Scaled Destruction MTG Card
2019-11-07 - Number 12
2021-08-20 - Number 12
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Sorcery |
Key Takeaways
- Gain an advantage with instant card draws, gaining pivotal options to outmaneuver opponents.
- Utilize instant-speed for unforeseen plays, reacting swiftly to on-field threats.
- Balance the card’s discard requirement against potential game-changing benefits strategically.
Text of card
Choose one or more — • Destroy all small creatures. • Destroy all medium creatures. • Destroy all large creatures. (A small creature has total power and toughness 4 or less, medium is 5–8, and large is 9 or more.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Scaled Destruction shines in providing an edge in card economy by potentially drawing multiple cards dependent on the power of creatures you control, bolstering your hand and giving you more options in later turns.
Resource Acceleration: This card can serve as a powerful resource accelerator. By damaging your own creatures with high toughness, you can transform their strength into a burst of mana, enabling impactful plays much earlier than usual.
Instant Speed: The utility of Scaled Destruction is significantly enhanced by its instant-speed nature, allowing you to surprise opponents by altering the state of the board at critical moments and reacting to threats as they occur.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Scaled Destruction comes with a stipulation that can affect your hand. To cast it, you need to pitch another card, which might be detrimental during tight game situations where each option in your hand counts. This downside forces players to make tough decisions about resource management, potentially setting them back if not timed properly.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a very particular mana setup to be played. With a necessity for certain land types, it may not fit seamlessly into all deck archetypes. Players running multi-color decks especially may find it challenging to meet the mana requirements without compromising their mana base or delaying crucial plays.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a substantial amount of mana required to bring Scaled Destruction into play, it’s vital to consider if its impact on the board justifies the investment. In a game where tempo can be decisive, the mana spent on this card could alternatively be used for developing your board state or responding to threats more effectively.
Reasons to Include Scaled Destruction in Your Collection
Versatility: Scaled Destruction affords a broad range of applications within various deck archetypes. It can efficiently remove problematic creatures or serve as a deterrent for opponents looking to deploy larger threats, making it a flexible addition to your card arsenal.
Combo Potential: When synergized with cards that benefit from destroying creatures, like those that trigger upon death or generate tokens, Scaled Destruction can become a key component in executing powerful combo plays.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta dominated by creature-heavy decks or powerful commanders, Scaled Destruction emerges as a critical tool. Its capability to change the tide of a game by dealing with multiple threats at once keeps it relevant and highly effective in competitive play.
How to beat
Scaled Destruction is known for its heavy impact on MTG games, primarily when it takes down large creatures. To tackle this powerhouse, it’s crucial to employ a strategy that emphasizes resilience and foresight. One approach is to diversify your threats. Instead of relying on a single formidable creature that could fall victim to Scaled Destruction, spreading your strength across several creatures can help circumvent the setback of losing a major threat.
Adept card selection is another avenue. Spells that offer protection or indestructibility can shield your key creatures from being destroyed. Consider cards like Heroic Intervention or spells that grant hexproof to your valuable creatures for a turn. If you’re playing a deck that supports counterspells, keeping mana open to counter Scaled Destruction can prove to be a decisive move.
Lastly, employing creatures with persist or undying abilities ensures that even if they’re hit by Scaled Destruction, they won’t be out of the game for good. By anticipating Scaled Destruction’s appearance and preparing your battlefield accordingly, you can blunt its effectiveness and maintain control of the game.
Cards like Scaled Destruction
Scaled Destruction steps into the Magic: The Gathering scene as an impactful sorcery. It finds company among cards like Star of Extinction and Blasphemous Act, which also excel at board clearing. Star of Extinction devastates the field by dealing massive damage to each creature and planeswalker, and like Scaled Destruction, can shape the late game. However, it lacks the ability to scale based on the number of lands you control, a feature that gives Scaled Destruction more flexibility.
A parallel can be drawn to Blasphemous Act, known for its cost reduction for each creature on the battlefield, allowing for an inexpensive sweep in creature-heavy matchups. Scaled Destruction doesn’t share this cost mechanics but instead offers a variable damage output that can grow over the game’s course. While Blasphemous Act favors early to mid-game wipes, Scaled Destruction’s potential increases as the game continues.
Examining these counterparts, Scaled Destruction carves out its own niche within MTG’s pantheon of destructive spells. It rewards players for a longer-term strategy and land accumulation, positioning it differently from its instantaneous or universally damaging brethren.
Cards similar to Scaled Destruction by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Scaled Destruction MTG card by a specific set like Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 and Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021, 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 Scaled Destruction and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Scaled Destruction Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2019-11-07 and 2021-08-20. Illustrated by Daniel Ketchum.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 | CMB1 | 12 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ketchum | |
| 2 | 2021-08-20 | Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 | CMB2 | 12 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daniel Ketchum |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Scaled Destruction card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2019-11-12 | If a creature has negative power or toughness, consider the actual value when determining the size of the creature. For example, a 0/7 creature that’s been given -2/-1 is a -2/6 creature, which totals 4, making it small. |
| 2019-11-12 | If you choose more than one mode, creatures are destroyed in the order specified. This may cause some creatures to escape destruction. For example, if you choose to destroy small and medium creatures while you control a 2/2 creature with the ability “Other creatures you control get +1/+1” and another 2/2 creature that’s a 3/3 creature thanks to that ability, the first creature is destroyed, then the second creature won’t be destroyed when medium creatures are destroyed since it’s become a 2/2 creature. |
