Searing Rays MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2000-10-02
Set symbol
Set name	Invasion
Set code	INV
Number	165
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Doug Chaffee

Key Takeaways

Searing Rays clears boards efficiently, offering superior card advantage when dealing with swarms of creatures.
It requires precise mana and can be restrictive, but the potential board impact justifies its inclusion in mono-red decks.
Against monocolored decks, Searing Rays’ targeting flexibility becomes a significant sideboard strategy.

Text of card

Choose a color. Searing Rays deals damage to each player equal to the number of creatures of that color that player controls.

"This is a battle of pawns, for the highest stakes imaginable." —Urza

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Searing Rays can potentially deal with multiple creatures at once, effectively reducing your opponent’s threats on the board and tipping the scales in terms of card advantage. When timed right, this can be a pivotal move to outpace the opponent in creature count.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly impacting your mana pool, clearing the board with Searing Rays potentially saves the mana you might otherwise spend on multiple spells to remove individual threats. This means more resources are available for you to deploy your own threats or answers in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: Although Searing Rays is not an instant, its effect as a sorcery means you can plan your turns around it, strategizing when to wipe clean the slate of creatures that may share a color—something that can be just as disruptive as an instant when sequenced properly in your game plan.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One critical downside to Searing Rays is having to potentially discard cards if you wish to affect multiple targets. This can leave you depleted of options, particularly if your hand is already running low.

Specific Mana Cost: Searing Rays necessitates a specific mana investment of three red mana. This cost can be restrictive, limiting the card’s integration to decks heavily focused on red mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost sitting at three red mana, Searing Rays might be considered costly when compared to other damage spells. Players must assess whether the outcome justifies the investment, especially in faster-paced games where efficiency is paramount.

Reasons to Include Searing Rays in Your Collection

Versatility: Searing Rays offers strategic flexibility in red decks seeking targeted removal. Its capacity to potentially deal damage across multiple creatures of the same color makes it a unique tool in matches against monocolored decks.

Combo Potential: This spell shines in situations where you can manipulate your opponents’ board state to match the chosen color. Coupled with card effects that alter creature colors, Searing Rays can turn into a devastating board wipe.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta dominated by decks heavily featuring a single color, Searing Rays becomes a powerful sideboard card. Its ability to disrupt swarms of creatures or punish decks for committing too heavily to one color makes it a tactical asset in any collection.

How to beat

Searing Rays is a spell known for its ability to deal significant damage to players who favor a particular color. It presents a unique challenge on the battlefield, requiring a strategic approach to mitigate its impact. To effectively counteract Searing Rays, versatility in your deck construction is key. It’s vital to maintain a balanced palette of colors or incorporate colorless creatures to dilute the card’s potency. Cards that offer protection from a color or the ability to counter a spell can serve as direct measures to nullify this threat before it manifests on the board, ensuring your creatures survive the fiery onslaught.

Additionally, adapting your playstyle to be less reliant on creatures of a single color can help pre-empt Searing Rays’ impact. Instead, employing a diverse lineup can reduce your vulnerability, creating less of a target for the card’s selective damage. By anticipating this type of removal and preparing your deck accordingly, you can maintain a strong presence on the field despite your opponent’s attempt to sway the game with Searing Rays.

Understanding the ebb and flow of the game is crucial, and by having countermeasures in place, such as instant-speed spells or abilities that can be activated in response, you mitigate the risk posed by Searing Rays and similar threats, maintaining control of the match.

Cards like Searing Rays

Searing Rays is a unique spell in the arsenal of red magic, a color known for its direct damage capabilities in Magic: The Gathering. It bears a resemblance to cards like Pyroclasm and Slagstorm when it comes to delivering damage across the board. The distinction lies in Searing Rays’ peculiar targeting approach that deals damage to each creature of the color of your choice. While Pyroclasm indiscriminately dishes out two damage to every creature, Searing Rays can selectively affect the board depending on the predominance of a certain color among your opponent’s creatures.

Anger of the Gods is another spell worth mentioning in this context. It also clears the board but goes a step further by exiling creatures that it kills, preventing any graveyard shenanigans. Compared to Anger of the Gods, Searing Rays provides more flexibility and potential damage, but without the finality of exile. Earthquake is a card with a broader scope, affecting all creatures and players, although tied to the amount of mana invested into it. Searing Rays stands out by focusing solely on creatures and offering a low-cost, color-specific impact.

Each card brings a different strategic element to the game, but for players wielding red and facing a mono-colored army, Searing Rays can be a potent sideboard card to clear the way to victory.

Cards similar to Searing Rays by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Searing Rays MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Searing Rays and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Searing Rays has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Searing Rays 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	You choose the color on resolution. Your opponent does not get to respond between the color choice and the damage happening. They need to use any damage prevention they want before you choose a color.