Sign in Blood MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 18 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Boosts card advantage by enabling the drawing of two extra cards, essential for strategic planning in MTG.
  2. Speeds up access to critical resources, though it requires careful life management and deck compatibility.
  3. Possesses versatility and combo potential, making it a staple in decks that leverage card advantages.

Text of card

Target player draws two cards and loses 2 life.

"You know I accept only one currency here, and yet you have sought me out. Why now do you hesitate?" —Xathrid demon


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sign in Blood offers a significant boost to card advantage by allowing you to draw two additional cards for a minimal investment. This capability can give you the resources you need to outmaneuver opponents in both early and late phases of the game.

Resource Acceleration: While Sign in Blood doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, the additional cards drawn can lead to quicker access to your vital resources. The ability to draw into lands or key spells accelerates your gameplay, ensuring you’re always a step ahead.

Instant Speed: Even though Sign in Blood requires sorcery timing, its low cost and impactful draw effect make it a workhorse in your strategic planning. It provides immediate benefit, replenishing your hand and allowing you to continue exerting pressure on the battlefield without missing a beat.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Sign in Blood provides a useful draw effect, it doesn’t come without a cost. It requires the life payment as a form of discard, forcing you to make potentially risky life total decisions which could put you at a disadvantage in close games.

Specific Mana Cost: The card’s casting cost includes two black mana, which restricts its playability to mono-black or black-heavy decks, thereby limiting its versatility across various deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although a two-mana cost for drawing two cards is efficient, in fast-paced games, the two life paid can be substantial, and there may be turns where casting Sign in Blood is not the optimal play due to its need for precise timing and life resource management.


Reasons to Include Sign in Blood in Your Collection

Versatility: Sign in Blood offers flexible gameplay options, as it allows a player to draw two cards at the cost of only two life points, making it a valuable addition to decks that thrive on card advantage. Its low mana cost makes it a viable choice for various stages of the game.

Combo Potential: This card can be a key component in decks that capitalize on drawing cards or utilizing life as a resource. Its ability to target any player also opens up unique strategies, such as forcing an opponent with low life to draw two cards, potentially causing a loss of the game.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where the right cards in hand can turn the tide, Sign in Blood remains a pertinent choice. Its usefulness in both aggressive and control decks ensures that it stays relevant, irrespective of the shifting meta-game.


How to beat Sign in Blood

Sign in Blood stands out in MTG for its dual capability to refuel a player’s hand or to finish off an opponent low on life with its direct damage. This versatile black spell can be a game-changer, offering the pilot the choice to draw two cards at the cost of only two life and two mana. What makes it tricky to counter is its low casting cost and the immediate card advantage it bestows.

Winning against a player deploying Sign in Blood requires strategic denial or redirection of its effects. Employing counterspells like Negate just as Sign in Blood is cast disrupts the draw, leaving an opponent without the anticipated card advantage. Alternatively, countering the damage with life gain spells like Rest for the Weary, if used as a finisher, can nullify the lethal potential of Sign in Blood. Swift and clever resource management can trump the early advantage Sign in Blood seeks to create.

Ultimately, to outsmart an adversary using Sign in Blood, one must anticipate the balance between life points and card gains, respond decisively to the spell, and adapt to whatever role it is played in—be it as a draw engine or as a subtle weapon to diminish life totals.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the strengths and trade-offs of Sign in Blood is crucial for any MTG aficionado aiming to enhance their gameplay. As you weigh its card advantage against the life cost and mana specifics, consider integrating it into strategies that use life as a resource or in those that prioritize card draw. Its role in decks can vary from providing essential momentum to being a potential game-ending move against adversaries low on life. Should Sign in Blood resonate with your playstyle, we encourage you to delve deeper into the art of crafting a deck that leverages its unique dynamics. Forge ahead, refine your collection, and unlock new potential with each draw. Learn more with us and optimize your deck’s performance.


Cards like Sign in Blood

Sign in Blood stands out as a potent draw spell among the many options available in Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to Night’s Whisper, Sign in Blood allows players to draw two cards for the same mana cost, albeit with a slightly higher risk due to the need to pay life. Night’s Whisper does require one less black mana which can make it more versatile in multicolor decks.

Moving to a similar effect with a twist, Read the Bones is an evolution of the concept, offering a scry 2 before the draw, allowing for more control over what to pull from the deck, but at an increased cost of three mana. Compared to Sign in Blood, Read the Bones gives players the ability to look ahead and filter unwanted cards, albeit at a slower pace due to its higher mana requirement.

Overall, even with other spells like Painful Truths entering the battlefield, Sign in Blood remains a respected choice for its straightforward and efficient design in Magic: The Gathering. Its direct approach in exchanging life for cards embodies the essence of black mana playstyle—power at a price.

Night's Whisper - MTG Card versions
Read the Bones - MTG Card versions
Painful Truths - MTG Card versions
Night's Whisper - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Read the Bones - Theros (THS)
Painful Truths - Battle for Zendikar Promos (PBFZ)

Cards similar to Sign in Blood by color, type and mana cost

Drain Life - MTG Card versions
Demonic Tutor - MTG Card versions
Sinkhole - MTG Card versions
Word of Binding - MTG Card versions
Soul Exchange - MTG Card versions
Dry Spell - MTG Card versions
Hymn to Tourach - MTG Card versions
Mind Knives - MTG Card versions
Shattered Crypt - MTG Card versions
Disturbed Burial - MTG Card versions
Death Stroke - MTG Card versions
Exhume - MTG Card versions
Imperial Edict - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Intent - MTG Card versions
Decompose - MTG Card versions
Chainer's Edict - MTG Card versions
Walk the Plank - MTG Card versions
Predators' Hour - MTG Card versions
Nausea - MTG Card versions
Hunger of the Nim - MTG Card versions
Drain Life - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Demonic Tutor - Commander Masters (CMM)
Sinkhole - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Word of Binding - Renaissance (REN)
Soul Exchange - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Dry Spell - Portal (POR)
Hymn to Tourach - Vintage Masters (VMA)
Mind Knives - Portal (POR)
Shattered Crypt - Weatherlight (WTH)
Disturbed Burial - Tempest (TMP)
Death Stroke - Tempest Remastered (TPR)
Exhume - Jumpstart (JMP)
Imperial Edict - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Diabolic Intent - Planeshift (PLS)
Decompose - Odyssey (ODY)
Chainer's Edict - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Walk the Plank - The List (PLST)
Predators' Hour - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Nausea - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Hunger of the Nim - Darksteel (DST)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sign in Blood MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Magic 2010, 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 Sign in Blood and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sign in Blood Magic the Gathering card was released in 16 different sets between 2009-07-17 and 2022-10-14. Illustrated by 4 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 362262003normalblackAlan Pollack
22009-07-17Magic 2010M10 1122003normalblackHoward Lyon
32010-01-01Magic Player Rewards 2010P10 32003normalblackAlan Pollack
42010-06-18ArchenemyARC 252003normalblackHoward Lyon
52010-07-16Magic 2011M11 1172003normalblackHoward Lyon
62011-06-17Commander 2011CMD 1012003normalblackHoward Lyon
72012-07-13Magic 2013M13 1102003normalblackHoward Lyon
82014-07-18Magic 2015M15 1142015normalblackHoward Lyon
92014-11-07Commander 2014C14 1612015normalblackHoward Lyon
102014-12-05Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. LilianaGVL 492015normalblackHoward Lyon
112015-05-22Modern Masters 2015MM2 972015normalblackHoward Lyon
122018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 772015normalblackHoward Lyon
132020-09-26The ListPLST P10-32003normalblackAlan Pollack
142021-04-23Strixhaven Art SeriesASTX 722015art_seriesborderlessMinttu Hynninen
152021-04-23Strixhaven Mystical ArchiveSTA 952015normalborderlessKaoru Yukishiro
162021-04-23Strixhaven Art SeriesASTX 72s2015art_seriesborderlessMinttu Hynninen
172021-04-23Strixhaven Mystical ArchiveSTA 322015normalborderlessMinttu Hynninen
182022-10-14Game Night: Free-for-AllGN3 612015normalblackHoward Lyon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sign in Blood has restrictions

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

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