Imminent Doom MTG Card
2017-07-14 - Number 98
2017-07-15 - Number 98s
2020-08-13 - Number 161
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Enchantment |
Key Takeaways
- Imminent Doom transforms direct damage into a strategic advantage, reshaping resource competition.
- It rewards players for casting a variety of instant-speed spells, maintaining pressure on opponents.
- This enchantment’s synergy with a breadth of spells makes it a potential powerhouse in spell-heavy decks.
Text of card
Imminent Doom enters the battlefield with a doom counter on it. Whenever you cast a spell with converted mana cost equal to the number of doom counters on Imminent Doom, Imminent Doom deals that much damage to target creature or player. Then put a doom counter on Imminent Doom.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Imminent Doom enables a strategy that translates direct damage into potential card advantage, prompting opponents to deplete resources to mitigate the looming threat.
Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly ramp your mana, the incremental damage inflicted by Imminent Doom can function as a form of resource acceleration by pressuring opponents and gaining a tempo advantage.
Instant Speed: Imminent Doom synergizes with spells cast at instant speed, allowing you to orchestrate a series of damaging triggers that align with your strategic plays, while keeping your adversaries constantly on edge.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One downside of Imminent Doom is its initial need for fuel to get started. Every time you wish to activate its ability, you must cast another spell with a different mana value, thereby indirectly requiring you to have a suitable card to discard. This can lead to a dwindling hand and potentially leave you in a bind if you’re short on options.
Specific Mana Cost: Imminent Doom demands a specific mana alignment to be cast — it requires three mana, including one red. This can restrict its inclusion to decks that can consistently provide red mana, potentially limiting its flexibility across various deck archetypes.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its three mana cost and need for subsequent spells to be effective, Imminent Doom can be a costly investment. There are cards within the red spectrum that might provide immediate impact or damage for the same or lower investment, making them a potentially more attractive choice for those mana slots in a deck.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Imminent Doom is a unique enchantment that complements a wide array of strategies. As a card that triggers each time you cast a spell with a higher mana cost, it can be a fit in decks that ramp up to larger spells or that aim to cast a breadth of spells at varying costs.
Combo Potential: This card shines in setups where you aim to cast numerous spells in quick succession. With the right deck, you can transform Imminent Doom into a consistent damage dealer, as each spell cast increases its destructive capability, rewarding you for the sequence of spells you play.
Meta-Relevance: Given that competitive formats often cycle through phases where spell-heavy decks are prevalent, Imminent Doom can be a sideboard staple against opponents who present minimal threats or focus on building up their board state. It’s an impactful way to turn your spells into additional sources of direct damage.
How to beat
Imminent Doom is a unique enchantment in the landscape of MTG cards, presenting a challenge with its escalating damage potential. To overcome this enchantment, it’s essential to deploy a strategy that neutralizes its buildup. One method is using enchantment removal spells such as Disenchant or Naturalize to dispatch Imminent Doom before it becomes a threat. Cards like these offer a direct solution, dismantling the doom that’s ticking away with each spell cast.
Counterplay strategies also involve limiting the opponent’s ability to cast multiple spells of differing mana costs, which Imminent Doom heavily relies on. Thus, strategies that restrict spellcasting or increase casting costs can be highly effective. Cards like Damping Sphere not only slow down the progress of Imminent Doom but can also hinder decks that aim to chain multiple spells in a single turn.
Ultimately, the key to defusing Imminent Doom lies in recognizing its dependence on a range of mana costs and disrupting your opponent’s ability to establish that variety. By focusing on preemptive and reactive measures, you can neutralize this enchantment’s threat and maintain control over the game state.
Cards like Imminent Doom
Imminent Doom is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that creates a precarious situation for opponents. It shines when compared to other build-as-you-play enchantments like Quest for Pure Flame. Imminent Doom allows for damage escalation with each spell cast of the exact mana value as the number of doom counters on it. Unlike Quest for Pure Flame, this card does not require multiple instances of damage to activate, but instead works cumulatively with your casts.
Eye of the Storm is another card that shares some thematic similarities, creating a zone of chaos where every instant and sorcery gets copied. However, it essentially amplifies the chaos, whereas Imminent Doom offers a calculated increase in damage output based on player strategy. Lastly, we can consider AEther Sting, which also deals damage to opponents whenever you play a creature spell. AEther Sting deals a consistent amount of damage, unlike the growing threat that Imminent Doom presents as the game advances.
When delving into game dynamics and card synergy, Imminent Doom claims its unique spot in the arsenal of enchantments in Magic: The Gathering, fostering an interactive and escalating threat with each spell of successive mana value played.
Cards similar to Imminent Doom by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Imminent Doom MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation and Hour of Devastation Promos, 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 Imminent Doom and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Imminent Doom Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by Daniel Ljunggren.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-07-14 | Hour of Devastation | HOU | 98 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren | |
| 2 | 2017-07-15 | Hour of Devastation Promos | PHOU | 98s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren | |
| 3 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 161 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ljunggren |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Imminent Doom has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Imminent Doom card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-07-14 | If a spell has in its mana cost, include the value chosen for that X when determining the converted mana cost of that spell. |
| 2017-07-14 | Imminent Doom’s triggered ability resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. The ability will resolve even if that spell is countered. |
| 2017-07-14 | The amount of damage Imminent Doom’s triggered ability deals is the number of counters it had on it as the ability triggered. For example, if you cast Shock and then respond to Imminent Doom’s triggered ability with a second Shock, both abilities cause Imminent Doom to deal 1 damage and Imminent Doom will end up with three doom counters on it. |
