Weed Strangle MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Clash
Released	2007-10-12
Set symbol
Set name	Lorwyn
Set code	LRW
Number	147
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jesper Ejsing

Key Takeaways

Removes key creatures, enabling stronger board control and disrupting opponent’s strategy.
Instant speed allows strategic plays and counteractions during the opponent’s turn.
Discard requirement and specific mana cost may limit its utility and versatility.

Text of card

Destroy target creature. Clash with an opponent. If you win, you gain life equal to that creature's toughness. (Each clashing player reveals the top card of his or her library, then puts that card on the top or bottom. A player wins if his or her card had a higher converted mana cost.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: This can disrupt your opponent’s strategy by removing a key creature from their board, effectively setting them back, and increasing your chances of maintaining board control.

Resource Acceleration: Weed Strangle may not directly accelerate resources, but by efficiently managing threats, it preserves your existing ones, allowing for more strategic plays and better use of mana in subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: As an instant, it offers the flexibility to be played during your opponent’s turn, enabling more strategic decisions and counterplays. This timing can be critical in disrupting your opponent’s plans and maintaining the upper hand.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Weed Strangle is the need to discard a card. This discard is an added cost to its casting, potentially leaving players at a resource disadvantage, especially when their hand is nearly empty.

Specific Mana Cost: Weed Strangle demands a specific mana arrangement to be played effectively. It requires black mana in its casting cost, which may not be readily available in decks not focused on black mana, narrowing its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that’s on the higher side, when compared to other removal spells in MTG, Weed Strangle can be less appealing. It competes for a slot in your deck with other spells that might offer the same or similar effects with a lower casting cost, impacting your mana curve and overall strategy efficiency.

Reasons to Include Weed Strangle in Your Collection

Versatility: Weed Strangle offers a straightforward solution to remove creatures, making it a useful card across various decks that require efficient removal tools.

Combo Potential: As a spell that can take out key creatures, it can work in tandem with graveyard manipulation or dictate the pace when combined with other control elements.

Meta-Relevance: Given its potential to disrupt your opponent’s board presence, Weed Strangle can be particularly effective in a meta with creature-heavy decks or when dealing with popular creature-based combos.

How to beat Weed Strangle

Weed Strangle can be a challenging obstacle in Magic: The Gathering, with the ability to eliminate creatures nonetheless crucial to overcoming this spell. Deck building that emphasizes resilience and redundancy is key. Consider incorporating creatures that provide value upon entering the battlefield or with death triggers. This way, even if Weed Strangle removes a creature, it doesn’t result in a significant loss of resources or momentum.

Diversifying threats is also an effective strategy. By presenting multiple creature types with varying abilities, you can dilute Weed Strangle’s impact. This approach forces opponents to choose wisely, saving your most potent creatures for the late game. Additionally, using instant-speed spells and abilities to protect or regenerate targeted creatures can negate Weed Strangle’s effect and give you a distinct tactical advantage.

Ultimately, preparation for removal spells like Weed Strangle in your deck’s strategy ensures that each creature’s contribution is felt, even if it falls prey to this formidable spell. The right blend of card selection, timing, and strategy can turn the tide against Weed Strangle and lead you to victory.

Cards like Weed Strangle

Weed Strangle finds its place among the plethora of removal spells in Magic: The Gathering. This card echoes the mechanics of cards like Murder, which straightforwardly eliminates creatures without conditions. Weed Strangle, distinct with its stringent black mana requirement, ensures the destruction of only nonblack creatures. This is similar to Dark Banishing, a spell from earlier sets that had a comparable restriction, not affecting black or artifact creatures.

The resemblance doesn’t end there. Terror is another classic example that shares this thematic black-creature restriction. While cheaper in mana cost, Terror, like Weed Strangle, won’t touch artifact creatures. On the flip side, Eyeblight’s Ending serves as a more inclusive option, targeting non-Elf creatures, broadening the scope beyond color restrictions. This can be a significant advantage in diverse metagames.

Assessing them side by side, it becomes evident that Weed Strangle has specific board impact within MTG, catering to those strategic moments where color biases play a key role. While not the most flexible in removal spells, it stands as a targeted choice for usurping nonblack creature dominance on the battlefield.

Cards similar to Weed Strangle by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Weed Strangle MTG card by a specific set like Lorwyn, 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 Weed Strangle and other MTG cards: