Demonic Torment MTG Card

Legends (LEG)
1994-06-01 - Number 95

Demonic Torment - Masters Edition III (ME3)

Masters Edition III (ME3)
2009-09-07 - Number 62

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment — Aura
Abilities	Enchant

Key Takeaways

Demonic Torment cripples enemy creatures, providing a tactical advantage and potential card superiority.
Despite its versatility, the requirement to discard and specific mana needs limit its usage across decks.
A multifaceted card, it can synergize with other strategies and disrupt creature-centric metagames effectively.

Text of card

Target creature deals no damage during combat. Creature cannot attack.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Demonic Torment gives players the potential to lock an opponent’s creature and deny them the ability to block or attack, effectively creating a form of card advantage by negating the enemy’s resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or accelerating resources, Demonic Torment can clear the way for direct attacks, which can lead to game acceleration by hastening the depleting of your opponent’s health.

Instant Speed: Operating at instant speed provides the flexibility to cast Demonic Torment during an opponent’s turn, allowing you to adapt to their moves and possibly disrupting their strategies at a pivotal moment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Demonic Torment demands that a player discard a card as part of its casting cost. This condition can be a significant drawback, especially when your hand is already sparse and every card counts.

Specific Mana Cost: With a mana cost that requires both black and generic mana, Demonic Torment is inherently restricted to decks that can produce both types of mana reliably, potentially limiting its versatility across a range of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Demonic Torment’s mana valuation may seem on the higher end for its given effect. Players may find themselves weighing its cost-benefit ratio against other options that potentially offer more impact or efficiency for a similar mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Demonic Torment offers a unique ability to hinder your opponent’s creatures, making it a strategically flexible card that can be used in various deck builds. Its use is not limited to a single strategy, permitting adaptation to different gameplay styles.

Combo Potential: This card pairs well with other cards that benefit from tapped creatures or spell casting restrictions. Its effect can be a key component in combos that capitalize on controlling the opponent’s board state, thereby enhancing overall deck synergy.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that heavily features creature-based strategies, Demonic Torment becomes particularly effective. Its presence can disrupt your opponent’s tempo and combat strategies, potentially shifting the tide in your favor during a match.

How to beat

Demonic Torment carves its niche in Magic: The Gathering as a potent enchantment to cripple your opponent’s most critical creature. But like all spells in this tactical game, knowing how to dismantle its influence can swing the tide of battle back to your favor. To effectively neutralize Demonic Torment, enchantment removal spells are your allies. Cards such as Disenchant or Naturalize are classic examples, offering a low-cost solution to dispatch unwanted enchantments from the field quickly.

Additionally, you may consider running flexible catch-alls like Krosan Grip or Beast Within, which can handle a wider array of threats beyond enchantments. Playing around it also comes down to maintaining a roster of creatures so that the impact of Demonic Torment is less debilitating. This way, even if one creature is ensnared by this dark spell, you have other attackers or blockers at the ready.

In essence, preparation and adaptability are key. Stock your deck with a variety of answers, keep your creature base diversified, and Demonic Torment’s grip will loosen, allowing you to persevere and claim victory in your Magic: The Gathering matches.

Cards like Demonic Torment

Demonic Torment is an intriguing card with the potential to skew battle dynamics in Magic: The Gathering. When considering its characteristics, cards like Mind Rot come to mind, which also forces opponents to discard multiple cards. Unlike Demonic Torment, Mind Rot doesn’t offer the continuous, targeted discard effect, but it can hit two cards all at once without demanding a creature target.

Another akin card is Hymn to Tourach, a staple for its efficiency and ability to randomly strip two cards from an adversary’s hand, causing potential early game disarray. While Demonic Torment needs a creature in play to enact its effect, Hymn to Tourach stands out for its lack of such prerequisites. Moving to a more recent release, the spell Raiders’ Wake adds a layer of strategy with its raid mechanic that inflicts loss of life upon discarding, but it also lacks the repetitive nature of Demonic Torment’s targeted discard.

Each of these cards offers unique strategic advantages in Magic: The Gathering. A card like Demonic Torment shines by providing a sustained method to disrupt an opponent’s hand, demonstrating its relevance in formats that allow for targeted discard tactics over the straightforward yet immediate effects of its counterparts.

Cards similar to Demonic Torment by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Demonic Torment MTG card by a specific set like Legends and Masters Edition III, 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 Demonic Torment and other MTG cards: