Extortion MTG Card


Extortion - Mercadian Masques
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Released1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set nameMercadian Masques
Set codeMMQ
Number135
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byPete Venters

Key Takeaways

  1. Extortion excels in control strategies by removing opponents’ key cards and surveying their plans.
  2. Instant speed casting adds crucial flexibility to respond to evolving game states effectively.
  3. Mana and discard requirements suggest careful deck construction for optimal Extortion use.

Text of card

Look at target player's hand and choose up to two cards from it. That player discards those cards.

The enforcers make no effort to distinguish gold from flesh.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Extortion allows players to potentially remove a key card from their opponent’s hand, disrupting their game plan while simultaneously gaining insight into the opponent’s strategy. This dual utility can lead to a significant advantage, particularly when planning your subsequent moves or when trying to protect your win condition.

Resource Acceleration: When playing Extortion, the ability to affect your opponent’s resources while maintaining your own can result in a form of indirect acceleration. By hindering your adversary’s ability to execute their strategy efficiently, you can gain a relative upper hand in deploying your threats more freely and reaching critical points of the game faster.

Instant Speed: The flexibility of casting Extortion at instant speed means you can adapt to the evolving state of the game, waiting for the optimal moment to disrupt your opponent’s planned actions—like right after they draw or when they have committed to a particular line of play. This timing can be crucial, especially when aiming to avoid potential counterspells or bait out your opponent’s protective measures.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Extortion comes with the strategic hitch of needing to discard another card. This can be particularly taxing when your hand is already dwindling, and you’re in dire need of maintaining card advantage over your opponent.

Specific Mana Cost: Extortion’s casting cost demands black mana, which could lock out players not running black or multicolored decks that can accommodate this requirement. This limitation narrows its versatility across the different archetypes and formats, potentially benching it in favor of more flexible alternatives.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that is on the higher end, Extortion may fall behind in the pace of the current game meta. Quicker, low-cost spells that disrupt opponent strategies or advance your board state can be more impactful, making Extortion’s cost-effectiveness a point for debate among players seeking optimal deck efficiency.


Reasons to Include Extortion Mtg Card in Your Collection

Versatility: Extortion slots into a variety of decks, particularly those that thrive on disrupting opponents’ plans while gaining incremental advantage. It’s a perfect fit for control or black-based midrange decks.

Combo Potential: This card excels in combo-centric decks, its ability to remove key pieces from opponents’ hands while setting up your own board can be a game-changer, potentially interacting with other cards that feed off discarded cards or benefit from opponents having fewer options.

Meta-Relevance: In environments dominated by combo or heavily nuanced decks, Extortion’s capability to throw a wrench in your opponent’s strategy while padding your own resources makes it a worthy contender for any meta-focused deck builder seeking an edge.


How to beat

Extortion is a card that can significantly disrupt your gameplay in Magic: The Gathering. It typically reflects cards that force opponents to sacrifice resources or pay life points, presenting them with difficult decisions. However, there are strategies to outmaneuver this tactic. Ensuring you have a healthy life total and maintaining a robust hand can mitigate the impact of Extortion cards. Creature-heavy decks can overwhelm and dilute the extortion effect, as losing one creature among many is less damaging than when operating a deck with fewer, high-value targets.

Another efficient approach involves instant speed spells that can respond to Extortion triggers, preserving your resources or negating the Extortion effect entirely. Counterplay also lies in cards that can return items from your graveyard, offsetting the loss sustained from an Extortion effect. Cards with hexproof or shroud protect your assets from being targeted, hence safeguarding your most valuable pieces. In essence, resilience and smart resource management are keys to subverting the influence of an Extortion-based strategy on the board. Adequate preparation and in-game choices ensure that Extortion doesn’t put an irreversible dent in your path to victory.


Cards like Extortion

In the realm of resource manipulation within MTG, Extortion emerges as a notable card. Its closest relatives in gameplay impact include disruption spells that allow players to gain advantage through opponent’s resources. Comparing Extortion to a card like Blightning, there is a distinct contrast. Blightning not only causes loss of cards for the opponent but also inflicts damage, though it lacks the direct resource gain that Extortion provides.

Collateral Damage is another relative, with a focus on sacrificing a creature to deal damage. While it doesn’t target the opponent’s hand or offer the same kind of control over their game plan, it does complement the aggressive strategy that Extortion could be a part of.

Comparatively, when evaluating Extortion against cards like Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek which also interfere with an opponent’s hand, Extortion adds the benefit of steering resources from the opponent to the player, tipping the scales in more ways than just card advantage. Each spell holds weight in different scenarios and deck builds. Extortion, however, marks its territory firmly when it comes to turning an opponent’s strength into its wielder’s gain.

Blightning - MTG Card versions
Collateral Damage - MTG Card versions
Thoughtseize - MTG Card versions
Inquisition of Kozilek - MTG Card versions
Blightning - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Collateral Damage - Fate Reforged (FRF)
Thoughtseize - Lorwyn (LRW)
Inquisition of Kozilek - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)

Cards similar to Extortion by color, type and mana cost

Reign of Terror - MTG Card versions
Soul Shred - MTG Card versions
Living Death - MTG Card versions
Soul Feast - MTG Card versions
Beacon of Unrest - MTG Card versions
Coveted Prize - MTG Card versions
Final Punishment - MTG Card versions
Sever Soul - MTG Card versions
Patriarch's Bidding - MTG Card versions
Aether Snap - MTG Card versions
Vicious Betrayal - MTG Card versions
Dance of Shadows - MTG Card versions
Brainspoil - MTG Card versions
Head Games - MTG Card versions
Voices from the Void - MTG Card versions
Promise of Power - MTG Card versions
Rise from the Grave - MTG Card versions
Incremental Blight - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Plague - MTG Card versions
Spread the Sickness - MTG Card versions
Reign of Terror - Mirage (MIR)
Soul Shred - Portal (POR)
Living Death - The List (PLST)
Soul Feast - Tenth Edition (10E)
Beacon of Unrest - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Coveted Prize - Zendikar Rising (ZNR)
Final Punishment - Scourge (SCG)
Sever Soul - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Patriarch's Bidding - Modern Horizons 2 (MH2)
Aether Snap - Commander 2014 (C14)
Vicious Betrayal - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Dance of Shadows - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Brainspoil - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Head Games - Tenth Edition (10E)
Voices from the Void - Conflux (CON)
Promise of Power - Commander 2014 (C14)
Rise from the Grave - Zendikar Rising Commander (ZNC)
Incremental Blight - Archenemy (ARC)
Dakmor Plague - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Spread the Sickness - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Extortion MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Extortion and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Extortion has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

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