between a lesser of two evils – sacrificing a creature or discarding two cards.
Another related card in MTG is Torment of Hailfire, which repeatedly presents foes with a choice during a singular, powerful turn. While both cards inflict incremental decisions, Pay Tribute to Me is specifically designed as a repeatable source of opponent’s anguish, thanks to its ability to return to the hand instead of being a one-off event. This mechanism ensures that the card remains a persistent threat and embodies repetitive decisions.
Given these factors, Pay Tribute to Me secures a unique spot in MTG’s array of choice-based cards. Its capability to recur, alongside the dilemma it imposes, offers a fascinating dynamic to the game, keeping opponents on their toes turn after turn.
Cards similar to Pay Tribute to Me by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Pay Tribute to Me MTG card by a specific set like Archenemy: Nicol Bolas Schemes, 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 Pay Tribute to Me 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
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Pay Tribute to Me card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-06-13 | If a creature has an ability that triggers when another creature dies, it will see other creatures sacrificed at the same time as it. If it’s sacrificed as one of the first creatures, it won’t see the creatures sacrificed the second time. |
| 2017-06-13 | If a creature has an ability that triggers when it or another creature dies, that ability won’t resolve until after the scheme’s triggered ability has completely resolved. |
| 2017-06-13 | In a Supervillain Rumble game, first the next player in turn order chooses a creature, then each other opponent in turn order does the same. Then the chosen creatures are sacrificed simultaneously. Then repeat this process if you control six or more lands. |
| 2017-06-13 | The number of lands you control is checked as this scheme’s triggered ability resolves. You can’t play a land during your turn before it resolves. |
| 2017-06-13 | The opposing team chooses one creature controlled by each player on that team to sacrifice, then the chosen creatures are sacrificed simultaneously. If you control six or more lands, repeat this process. |
