Dying Wail MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Common
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant
Released	1999-06-07
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Destiny
Set code	UDS
Number	58
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Brian Snõddy

Key Takeaways

Turn losses into gains by using Dying Wail for card advantage and dictating game pace.
Strategize around its black mana cost and high investment to maximize its potential.
Include Dying Wail in your arsenal to counter creature-heavy strategies effectively.

Text of card

When enchanted creature is put into a graveyard from play, target player chooses and discards two cards from his or her hand.

This is a world of spiteful wasps that sting and kill even as they die.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the essential features of Dying Wail is its potential for card advantage. The ability to profit from a creature’s demise by drawing cards ensures that you maintain a robust hand size, keeping pressure on opponents and refilling your resources.

Resource Acceleration: Dying Wail not only paves the way for card advantage but can also fundamentally alter the pace of the game through its resource acceleration capacity. By potentially accelerating your mana resources when a creature you own dies, it opens the door to more significant and impactful plays ahead of schedule.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of Dying Wail being an instant cannot be overstated. It allows for strategic depth and surprise interactions during gameplay. You retain the element of surprise, dictating the pace and potentially disrupting the best-laid plans of your opponent right when they least expect it.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the case of Dying Wail, you may find yourself in a tight spot if you’re required to part with valuable cards from your hand to trigger its effects. This can be especially detrimental during the late game when your hand size might already be depleted.

Specific Mana Cost: Dying Wail comes with a color-specific mana cost, demanding black mana, which might not seamlessly slot into all deck types. This could restrict its inclusion only to those decks heavily skewed towards black mana sources, potentially excluding a wide variety of multi-color or colorless strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana cost attached to Dying Wail might be considered steep for the advantage it provides. Given the competitive nature of the game, where efficiency is key, its cost might outpace its utility when compared to other cards that offer similar or greater benefits for less mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Dying Wail brings dynamic options to the table, offering creature control that syncs well with both aggressive and control decks. It can be a game-changer when dealing with high-threat creatures across various game formats.

Combo Potential: This card’s ability to give a creature -2/-2 until end of turn can pair seamlessly with other damage or debuff spells to remove larger threats, maximizing its tactical use in a well-constructed combo chain.

Meta-Relevance: Given that creature-based strategies are commonplace, having Dying Wail in your collection could provide a significant edge. It fits snugly into sideboards and main decks to counter popular creature-heavy tactics in the current meta, ensuring that your arsenal remains robust and responsive.

How to beat

Dying Wail is a unique card that brings a certain dynamic to the battlefield in MTG. While it doesn’t directly prevent damage or destroy creatures, it instead turns a targeted creature into a ticking time bomb for your opponent. When a creature enchanted by Dying Wail is put to rest, it can wreak havoc by forcing the opponent to discard numerous cards, which may impact their strategy significantly.

To effectively combat the threat of Dying Wail, focus on using enchantment removal spells or abilities that can neutralize it before the enchanted creature can meet its demise. You could look into incorporating cards like Disenchant or Naturalize that can help you manage such threats on the board directly. In addition, if you foresee encountering Dying Wail, consider playing decks that have solid hexproof options or cards that grant protection from black to prevent your creatures from becoming targets in the first place.

Adapting to an opponent’s Dying Wail means preparing with countermeasures and staying vigilant about your key creatures. Anticipate and prepare, so that when the wail sounds, your defense is unyielding and your strategy, undisturbed.

Cards like Dying Wail

Dying Wail is a unique enchantment in the vast panorama of Magic: The Gathering. It can be compared to other cards that have abilities triggering upon creature death. For instance, Grim Haruspex allows you to draw a card when another nontoken creature you control dies, underscoring the value of loss within the game.

Looking to another analogue, we encounter Deathreap Ritual, which also exploits the end-of-life event of creatures. This enchant adds consistency to your card advantage by providing a draw at each end step when a creature has died. Dying Wail, while sharing this death-themed lineage, delivers a different twist by targeting opposing creatures and forcing a discard. This dual effect not only replenishes your hand like Grim Haruspex does but also actively disrupts your opponent.

Evaluating the gamut of these death-inspired abilities, Dying Wail presents an intriguing combination of utility and psychological pressure. In an ecosystem of cards that celebrate the finality of creatures, it stands out by providing an edge through its unique discard mandate, placing it as a noteworthy piece among MTG cards that capitalize on the inevitability of creature demise.

Cards similar to Dying Wail by color, type and mana cost

Chains of Mephistopheles - MTG Card versions

Tribute to Horobi // Echo of Death's Wail - MTG Card versions

Aphemia, the Cacophony - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Dying Wail MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny, 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 Dying Wail and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Dying Wail has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	If they have less than 2 cards, they discard all the cards they have.
2004-10-04	It only triggers on a creature going to the graveyard from the battlefield.