Cry of the Carnarium MTG Card

Cry of the Carnarium - Ravnica Allegiance

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Released	2019-01-25
Set symbol
Set name	Ravnica Allegiance
Set code	RNA
Number	70
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Johann Bodin

Key Takeaways

Cry of the Carnarium counters graveyard synergies by exiling creatures, not just destroying them.
It’s a strategic addition to control decks, hindering opponents’ tempo significantly.
Despite mana requirements and cost, it’s valuable against creature-heavy metas.

Text of card

All creatures get -2/-2 until end of turn. Exile all creature cards in all graveyards that were put there from the battlefield this turn. If a creature would die this turn, exile it instead.

If your ears bleed, it's a party. If your eyes bleed, it's a Rakdos party.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Cry of the Carnarium goes beyond simply dealing with creatures on the board by also exiling any that die this turn. This effectively counters strategies relying on graveyard synergy, depriving opponents of future resources and potential card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources, Cry of the Carnarium can be a crucial tempo swing. By clearing multiple creatures with a single card, you disrupt your opponent’s on-board investments, potentially setting them back turns and allowing you to advance your board state unimpeded.

Instant Speed: As a sorcery, Cry of the Carnarium is precise in its execution. Although not at instant speed, its timing is perfect for pre-empting combat phases or following up on an opponent’s end step actions, ensuring you get the most value out of your sweepers. Adjusting your play to accommodate its timing can significantly boost its effectiveness.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Cry of the Carnarium doesn’t specifically require a discard from your hand, the downside is its sweeping effect indiscriminately impacts your own creatures if they have 2 or less toughness, which could deplete your board presence unintentionally.

Specific Mana Cost: This spell requires both black and colorless mana sources. Decks not running black or those that have a tight color balance may find it challenging to meet Cry of the Carnarium’s mana needs without compromising their mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Priced at three mana, including one black and two colorless, Cry of the Carnarium could be slow against aggro decks that establish board dominance early. Alternative lower-cost sweepers or spot removal might be more efficient in certain matchups.

Reasons to Include Cry of the Carnarium in Your Collection

Versatility: Cry of the Carnarium is an excellent addition as it serves multiple roles in a variety of deck builds. It acts as a powerful board sweeper against aggressive, creature-based strategies. Its capability to affect each creature on the battlefield makes it a strategic pick for control decks.

Combo Potential: This card not only wipes the board but also exiles creatures that it kills. This feature can be crucial for disrupting graveyard-based strategies of your opponents, making it a valuable part of combos that rely on denying resource recursion.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the tendency for creature-heavy metas, Cry of the Carnarium has proven to remain relevant. It’s especially useful in formats where small to mid-range creatures are prevalent, ensuring your deck has a robust answer to swarm strategies at a relatively low mana cost.

How to beat Cry of the Carnarium

Cry of the Carnarium can be a difficult obstacle to overcome for players who favor creature-heavy strategies in Magic: The Gathering. This sweeping removal card not only deals with early game threats by dishing out -2/-2 to each creature, it ensures that those hit are gone for good thanks to its exile clause on creatures with power 2 or less that would die this turn. To effectively navigate the challenge it poses, consider employing strategies that revolve around more resilient creatures.

Indestructible creatures, such as those bestowed by the likes of Darksteel Plate, can withstand the -2/-2 penalty. Alternatively, leveraging the power of instant-speed creature buffs such as Giant Growth, can save your creatures from the brink in response to the spell. Additionally, cards that can counter sorceries like Negate or Dovin’s Veto stand as a strong defensive line against removal spells such as Cry of the Carnarium. Moreover, playing around the sorcery’s mana curve by holding back on committing smaller creatures to the board until after your opponent has likely cast it can mitigate losses.

Adapting to the presence of such potent removal spells is key in Magic: The Gathering, and awareness of the Cry of the Carnarium and similar sweepers informs smarter, more resilient deck building and play strategies.

Cards like Cry of the Carnarium

Cry of the Carnarium is a potent sweeper in MTG, providing a unique effect that exiles creatures instead of merely destroying them. It’s often held up against other removal spells like Ritual of Soot, which clears the battlefield of creatures with converted mana costs of three or less. Cry of the Carnarium takes it up a notch by affecting all creatures that get dealt damage or die this turn, ensuring they can’t be returned from the graveyard.

Another similar spell is Languish, which gives all creatures -4/-4 until end of turn. While Languish can affect larger creatures compared to Cry of the Carnarium’s -2/-2 stat reduction, it does not exile them, potentially leaving the door open for graveyard synergy plays. Kaya’s Wrath also enters the conversation with its ability to destroy all creatures outright and giving the player life gain if they control a white creature.

In analyzing these cards, Cry of the Carnarium shines with its exile mechanic, which disrupts graveyard strategies effectively. Despite its limitations in terms of creature size, its low casting cost and unique exile effect provide strategic advantages worthy of inclusion in decks aiming to control the battlefield.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Cry of the Carnarium MTG card by a specific set like Ravnica Allegiance, 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 Cry of the Carnarium and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Cry of the Carnarium has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Commander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2019-01-25	Creatures that would die after getting -2/-2 will still be on the battlefield when cards are exiled from graveyards. They won’t die, and will instead be exiled after Cry of the Carnarium is entirely finished resolving.
2019-01-25	Cry of the Carnarium’s power-and-toughness-reducing effect affects only creatures on the battlefield at the time it resolves. Creatures that enter the battlefield later in the turn won’t get -2/-2.
2019-01-25	Cry of the Carnarium’s replacement effect affects any creature that would die in the turn, even creatures not on the battlefield as it resolves.