Weakness MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 16 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Weakness can effectively consolidate card advantage by hindering opponent creatures without extra expenditure.
  2. It acts as tactical acceleration, enabling your strategies by diminishing adversaries’ creature strengths.
  3. Despite being played at sorcery speed, Weakness sets up future control over the game flow.

Text of card

Target creature loses -2/-1; if this drops the creature's toughness below 1, it is dead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Weakness card, while it doesn’t directly allow you to draw additional cards, effectively diminishes your opponent’s board presence. By weakening an opponent’s creature, you improve your own standing without the need to expend multiple cards, hence consolidating your card advantage on the battlefield.

Resource Acceleration: Weakness isn’t a direct tool for resource acceleration in the traditional sense of ramping mana. However, it can be considered a form of tactical acceleration. By minimizing the strength of your adversary’s creatures, you’re indirectly accelerating your game plan, allowing your creatures to remain dominant on the board and pushing your strategy forward unimpeded.

Instant Speed: Although the Weakness spell is a card that is cast at sorcery speed, its impact on gameplay can be quite dramatic. It enables you to effectively manage threats during your own turn and set the stage for subsequent moves. It’s a preemptive way to manage potential threats and maintain control on the flow of the game, making it a strategic cornerstone for turns to come.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the game of power and precision, discarding a card to play Weakness can set you back, especially when your hand size is already dwindling. Being forced to part with a piece of your strategy can be a tough pill to swallow and it can sometimes lead to a disadvantageous board state.

Specific Mana Cost: The card’s mana cost can be restrictive. Its requirement for specific mana types ties it to particular deck themes or colors, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck builds. This can lead to a tough time slotting it into a deck without the necessary mana support.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Weakness can turn the tides in battle by weakening an adversary’s creature, it comes at a mana cost that’s on the higher end for such an effect. Players often weigh the benefits of such a card against others with lower mana costs or those that offer more comprehensive solutions to threats on the board.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Weakness offers a straightforward and cost-effective way to decrease the power of threatening creatures on the board, fitting seamlessly into decks that aim to control the pace and maintain dominance over the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card can work in conjunction with other cards that benefit from diminished creature strengths, like those that allow a player to easily destroy weakened creatures or capitalize on the lower power for tactical advantages during combat.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based aggro decks are prevalent, Weakness can serve as an essential tool, tipping the scales by unexpectedly downgrading opponent creatures’ offensive capabilities, which could be a decisive factor in winning games.


How to beat Weakness

Weakness is a classic example of how enchantments can tip the scales in a Magic: The Gathering match by affecting a creature’s power and toughness. Its ability to decrease a creature’s power by 2 can cripple an opponent’s board presence, especially when applied to high-threat, low-strength creatures. This kind of card can often disrupt strategies dependent on small combos or creatures with just enough power to survive most battles.

Dealing with Weakness starts with recognizing its impact and utilizing a varied approach. Cards with enchantment removal like Disenchant or Naturalize are straightforward solutions that can neutralize Weakness by removing it from the battlefield. Alternatively, playing creatures with higher toughness ensures resilience against such debuffs, allowing your in-game strategy to withstand targeted Weakness plays.

Lastly, employing creatures with hexproof or shroud provides a foolproof way to sidestep direct-target effects altogether. Navigating around Weakness requires a combination of strategic card selection and a keen awareness of the enchantments your opponent may bring into play, assuring that a swift answer is always at hand within your deck.


Cards like Weakness

Weakness is an intriguing enchantment in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering with its straightforward impact on a creature’s power stats. Delve into its comparatives and you’ll find that it shares a theme with cards like Dead Weight. Much like Weakness, Dead Weight reduces a creature’s power and toughness, though it does so with a fixed numerical decrement rather than a percentage.

Examine Languish, and you notice that while it doesn’t permanently alter creatures like Weakness, it offers a one-time substantial decrease in power and toughness of all creatures on the board, not just a targeted one. Then there’s the more versatile Grasp of Darkness, changing the battlefield dynamic significantly by giving a creature -4/-4 until the end of turn, showcasing a stronger, albeit temporary, effect than the enduring change imposed by Weakness.

In sum, Weakness occupies a unique spot in deck construction for those seeking consistent, long-term diminishment of an opponent’s creature. This contrasts with other options offering either a more robust one-off impact or similar steady power reductions without the flexibility to adjust to the board’s evolving state.

Dead Weight - MTG Card versions
Languish - MTG Card versions
Grasp of Darkness - MTG Card versions
Dead Weight - Innistrad (ISD)
Languish - Magic Origins Promos (PORI)
Grasp of Darkness - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)

Cards similar to Weakness by color, type and mana cost

Paralyze - MTG Card versions
Unholy Strength - MTG Card versions
Evil Presence - MTG Card versions
Imprison - MTG Card versions
Thrull Retainer - MTG Card versions
Torture - MTG Card versions
Death Watch - MTG Card versions
Leshrac's Rite - MTG Card versions
Sadistic Glee - MTG Card versions
Sarcomancy - MTG Card versions
Dread of Night - MTG Card versions
Tortured Existence - MTG Card versions
Volrath's Motion Sensor - MTG Card versions
Sicken - MTG Card versions
Darkest Hour - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Reclamation - MTG Card versions
Withering Hex - MTG Card versions
Genju of the Fens - MTG Card versions
Some Disassembly Required - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Link - MTG Card versions
Paralyze - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Unholy Strength - Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic (DVD)
Evil Presence - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Imprison - Legends (LEG)
Thrull Retainer - Masters Edition (ME1)
Torture - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Death Watch - Visions (VIS)
Leshrac's Rite - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Sadistic Glee - Tempest (TMP)
Sarcomancy - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Dread of Night - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Tortured Existence - Stronghold (STH)
Volrath's Motion Sensor - Unglued (UGL)
Sicken - Urza's Saga (USG)
Darkest Hour - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Phyrexian Reclamation - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Withering Hex - Onslaught (ONS)
Genju of the Fens - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Some Disassembly Required - Happy Holidays (HHO)
Vampiric Link - Planar Chaos (PLC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Weakness MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Weakness and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Weakness Magic the Gathering card was released in 16 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2011-01-10. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 1341993normalblackDouglas Shuler
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 1351993normalblackDouglas Shuler
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 1351993normalwhiteDouglas Shuler
41993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 1351993normalblackDouglas Shuler
51993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 1351993normalblackDouglas Shuler
61994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 1361993normalblackDouglas Shuler
71994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 1361993normalwhiteDouglas Shuler
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 1361993normalwhiteDouglas Shuler
91995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 1701993normalwhiteDouglas Shuler
101995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 1701993normalblackDouglas Shuler
111996-07-01Rivals Quick Start SetRQS 281993normalwhiteDouglas Shuler
121996-12-31Introductory Two-Player SetITP 291993normalwhiteDouglas Shuler
131997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 2051997normalwhiteKev Walker
141999-11-12Battle Royale Box SetBRB 961997normalwhiteKev Walker
152009-07-17Magic 2010M10 1212003normalblackKev Walker
162011-01-10Masters Edition IVME4 1011997normalblackDouglas Shuler

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Weakness has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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