Tree of Perdition MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Plant
Abilities Defender
Power 0
Toughness 13

Key Takeaways

  1. Tree of Perdition offers indirect card advantage by forcing opponents to alter strategies.
  2. Instant speed allows for surprise life total exchanges, pivotal for gameplay.
  3. Complex interactions with the Tree can significantly impact a game’s outcome.

Text of card

Defender : Exchange target opponent's life total with Tree of Perdition's toughness.

There will be no absolution.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tree of Perdition’s ability isn’t directly drawing cards, but it greatly affects board state which can contribute to an indirect form of card advantage. Manipulating an opponent’s life total can force them to change their strategy or utilize resources they wouldn’t otherwise, essentially losing card value in the process.

Resource Acceleration: Although Tree of Perdition doesn’t provide traditional mana acceleration, its presence can act as a deterrent or occupy your opponent’s removal resources, potentially leaving your other mana-producing creatures or artifacts untargeted.

Instant Speed: The Tree of Perdition works at instant speed in the sense that you can use its tap ability any time you could play an instant. This allows the strategic timing of life total exchanges, possibly in response to an opponent’s effects or during their end phase to set up for a lethal strike on your turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Tree of Perdition doesn’t have a discard requirement, optimizing its ability often entails discarding certain cards to make the most of its effect. This creates a scenario where you might need to weigh the value of the cards in your hand against the strategic advantage the Tree can provide.

Specific Mana Cost: Casting Tree of Perdition requires three generic and one black mana. This specific mana cost means it can’t just be slotted into any deck. It requires a commitment to black mana, which can be restrictive for multicolored deck strategies that favor mana fluidity and versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Tree of Perdition might be considered a significant investment, especially since it doesn’t impact the board immediately upon arrival. For the same cost, players could potentially cast spells or creatures that have an immediate effect or present a quicker clock for ending the game.


Reasons to Include Tree of Perdition in Your Collection

Versatility: Tree of Perdition serves multiple functions within a deck. As a defender, it can protect your life total, while its ability to swap an opponent’s life total to 13 sets up many potential finishing moves, making it a fit for both control and combo-oriented decks.

Combo Potential: This unique tree synergizes well with cards that manipulate life totals or benefit from opponents having lower life. When paired with effects that deal damage based on life total differences, or with ways to reset the tree’s toughness, it becomes a potent engine for game-ending combos.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta with decks focused on incremental life gain or those that pillow-fort behind high life totals, Tree of Perdition can disrupt those strategies. It can turn the tide in a single turn, making it a card worth considering when facing life-centric opponents.


How to beat

Tree of Perdition presents an intriguing challenge in MTG due to its ability to swap its toughness with an opponent’s life total. Facing this formidable card, your strategy needs to focus on prevention and reaction. Firstly, ensuring you have removal cards on hand is crucial. Instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Assassin’s Trophy can dispatch the tree before it ensnares your life total in its twisted branches.

Counterspells are also an effective tool. Deny the initial casting of Tree of Perdition or respond to the activation of its ability. A well-timed Negate or Counterspell could save you from a precarious life total situation. It’s also useful to disrupt graveyard-related shenanigans, preventing any attempts to recur the Tree from the graveyard with cards like Scavenging Ooze or Relic of Progenitus, keeping the path clear of any regrown perdition.

Moreover, playing cards that negate activated abilities can nullify the Tree’s power, leaving your opponent with a mere wall. Pithing Needle named for Tree of Perdition can effectively ‘turn off’ its life-swapping ability. With these methods, you can confidently confront the gnarled defenses of Tree of Perdition, ensuring your life total remains out of your opponent’s reach.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG is akin to nurturing a garden; it’s about cultivating strategies, fostering newfound tactics, and pruning your deck for perfection. Tree of Perdition stands tall in this vast landscape, offering a blend of defense and life total manipulation that can be the keystone in your deck’s architecture. Whether you’re intrigued by its combo potential, its role in shifting the meta, or simply its sheer power to disrupt an opponent’s plans, this card beckons with hidden depths to explore. Dive into our comprehensive analysis to transform your gameplay and let the Tree of Perdition root your victories. Adventure into MTG’s lush forest of possibilities with us and thrive in your next challenge.


Cards like Tree of Perdition

The Tree of Perdition stands out in Magic: The Gathering for its unique ability to exchange its toughness with an opponent’s life total. This mechanic is intriguingly rare, but there are cards with a somewhat similar flavor. For instance, Triskaidekaphobia, which also interacts with life totals in a thematic and unusual way, setting the stage for potential combo plays with the Tree of Perdition. Each card on its own adds a layer of strategy, but together, they create a synergy that can potentially end a game.

Another comparable card is Sorin Markov, whose third ability sets a player’s life total to 10, much like how Tree of Perdition can alter life totals. Though Sorin offers versatility with additional abilities, the Tree of Perdition is unique in how it manipulates life totals through its stats. It’s worth noting, Wall of Blood allows a player to pay life to increase its toughness, and though it doesn’t directly swap values with an opponent’s life, it can be used as a tool for sudden changes in life totals when paired with the right spells or effects.

Analyzing each card’s capabilities and impact on gameplay reveals the Tree of Perdition’s singular position within Magic: The Gathering. With its ability to rapidly change the tide of a match, it is a formidable card that can catch opponents unprepared.

Triskaidekaphobia - MTG Card versions
Sorin Markov - MTG Card versions
Wall of Blood - MTG Card versions
Triskaidekaphobia - Shadows over Innistrad (SOI)
Sorin Markov - Zendikar (ZEN)
Wall of Blood - Mirrodin (MRD)

Cards similar to Tree of Perdition by color, type and mana cost

Hell's Caretaker - MTG Card versions
Rag Man - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Debaser - MTG Card versions
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions
Slinking Skirge - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Scandalmonger - MTG Card versions
Urborg Shambler - MTG Card versions
Whispering Shade - MTG Card versions
Filth - MTG Card versions
Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions
Bold Plagiarist - MTG Card versions
Dirge Bat - MTG Card versions
Toxin Sliver - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Spirit - MTG Card versions
Nim Shambler - MTG Card versions
Bad Ass - MTG Card versions
Scourge of Numai - MTG Card versions
Deathgazer - MTG Card versions
Dirty Wererat - MTG Card versions
Hell's Caretaker - Chronicles (CHR)
Rag Man - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Phyrexian Debaser - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Slinking Skirge - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Gravedigger - The List (PLST)
Scandalmonger - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Urborg Shambler - Invasion (INV)
Whispering Shade - Odyssey (ODY)
Filth - Judgment (JUD)
Demon of Catastrophes - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Bold Plagiarist - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Dirge Bat - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Toxin Sliver - Legions (LGN)
Vampiric Spirit - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Nim Shambler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Bad Ass - Unhinged (UNH)
Scourge of Numai - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Deathgazer - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Dirty Wererat - Hachette UK (PHUK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tree of Perdition MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Eldritch Moon Promos, 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 Tree of Perdition and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tree of Perdition Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-07-22Eldritch MoonEMN 1092015normalblackJung Park
22016-07-22Eldritch Moon PromosPEMN 109s2015normalblackJung Park
32022-12-02Jumpstart 2022J22 752015normalblackYuchi Yuki
42023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 1362015normalblackJung Park

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tree of Perdition has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-07-13 Any toughness-modifying effects, counters, Auras, or Equipment will apply after its toughness is set to the player’s former life total. For example, say Tree of Perdition is equipped with Cultist’s Staff (which makes it 2/15) and the player’s life total is 7. After the exchange, Tree of Perdition would be a 2/9 creature (its toughness became 7, which was then modified by Cultist’s Staff) and the player’s life total would be 15.
2016-07-13 If Tree of Perdition isn’t on the battlefield when the ability resolves, the exchange can’t happen and the ability will have no effect. Notably, activating the ability and giving Tree of Perdition -13/-13 in response won’t cause your opponent to lose the game.
2016-07-13 When the ability resolves, Tree of Perdition’s toughness becomes the targeted opponent’s former life total and that player gains or loses an amount of life necessary so that their life total equals Tree of Perdition’s former toughness. Other effects that interact with life gain or life loss will interact with this effect accordingly.

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