Sadistic Glee MTG Card

Tempest (TMP)
1997-10-14 - Number 153

Sadistic Glee - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)

Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
1999-11-12 - Number 61

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Sadistic Glee turns creature deaths into a growing advantage, boosting your board presence.
The card’s combat acceleration potential can hasten victory without extra resources.
Instant-speed interactions are elevated, utilizing Sadistic Glee’s power enhancement effectively.

Text of card

Whenever any creature is put into any graveyard from play, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted creature.

"First blood isn't as important as last blood." —Gerrard of the *Weatherlight*

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sadistic Glee offers a perpetual power boost to your creature, effectively turning every creature loss your opponent suffers into an advantage on board. As creatures die, your enchanted minion grows stronger, ensuring you are rewarded for natural gameplay progressions.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, the incremental power increases can expedite your victory, reducing the need for further resource deployment. In essence, Sadistic Glee can serve as a form of ‘combat acceleration’, transforming existing resources into increasing threats.

Instant Speed: Although Sadistic Glee itself isn’t an instant, it magnifies the value of instant-speed removal and combat tricks in your deck. Each creature that dies with Sadistic Glee in play, even on your opponent’s turn, permanently empowers your creature, allowing for swift and sudden shifts in the game’s tide.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Sadistic Glee can become a powerhouse in the right circumstances, it carries the inherent risk of leaving you vulnerable to removal spells. Once targeted by an opponent’s spell that wipes out creatures, not only do you lose your creature but also the investment in the enchantment itself, making it a potentially high-risk play.

Specific Mana Cost: Sadistic Glee requires a specific black mana to cast. This means it fits primarily into black-focused decks or multicolored decks that can accommodate black mana. Its inflexible mana requirement could limit deck-building options and may not be an optimal choice for decks that don’t heavily utilize black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though not exorbitantly priced at a single black mana, when evaluating Sadistic Glee against the broader landscape of MTG enchantments, players may find that there are alternatives that either offer more immediate impact or have a lower mana investment. In fast-paced games, the mana spent on Sadistic Glee could potentially be allocated to more impactful cards, especially when tempo is crucial.

Reasons to Include Sadistic Glee in Your Collection

Versatility: Sadistic Glee, as an enchantment, slots well into a variety of black-based decks, particularly those focused on creature sacrifice strategies. Its ability to buff a creature each time another creature dies underlines its flexible nature in aggressive and control strategies alike.

Combo Potential: This card shines within combo decks that capitalize on repeated creature deaths or token generation. Any deck that cycles creatures rapidly can turn an unassuming creature into a massive threat, creating a potential win condition.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of creature-heavy decks and the consistent need to leverage every board state change, Sadistic Glee can be a sleeper hit in the right meta. In environments where creatures are plentiful and the battlefield is always shifting, this card can be a game-changer.

How to beat

Sadistic Glee is a card that does well in scenarios where creatures are frequently dying, as it steadily amplifies one creature’s power. This enchantment excels in decks where sacrifice is a key theme, or in metagames with a high rate of creature turnover. To counter it, it’s crucial to manage the battlefield, focusing on removal spells that can exile or shuffle creatures into the library, thus not triggering Sadistic Glee’s ability.

Consider using instant-speed removal that can disrupt the opponent’s strategy before they can reap the benefits of a buffed creature. Cards such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares can be effective tools. Moreover, enchantment removal like Disenchant or Naturalize comes in handy against Sadistic Glee directly, especially when timed right after it’s cast but before it can become a threat.

Lastly, prioritize threats effectively. Sometimes the best approach is to allow Sadistic Glee to resolve but ensure you can manage or neutralize the creature it enchants. Constant board pressure and control are paramount in handling the strategies this card supports.

Cards like Sadistic Glee

Sadistic Glee is a unique enchantment that enriches the creature enhancement spectrum in Magic: The Gathering. It shares a thematic link with cards like Blade of the Bloodchief, which also gains counters whenever a creature dies. Whereas Sadistic Glee gains a +1/+1 counter for any creature’s death, Blade of the Bloodchief restricts its benefit solely to the demise of vampires or if any creature dies under your control, making it especially potent in vampire-themed decks.

Looking at a broader scope, Strength from the Fallen is another enchantment that has a similar mechanic, conferring power to your creatures whenever a creature enters your graveyard, but with Strength from the Fallen, the power boost is temporary, unlike the permanent counters provided by Sadistic Glee. There’s yet another enigmatic cousin in the form of Mortician Beetle, a creature that benefits from sacrifice strategies, thriving whenever you sacrifice a creature, much like Sadistic Glee feeds off death for persistent power growth.

Examining these parallels, it’s clear that Sadistic Glee has a versatile and universal appeal, drawing strength from the shared mortality across all creatures. This makes it a valuable addition to any MTG deck that thrives on the cyclical nature of creature death and rebirth.

Blade of the Bloodchief - MTG Card versions

Strength from the Fallen - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Sadistic Glee by color, type and mana cost

Volrath's Motion Sensor - MTG Card versions

Phyrexian Reclamation - MTG Card versions

Bloodchief Ascension - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sadistic Glee MTG card by a specific set like Tempest and Battle Royale Box Set, 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 Sadistic Glee and other MTG cards: