Tormented Angel MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Angel
Abilities	Flying
Released	1999-06-07
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Destiny
Set code	UDS
Power	1
Toughness	5
Number	22
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Key Takeaways

Scrying from Tormented Angel helps tailor draws, promoting strategic planning for subsequent turns.
Mana requirements and discard costs of Tormented Angel challenge deck flexibility and hand size.
Angelic versatility makes it a worthwhile addition to various white-centric MTG deck strategies.

Text of card

Flying

Falling from heaven is not as painful as surviving the impact.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Tormented Angel provides a benefit where, upon resolution, it enables you to scry, effectively smoothing out your draws and setting you up for future turns.

Resource Acceleration: Although the Tormented Angel itself doesn’t directly produce additional mana, its presence on the battlefield can lead to advantageous board states, making it easier for you to deploy your other high-impact spells more quickly.

Instant Speed: While the Tormented Angel is cast at sorcery speed, it synergizes with cards that operate at instant speed, allowing you to make pivotal plays during your opponent’s turn and maintain the upper hand.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To utilize Tormented Angel’s abilities, you’re often compelled to discard another card. This trade-off can deplete your hand quickly, especially detrimental during drawn-out matches where every card in hand counts.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Tormented Angel requires a precise combination of mana, including white mana. This necessity can sometimes be too restrictive for multi-colored decks that might struggle with mana consistency, potentially leaving this angelic ally grounded in your hand until the right lands are drawn.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Deploying this celestial being comes at a lofty mana investment. In games where tempo determines the victor, the mana you invest in Tormented Angel could arguably be allocated to cards that offer immediate board presence or disrupt your opponent’s strategy.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Tormented Angel offers flexibility in deck-building, being a solid addition to various white-based strategies. Its ability to provide lifegain can be valuable in both aggressive and defensive builds.

Combo Potential: This card has synergy with strategies that capitalize on life total changes, potentially triggering powerful effects or enabling life-based win conditions.

Meta-Relevance: Given the right meta, Tormented Angel can be a counterbalance to aggressive red decks, providing crucial lifegain to stabilize the board and sway the game in your favor.

How to Beat

The Tormented Angel card is a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering, offering both a robust presence and an impediment for opponents. This resilient angel boasts an ability that can turn the tide of battle by strengthening with every loss it endures. When facing such an adversary, efficiency and timing are key.

One effective tactic is to utilize removal spells that sidestep its strength-gaining ability. Spells that exile, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can effectively neutralize the Tormented Angel without triggering its powerful effect. Board wipes like Wrath of God can also be a clean solution, completely bypassing the Angel’s ability to thrive on individual damages or defeats. Another avenue is to employ control strategies, setting up a lock that prevents the Angel from entering the battlefield at all. Counterspells remain a solid answer to prevent your opponent from casting it in the first place.

In essence, when tackling the challenge of the Tormented Angel in your matches, focus on preventing its strengths from manifesting or dealing with it decisively using non-damaging removal. With careful planning and a well-constructed deck, this celestial adversary can be overcome, tilting the battlefield in your favor.

Cards like Tormented Angel

Tormented Angel is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering that resonates with players owing to its balanced mix of abilities and casting cost. It finds its peers in cards like Serra Angel, a classic flyer standing as a benchmark for flying vigilance creatures. Serra Angel, unlike Tormented Angel, doesn’t come with the downside of being potentially weaker based on your life total, offering consistency in power and toughness.

Another card worth comparing is Guardian Angel, which also flies and provides a protective aspect to gameplay. Although Guardian Angel does not have vigilance, it does have a flexible damage prevention ability which can be pivotal in certain situations. On the flip side, Restoration Angel brings a unique twist to the table with its flash ability and the advantage of re-triggering enter-the-battlefield effects, even though it shares the same flying and vigilance synergy seen in Tormented Angel.

These comparisons highlight different facets of each card, with Tormented Angel fitting into a niche where the risk-reward of its fluctuating strength can be leveraged to the player’s advantage within the dynamic environment of Magic: The Gathering matches.

Cards similar to Tormented Angel by color, type and mana cost

Coalition Honor Guard - MTG Card versions

Mangara, the Diplomat - MTG Card versions

Cho-Manno, Revolutionary - MTG Card versions

Sunspire Gatekeepers - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tormented Angel 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 Tormented Angel and other MTG cards: