Lava Dart MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeInstant
Abilities Flashback

Key Takeaways

  1. Lava Dart excels at removing low-toughness creatures, providing a tactical edge without losing card balance.
  2. With its flashback ability, Lava Dart ensures efficient use of mana and aids in accelerating your resource pool.
  3. Instant speed allows for greater tactical play and can disrupt opponents’ strategies unexpectedly.

Text of card

Lava Dart deals 1 damage to target creature or player. Flashback— Sacrifice a mountain. (You may play this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then remove it from the game.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Lava Dart does not allow you to draw cards directly, it offers a strategic advantage by removing key low-toughness creatures your opponent controls, effectively enhancing your position without losing card equilibrium.

Resource Acceleration: Lava Dart’s low cost makes it an efficient spell that fits seamlessly into your mana curve. Additionally, it can be flashed back from the graveyard by sacrificing a Mountain, thus giving you two uses for the price of one card, and propelling your game plan forward without additional resource expenditure.

Instant Speed: The ability to play Lava Dart at instant speed provides you with tactical flexibility. You can disrupt opponent’s strategies in the middle of combat or at the end of their turn, paving the way for surprise maneuvers and keeping your adversaries on their toes.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Lava Dart necessitates sacrificing a mountain if you want to take advantage of its flashback feature. This can be detrimental to your board presence, especially if you are in a position where you need to maintain land control for stronger plays later in the game.

Specific Mana Cost: Lava Dart’s cost is strictly red, which means it can be seamlessly integrated only into mono-red or red-inclusive decks. Decks that don’t support red mana might find this card incompatible with their strategy, restricting its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the initial casting cost of Lava Dart is low, accessing its flashback ability comes at the steep price of sacrificing a mountain. In certain game scenarios, particularly in fast-paced matches, the additional cost of losing land may outweigh the benefits of reusing Lava Dart, making it less cost-effective compared to other direct damage spells.


Reasons to Include Lava Dart in Your Collection

Versatility: Lava Dart offers flexibility in play style, easily sliding into aggressive red decks as a low-cost damage spell. Its flashback ability also makes it a persistent threat, adaptable in various game phases.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with strategies that involve spell casting triggers or prowess. Its ability to be played from the graveyard means multiple uses in a single turn, supporting combo-centric play seamlessly.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment where small creatures are prevalent or where incremental damage can turn the tide, Lava Dart holds significant tactical advantage, maintaining relevance in ever-shifting meta scenarios.


How to beat

Lava Dart is a potent and flexible instant card for any player’s red arsenal in Magic: The Gathering. With its low cost and flashback ability, it can become a repeated nuisance capable of picking off small creatures, or finishing off a weakened opponent. Despite its versatility, overcoming this spell is far from impossible.

To counteract Lava Dart, consider the inclusion of creatures with higher toughness to withstand its damage. Utilizing cards that grant your creatures indestructible for a turn can also negate the destructive power of Lava Dart. Moreover, employing counterspells to intercept it when it’s cast originally or when it’s flashed back from the graveyard disrupts your opponent’s plans. Lastly, playing smart around the number of cards in the opponent’s graveyard can minimize their opportunities to use Lava Dart’s flashback, lessening its impact on the game.

Understanding when to expect the Dart and preemptively protecting your valuable creatures or defusing it can tilt the match in your favor. Through strategic play and clever deck building, you can effectively neutralize the fiery threat of Lava Dart and maintain control over the battlefield.


BurnMana Recommendations

Enhancing your MTG strategy encompasses knowing the ins and outs of pivotal cards like Lava Dart. This nimble spell offers distinct advantages by shaping the battlefield and synergizing with spellslinger decks. If your goal is to undermine your opponent’s defenses or to fortify your own stratagems with recurring damage, this card is a must-have. Wise use of its flashback ability can escalate your game, but always gauge the resource cost. Interested in exploring the depths of deck-building tactics and finding the perfect balance for your red deck arsenal? Continue your journey with us and delve deeper into the landscape of MTG.


Cards like Lava Dart

Lava Dart stands out in the vast array of red spells in Magic: The Gathering that deliver direct damage to opponents or creatures. Its ability to deal 1 damage for a mere single red mana makes it comparable to the infamous Lightning Bolt, although the latter offers a more substantial punch of 3 damage. Where Lava Dart shines is in its flashback feature, allowing you to cast it from the graveyard by sacrificing a mountain, thus providing additional utility in the late game.

Another relative within this direct damage category is Shock, which deals 2 damage at the same cost without requiring a land sacrifice. However, what it gains in immediate impact, it lacks in the versatility of flashback. Then consider Fiery Impulse, which deals 2 damage to a creature and can be escalated to 3 if there are two or more instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard, giving it a conditional advantage over Lava Dart in creature control scenarios.

In evaluating these spells, Lava Dart offers inexpensive and recurrent damage opportunities that can be strategically advantageous in decks designed to whittle down an opponent or to support synergies that benefit from casting multiple spells.

Lightning Bolt - MTG Card versions
Shock - MTG Card versions
Fiery Impulse - MTG Card versions
Lightning Bolt - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Shock - Stronghold (STH)
Fiery Impulse - Magic Origins (ORI)

Cards similar to Lava Dart by color, type and mana cost

False Orders - MTG Card versions
Chaoslace - MTG Card versions
Red Elemental Blast - MTG Card versions
Tunnel - MTG Card versions
Artifact Blast - MTG Card versions
Active Volcano - MTG Card versions
Shock - MTG Card versions
Lightning Bolt - MTG Card versions
Panic - MTG Card versions
Vertigo - MTG Card versions
Hearth Charm - MTG Card versions
Pyroblast - MTG Card versions
Fighting Chance - MTG Card versions
Shower of Sparks - MTG Card versions
Heat Ray - MTG Card versions
Overload - MTG Card versions
March of Reckless Joy - MTG Card versions
Burst Lightning - MTG Card versions
Fever Charm - MTG Card versions
Electrostatic Bolt - MTG Card versions
False Orders - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Chaoslace - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Red Elemental Blast - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Tunnel - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Artifact Blast - Antiquities (ATQ)
Active Volcano - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Shock - Arena Beginner Set (ANB)
Lightning Bolt - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Panic - Ice Age (ICE)
Vertigo - Ice Age (ICE)
Hearth Charm - Visions (VIS)
Pyroblast - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Fighting Chance - Exodus (EXO)
Shower of Sparks - Duel Decks: Heroes vs. Monsters (DDL)
Heat Ray - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Overload - Invasion (INV)
March of Reckless Joy - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Burst Lightning - Zendikar (ZEN)
Fever Charm - Onslaught (ONS)
Electrostatic Bolt - Mirrodin (MRD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Lava Dart MTG card by a specific set like Judgment and Modern Horizons, 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 Lava Dart and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Lava Dart Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2002-05-27 and 2019-06-14. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-05-27JudgmentJUD 941997normalblackDarrell Riche
22019-06-14Modern HorizonsMH1 1342015normalblackTyler Walpole

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Lava Dart has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-03-19 A spell cast using flashback will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, or leaves the stack in some other way.
2021-03-19 If a card with flashback is put into your graveyard during your turn, you can cast it if it’s legal to do so before any other player can take any actions.
2021-03-19 To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a flashback cost) you’re paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined only by its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast the spell was.
2021-03-19 You can cast a spell using flashback even if it was somehow put into your graveyard without having been cast.
2021-03-19 You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions, including those based on the card’s type. For instance, you can cast a sorcery using flashback only when you could normally cast a sorcery.
2021-03-19Flashback
-ost]” means “You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying
-ost] rather than paying its mana cost” and “If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack.”

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