Capital Punishment MTG Card

Capital Punishment - Conspiracy: Take the Crown

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Council's dilemma
Released	2016-08-26
Set symbol
Set name	Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Set code	CN2
Number	40
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Lake Hurwitz

Key Takeaways

It offers card advantage by reducing opponents’ cards or creatures without direct draws.
Can disrupt opponents’ strategies at instant speed, allowing for tactical gains.
Demands strategic deck building due to specific mana and higher casting cost.

Text of card

Council's dilemma — Starting with you, each player votes for death or taxes. Each opponent sacrifices a creature for each death vote and discards a card for each taxes vote.

"I did offer them a choice . . ." —Queen Marchesa

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Capital Punishment offers a unique twist on traditional card advantage. Instead of directly drawing cards, it forces each opponent to choose between discarding cards or sacrificing creatures—effectively diminishing their resources while you maintain yours.

Resource Acceleration: When played skillfully, Capital Punishment can accelerate your resources relative to your opponents. By reducing the number of cards in their hands and creatures on the field, you’re indirectly boosting your own standing and potential for subsequent plays.

Instant Speed: The versatility of this card is heightened by its instant speed, giving you the flexibility to disrupt opponents during their turn. This can throw off their strategy and allow you to capitalize on their moment of weakness, a significant tactical advantage.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Capital Punishment compels players to choose between sacrificing creatures or discarding cards, which can be detrimental if your hand is your edge.

Specific Mana Cost: Demanding both black and red mana, this card requires a commitment to a Rakdos color scheme, potentially clashing with multi-color deck strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, this card competes with other high-impact options, and may not always be the most resource-efficient choice for your deck.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Capital Punishment is a unique card that can serve multiple roles within various deck archetypes. It can disrupt opponents’ hand and battlefield presence, making it a versatile addition to control and midrange decks alike.

Combo Potential: The ability to force each opponent to choose between sacrificing creatures or discarding cards can be leveraged in decks that focus on graveyard strategies or punishing opponents for having fewer cards in hand.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s dense with creature-heavy decks or where players tend to accumulate large hand sizes, Capital Punishment can act as a powerful equalizer, potentially clearing the board and disrupting opponents’ planned plays.

How to beat

Capital Punishment is a unique sorcery card that can put opponents in a difficult position by presenting a choice that affects both their hand and board presence. To effectively counter this card, consider strategies that offer protection or minimize its impact. Maintaining a wide board state can help dilute the effects of a potential creature loss. Similarly, having a hand with expendable cards or cards that benefit from being in the graveyard can turn the tables on an attempted disruption.

Using instant-speed spells and abilities to generate card advantage or flash creatures can rebuild your board quickly, mitigating the effectiveness of Capital Punishment. Another key tactic is to hold onto counter spells specifically for critical moments like these or use hexproof to safeguard valuable creatures. Always try to assess the game state and predict if your opponent could be holding this card to prepare appropriately. Remember, the best defense is understanding your deck’s weaknesses and planning ahead to ensure Capital Punishment doesn’t dismantle your strategy.

BurnMana Recommendations

Embracing Capital Punishment in your MTG arsenal could be a game-changer, especially if you thrive on strategy and disruption. Utilize this card to turn the tides by forcing opponents into tough decisions, directly impacting their resources, and setting the stage for your victory. Whether you’re fine-tuning a Rakdos deck or exploring new synergies within a multi-faceted control strategy, consider the possibilities that Capital Punishment opens up. Dive deeper into card analysis, discover synergistic combos, and ensure your collection is meta-ready. Elevate your MTG knowledge and deck-building skills with us and enforce your own version of Capital Punishment on the battlefield.

Cards like Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment is an intriguing option within the realm of voting cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its closest relatives are perhaps the Council’s Judgment and Expropriate. Like these cards, Capital Punishment involves each player in the decision-making process, giving it a political twist that can change the course of the game. Council’s Judgment allows players to vote for a nonland permanent to exile, while Expropriate takes it a step further by granting extra turns or stealing permanents based on the vote – both highly impactful outcomes.

We can also draw parallels to Coercive Portal, which offers a voting mechanism that can lead to a beneficial card draw or a board wipe, showing the dual nature of vote-centered cards. Capital Punishment uniquely combines aspects of resource depletion and creature removal, forcing opponents to choose between sacrificing permanent cards or discarding from their hand, which could lead to significant strategic advantages.

Ultimately, in the diverse category of vote-influenced MTG cards, Capital Punishment stands out with its ability to disrupt opponents’ plans by eroding their card advantage and board presence, highlighting its unique position as a card of choice for those looking to wield the power of politics in their favor.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Capital Punishment MTG card by a specific set like Conspiracy: Take the Crown, 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 Capital Punishment and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Capital Punishment has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Capital Punishment card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2016-08-23	Because the votes are made in turn order, each player will know the votes of players who voted beforehand.
2016-08-23	Each opponent chooses an appropriate number of creatures to sacrifice in turn order, then all of those creatures are sacrificed simultaneously. After that is complete, each opponent sets aside an appropriate number of cards to discard in turn order, then all cards are revealed and discarded simultaneously.
2016-08-23	If a creature with an enters-the-battlefield council’s dilemma ability leaves the battlefield before that ability resolves, players can still vote for any option that would put +1/+1 counters on that creature, even though—or perhaps especially because—those votes won’t generate an effect.
2016-08-23	If an opponent controls fewer creatures or has fewer cards in hand than the number of appropriate votes, all those creatures are sacrificed or all those cards are discarded, as applicable.
2016-08-23	No player votes until the spell or ability resolves. Any responses to that spell or ability must be made without knowing the outcome of the vote.
2016-08-23	Players can’t do anything between voting and finishing the resolution of the spell or ability that included the vote.
2016-08-23	The effects of each council’s dilemma ability happen in the stated order. First the vote occurs, then the first effect, and finally the second effect.
2016-08-23	Unlike the will of the council cards from the original Conspiracy set, where a majority of votes determined what happened, each vote made for a council’s dilemma card adds to the ultimate effect.
2016-08-23	You must vote for one of the available options. You can’t abstain.