Poison the Cup MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Foretell,Scry

Key Takeaways

  1. Poison the Cup offers removal and scry, enhancing gameplay by curating future draws for strategic advantage.
  2. It requires savvy play due to its foretell mechanic, inviting you to strategize its discounted use over turns.
  3. The card’s unique adaptability makes it a vital tool for controlling the battlefield and maintaining tempo.

Text of card

Destroy target creature. If this spell was foretold, scry 2. Foretell (During your turn, you may pay and exile this card from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost.)

Dark schemes cut down what armies cannot.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Poison the Cup delivers a twofold benefit in gameplay, allowing you not only to address immediate threats but also to sift through the top portion of your library with its Foretell ability. This feature can tip the scales of card economy in your favor by setting up your next draws.

Resource Acceleration: While Poison the Cup doesn’t directly accelerate resources in terms of mana like some other spell cards, its strategic removal of a creature can indirectly accelerate your game plan by clearing the path for your offensive strategies or preserving your defenses without costly trades.

Instant Speed: Operating at instant speed, Poison the Cup offers flexibility that can be critical in tightly contested matches. It enables you to adapt to the evolving board state, make pivotal plays during your opponent’s turn, and effectively traverse the delicate tempo of the game. This adaptability is a key part of what can make Poison the Cup a valuable component in any reactive or control-oriented deck.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: In the case of Poison the Cup, a player does not have to discard, but rather must meet a foretell condition to take full advantage of its cost reduction and flexibility, which requires planning and potentially foregone plays on earlier turns.

Specific Mana Cost: Poison the Cup necessitates both black and generic mana, making it less fluid in mana bases not heavily skewed towards black. This can restrain deck design and reduce its utility in multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Poison the Cup’s initial cost is moderate, its foretell cost, although reduced, is still significant. This means dedicating mana in two separate turns to leverage it, which can be a substantial investment, especially when faster removal spells are an option.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Poison the Cup offers dual utility as both a removal spell and a scry tool, making it suitable for a variety of decks that need to manage opponents’ threats while setting up their own plays.

Combo Potential: With its foretell mechanic, this card can be set aside for a later turn at a reduced cost, synergizing with strategies that benefit from spell timing and resource allocation.

Meta-Relevance: In a gameplay environment where creature-based strategies dominate, Poison the Cup becomes a key tool, disrupting opponents while helping you shape your draws for future turns.


How to beat

Poison the Cup is a versatile must-know card for those delving into the depths of Magic: The Gathering gameplay. Known for its potential to disrupt, it offers both removal and a peek into the future plays with its foretell ability. But despite its power, players can adopt strategies to diffuse its impact effectively.

One approach is to bait out Poison the Cup by presenting less crucial threats initially, preserving your key creatures for later in the game when Poison the Cup may have already been used. Another tactic is to capitalize on instant-speed spells that can protect or regenerate your important creatures, counterspells that prevent Poison the Cup from ever resolving, or simply by having more creature threats than your opponent can manage to remove.

Lastly, focusing on non-creature strategies could also lessen Poison the Cup’s relevance, directing your playstyle towards resilient planeswalkers or powerful enchantments. While Poison the Cup can be a potent tool, understanding and anticipating its presence in a match will help to ensure that your strategy remains unaffected, and your path to victory clear.


BurnMana Recommendations

MTG enthusiasts, if you’re looking to sharpen your strategic edge, Poison the Cup is a worthy addition to your arsenal. Balancing immediate threat management with future game planning, this card’s dual functionality can influence the battlefield in your favor. Enhancing your deck with Poison the Cup’s instant-speed, creature-targeting removal and the card quality control of scrying potentially turns the tides of any match. Want insights into mastering its potential and integrating it into your deck effectively? Dive into our full guide on incorporating this spell into your game plan and ensuring your MTG sessions not only challenge your opponents but also put your strategic foresight on display.


Cards like Poison the Cup

Poison the Cup is a versatile removal spell in Magic: The Gathering, standing out in the realm of instant-speed interaction. It offers a close parallel to other black removal spells, such as Murder, which also allows for the elimination of target creatures. Poison the Cup goes a step further by including the scry mechanic, providing added card quality control that Murder lacks.

Another comparable card is Go for the Throat, renowned for its efficient creature targeting at instant speed. However, unlike Poison the Cup, it doesn’t offer scrying benefits but instead can eliminate nonartifact creatures for a lower mana cost. Eat to Extinction is yet another sibling in this category, featuring exile over simple destruction and a singleton scry effect, though at a higher mana investment and without the Foretell bonus that Poison the Cup boasts.

To sum up, evaluating Poison the Cup against its peers spotlights its dual function as both a removal spell and a tactic for setting up future draws. It presents a compelling choice for players who value flexibility and forward planning in their gameplay strategy.

Murder - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Eat to Extinction - MTG Card versions
Murder - Magic 2013 (M13)
Go for the Throat - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Eat to Extinction - Theros Beyond Death (THB)

Cards similar to Poison the Cup by color, type and mana cost

Spoils of Evil - MTG Card versions
Dark Banishing - MTG Card versions
Carrion - MTG Card versions
Sick and Tired - MTG Card versions
Corpse Dance - MTG Card versions
Bone Harvest - MTG Card versions
Slay - MTG Card versions
Afflict - MTG Card versions
Dismember - MTG Card versions
Body Count - MTG Card versions
Reaping the Graves - MTG Card versions
Execute - MTG Card versions
Kill! Destroy! - MTG Card versions
Sudden Death - MTG Card versions
Footbottom Feast - MTG Card versions
Fevered Strength - MTG Card versions
Hideous End - MTG Card versions
Corpse Lunge - MTG Card versions
Necrobite - MTG Card versions
Murder - MTG Card versions
Spoils of Evil - Ice Age (ICE)
Dark Banishing - Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic (DVD)
Carrion - Mirage (MIR)
Sick and Tired - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Corpse Dance - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Bone Harvest - Beatdown Box Set (BTD)
Slay - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Afflict - Odyssey (ODY)
Dismember - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Body Count - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Reaping the Graves - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Execute - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Kill! Destroy! - Unhinged (UNH)
Sudden Death - Time Spiral (TSP)
Footbottom Feast - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Fevered Strength - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Hideous End - The List (PLST)
Corpse Lunge - Innistrad (ISD)
Necrobite - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Murder - Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Poison the Cup MTG card by a specific set like Kaldheim and Kaldheim, 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 Poison the Cup and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Poison the Cup Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by Colin Boyer.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-02-05KaldheimKHM 4032015normalblackColin Boyer
22021-02-05KaldheimKHM 1032015normalblackColin Boyer

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Poison the Cup has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
BrawlLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-02-05 Because exiling a card with foretell from your hand is a special action, you can do so any time you have priority during your turn, including in response to spells and abilities. Once you announce you’re taking the action, no other player can respond by trying to remove the card from your hand.
2021-02-05 Casting a foretold card from exile follows the timing rules for that card. If you foretell an instant card, you can cast it as soon as the next player’s turn. In most cases, if you foretell a card that isn’t an instant (or doesn’t have flash), you’ll have to wait until your next turn to cast it.
2021-02-05 If the target creature is an illegal target as Poison the Cup tries to resolve, it won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen. You won’t scry 2 if Poison the Cup was foretold.
2021-02-05 If you’re casting a foretold card from exile for its foretell cost, you can’t choose to cast it for any other alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast the spell.

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