Terminate MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 25 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Terminate offers card advantage by removing threats while preserving your board.
  2. Allows for more strategic plays with its low-cost, instant-speed removal.
  3. Its specific mana cost can limit deck inclusion, requiring careful planning.

Text of card

Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated.

Like his mother before him, Darigaaz gave his life defending Dominaria from the tyranny of self-styled "gods."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Terminate allows players to deal with nearly any creature on the board, effectively reducing the number of threats while potentially leaving your own board presence untouched. It’s a simple trade – one card for one of your opponent’s key creatures, helping you sway the balance in your favor during a match.

Resource Acceleration: While Terminate itself doesn’t directly impact resources in terms of mana, it efficiently removes creatures for a relatively low cost. This means more of your mana remains untapped for other strategies and plays, which can accelerate your game plan significantly.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Terminate at instant speed gives you the upper hand, allowing for surprise plays and the power to disrupt your opponent’s strategy during their turn. It can also be used defensively to protect your life total from unexpected threats or offensively to clear a path for a decisive attack.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Terminate requires a precise combination of mana, which may not always align with the player’s available resources in hand, potentially causing a missed opportunity or even turning the tide of the game against them.

Specific Mana Cost: Terminate’s mana cost necessitates both black and red mana, limiting its inclusion to decks that can reliably produce both colors, which might exclude it from a vast array of single or other dual-color decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Terminate provides definite removal, the combined cost of black and red mana may appear steep compared to other removal spells in the game, especially when considering the fast-paced nature of some matches where efficiency is key.


Reasons to Include Terminate in Your Collection

Versatility: Terminate is a highly flexible removal spell that can be slotted into any deck featuring black and red. Its ability to destroy target creature without the possibility of regeneration covers a broad range of threats on the battlefield, making it a universally efficient tool for maintaining control over the game.

Combo Potential: While Terminate is not directly part of combo strategies, its role in removing blockers or vital combo pieces from opponents’ boards allows for smoother execution of your winning plays. It acts as a safeguard, ensuring that your own combos can proceed without disruption.

Meta-Relevance: Given that creature-based strategies are prevalent in many MTG formats, Terminate maintains its importance. Being able to swiftly and unconditionally remove key creatures can be the tipping point in a tight match, thus retaining its meta-game relevance regardless of the evolving deck archetypes around it.


How to beat

Terminate is a potent removal spell in Magic: The Gathering, renowned for its ability to destroy target creatures without the possibility of regeneration—a surefire way to deal with threats on the battlefield. Contending with Terminate can be challenging due to its instant speed and the finality of its effect.

To navigate around Terminate, consider employing cards with hexproof or shroud, protecting your creatures from being targeted by any spells or abilities your opponents control. Similarly, utilizing counter spells when Terminate is cast can neutralize the threat. Moreover, playing creatures that leave behind tokens or have death-triggered abilities can ensure you maintain a presence on the board, thereby dampening the loss inflicted by Terminate.

Also, proactivity is key. By applying pressure with aggressive creatures, or through strategic gameplay that forces your opponent to use their removal spells earlier, you can diminish the impact of Terminate. Ultimately, while Terminate is a formidable card, with a tactical approach and the right mix of protective measures, you can effectively mitigate its influence in the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG isn’t just about knowing your cards; it’s about strategic foresight and adapting to the ever-changing battlefield. Terminate offers a robust solution for taking down threats, but integrating this spell into your arsenal requires thoughtful consideration. Whether it’s building around its mana requirements or harnessing its instant speed for surprise defense, every card counts. Expand your knowledge, hone your skills, and make informed decisions to keep your deck a step ahead. Dive deeper with us, explore strategic card synergies, and optimize your plays. Enhance your collection and your gameplay; step into our arena of wisdom and master the art of the game.


Cards like Terminate

In the realm of creature control within Magic: The Gathering, Terminate stands out for its sheer efficiency. Wielding the power to annihilate any creature regardless of size, it edges out similar removal spells like Doom Blade, which is foiled by black creatures. Terminate’s distinct advantage is its lack of color-based restrictions, allowing for uncompromised removal.

Dreadbore is another notable spell that competes with Terminate by offering an additional option to destroy a planeswalker. Although Dreadbore shares the same mana cost, it’s a sorcery, which diminishes its flexibility compared to the instant nature of Terminate. Along the lines of flexibility and specificity, Go for the Throat can be seen as a contender. It operates on a single black mana and another of any color, similar to Terminate, but like Doom Blade, it’s hampered by its inability to target artifact creatures. This detail can leave a player at a disadvantage in certain matches where artifact creatures are prevalent.

Understanding the subtle yet critical differences among these removal options can substantially impact your gameplay strategy. Terminate remains a popular choice for its versatility and immediate effect, securing its position as a reliable and potent tool for MTG players seeking to control the battlefield.

Doom Blade - MTG Card versions
Dreadbore - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Doom Blade - Magic 2010 (M10)
Dreadbore - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Go for the Throat - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

Cards similar to Terminate by color, type and mana cost

Rakdos Charm - MTG Card versions
Rakdos Charm - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander (LCC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Terminate MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift and World Championship Decks 2001, 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 Terminate and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Terminate Magic the Gathering card was released in 21 different sets between 2001-02-05 and 2022-09-09. Illustrated by 6 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12001-02-05PlaneshiftPLS 1281997normalblackDiTerlizzi
22001-08-08World Championship Decks 2001WC01 tvdl1281997normalgoldDiTerlizzi
32002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 351362003normalblackThomas M. Baxa
42002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 362302003normalblackDiTerlizzi
52002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 1022912015normalblackPaolo Parente
62009-01-01Magic Player Rewards 2009P09 92003normalblackThomas M. Baxa
72009-04-30Alara RebornARB 462003normalblackWayne Reynolds
82010-06-18ArchenemyARC 952003normalblackWayne Reynolds
92010-11-08Magic Online Theme DecksTD0 A1081997normalblackDiTerlizzi
102011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 2312003normalblackWayne Reynolds
112013-03-15Duel Decks: Sorin vs. TibaltDDK 642003normalblackWayne Reynolds
122016-11-11Commander 2016C16 2252015normalblackWayne Reynolds
132017-03-17Modern Masters 2017MM3 1942015normalblackLucas Graciano
142017-06-09Commander AnthologyCMA 1952015normalblackWayne Reynolds
152017-08-25Commander 2017C17 1992015normalblackLucas Graciano
162019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 14952015normalblackWayne Reynolds
172019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 14272015normalblackTOMO77
182020-04-17Commander 2020C20 2312015normalblackLucas Graciano
192020-09-26The ListPLST CMA-1952015normalblackWayne Reynolds
202020-09-26The ListPLST P09-92003normalblackThomas M. Baxa
212021-07-23Forgotten Realms CommanderAFC 1932015normalblackLucas Graciano
222022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 3532015normalblackLucas Graciano
232022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 3892015normalborderlessPaolo Parente
242022-07-08Double Masters 20222X2 2842015normalblackLucas Graciano
252022-09-09Dominaria United CommanderDMC 1722015normalblackDiTerlizzi

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Terminate has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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