Strongarm Tactics MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Rare
Type	Sorcery
Released	2002-10-07
Set symbol
Set name	Onslaught
Set code	ONS
Number	173
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Key Takeaways

Strongarm Tactics can disrupt opponents and benefit graveyard strategies when used effectively.
Its color-specific mana cost and occasional high cost can limit deck versatility.
It remains a relevant tool for controlling the board in creature-heavy metas.

Text of card

Each player discards a card from his or her hand. Then each player who didn't discard a creature card this way loses 4 life.

"If you can't pay your gambling debts, you just might be tomorrow's main attraction at the Grand Coliseum."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Strongarm Tactics allows you to control the battlefield by forcing each player to discard, thus potentially disrupting your opponent’s hand while setting up your own strategic plays.

Resource Acceleration: This card offers a tactical advantage by enabling you to selectively leverage the discard effect. By discarding cards with graveyard synergies, you accelerate your own resource engine while impeding your opponent’s.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Strongarm Tactics at instant speed gives you the upper hand, allowing you to disrupt your opponent’s moves at critical moments or in response to their strategies.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Strongarm Tactics necessitates discarding a card, a stipulation potentially crippling when your hand is already depleted or when you’re struggling to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost demanding both black and red mana, Strongarm Tactics may prove restrictive and difficult to cast in multicolored or color-flexible strategies, potentially hampering deck building diversity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: A four-mana investment in Strongarm Tactics can be steep, especially when measured against other cards in the meta that may impact the board immediately or provide more versatile solutions at lower cost thresholds.

Reasons to Include Strongarm Tactics in Your Collection

Versatility: Strongarm Tactics offers an element of control that complements various deck styles. Whether you’re running an aggressive red-black build or need a way to break through creature stalemates, this card can be a game-changer on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: With the ability to force each player to sacrifice a creature, it partners well with cards that thrive on death triggers. This potential for synergistic play can create unexpected advantages and turn the tide in your favor.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment filled with creature-heavy decks, Strongarm Tactics can serve as a potent tool. It disrupts your opponents’ board presence and can significantly alter the pace of the game, making it a relevant choice for competitive play.

How to beat Strongarm Tactics

Strongarm Tactics is a notable card that can disrupt your hand by forcing each player to lose a card, making it a strategic tool in Magic: The Gathering. While this effect can seem daunting, there are ways to mitigate its impact on your gameplay. To get around Strongarm Tactics, consider incorporating cards that benefit from being in the graveyard, turning a potential setback into a tactical advantage. Cards like Squee, Goblin Nabob or Bloodghast can provide recurring resources despite being discarded.

Similarly, having creatures with undying or persist on the battlefield also ensures that you maintain a board presence even after discarding. In match-ups against decks utilizing Strongarm Tactics, it’s prudent to keep your hand stocked with flexible cards. Instants that can be played in response to Strongarm Tactics or cards with madness that turn the discard into an opportunity are recommended. Lastly, graveyard retrieval spells like Regrowth or Eternal Witness can also recover key pieces lost to Strongarm Tactics, ensuring that your strategy remains intact.

In essence, with the right deck composition and by anticipating its play, Strongarm Tactics can be effectively countered. Adapting to the discard and utilizing graveyard synergies can transform this intimidating card into an avenue for advantage.

Cards like Strongarm Tactics

Strongarm Tactics is an intriguing spell for players to consider in the world of discarding in Magic: The Gathering. This card shares its core mechanic—forcing each player to discard a card—with a classic like Unnerve. Both cards target every opponent, yet Strongarm Tactics is unique with its potential to cause life loss if a player cannot comply, adding a more pressing threat than Unnerve’s simple discard impact.

Another peer in its category is Delirium Skeins, presenting an immediate impact by dismissing not one but three cards from each player’s hand. While this seems more disruptive, it lacks the conditional life loss that can give Strongarm Tactics a more aggressive edge in tight situations. Additionally, Mind Sludge stands as a comparable card, targeting a single player but depending on the number of Swamps you control for the effect magnitude, making it an attractive alternative in mono-black decks.

Considering the competitive landscape of coercion-based cards, Strongarm Tactics offers a blend of discard consequences and life jeopardy that can weave into strategies revolving around hand disruption and opponent pressure, thus marking its place in MTG’s vast arsenal of spells.

Cards similar to Strongarm Tactics by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Strongarm Tactics MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught, 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 Strongarm Tactics and other MTG cards: