Karmic Justice MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 7 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Key Takeaways

  1. It provides deterrence, influencing opponents’ plays by threatening their valuable permanents.
  2. Protects your assets, enabling a more resilient board presence and mana conservation.
  3. React instantly to threats, maintaining pace and control over the game’s flow.

Text of card

Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls destroys a noncreature permanent you control, you may destroy target permanent that opponent controls.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Karmic Justice grants a significant positional advantage by deterring opponents from targeting your noncreature permanents. In the event they do, the potential to destroy their key assets provides a swing in card quality if not quantity. This acts as a form of psychological card advantage, influencing the opponent’s decisions and gameplay.

Resource Acceleration: Although Karmic Justice itself does not accelerate resources directly, it indirectly safeguards your mana assets and other important permanents. Maintaining your board state without the need to recast spells is an implicit form of resource acceleration, preserving mana and turns for advancing your position.

Instant Speed: The reactive nature of Karmic Justice operates at instant speed. Despite being an enchantment, its effect is triggered instantly upon the destruction of your permanents. This allows you to respond swiftly to threats and maintain tempo, making it a formidable card to face against.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: A drawback of Karmic Justice is that it doesn’t have an immediate impact on the board when played. Unlike cards that can change the state of the game as soon as they hit the table, Karmic Justice requires patience and strategic planning to utilize its full potential. This can be a con if you’re in need of an immediate response to an opponent’s threats.

Specific Mana Cost: Karmic Justice has a specific mana requirement of one white and two other mana. This cost can make it less accessible for decks that rely on a multicolored or non-white mana base, potentially limiting its inclusion to primarily white or two-color decks that can consistently provide white mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Karmic Justice may be considered high for an enchantment that doesn’t directly affect the board upon entry. Other low-cost removal or protection spells could potentially offer more immediate and cost-efficient solutions, especially in fast-paced games where tempo is crucial.


Reasons to Include Karmic Justice in Your Collection

Versatility: Karmic Justice is a card that can be seamlessly incorporated into various deck types, particularly those seeking to safeguard their board presence. Its ability to act as a deterrent against opponents targeting your noncreature permanents makes it a versatile and protective addition.

Combo Potential: The threat of retaliation that Karmic Justice poses can be leveraged in decks that thrive on enchantments or artifacts. It pairs well with cards that encourage opponents to trigger its effect, thus enabling devastating consequences and synergistic plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a game environment rife with control strategies or heavy removal, Karmic Justice emerges as a key card. It ensures that any attempt to disrupt your setup comes at a price, making it a card that can significantly influence the current dynamic of the game.


How to beat

Karmic Justice is a unique enchantment in MTG that can be quite a thorn in one’s side, especially when facing decks heavy on removal and artefact destruction. The card creates a powerful deterrent, threatening to destroy an opponent’s permanents if they attempt to target your own non-creature permanents. But every card has its Achilles heel.

To effectively counter Karmic Justice, the key is subtlety and timing. Board wipes that don’t target, like Supreme Verdict or Wrath of God, bypass Karmic Justice’s ability, removing the threat without triggering its vindictive effect. Another strategy is to use spells like Despark or Assassin’s Trophy which target Karmic Justice itself, as its effect doesn’t protect itself from being the target of destruction or exile. Patience is also imperative; waiting for the perfect moment to play your removal spells after Karmic Justice has been dealt with can ensure that your opponent doesn’t benefit from its protective measures.

Understanding the intricacies of when to play around Karmic Justice and when to directly challenge it can make all the difference. By crafting a plan to mitigate its effects and capitalizing on the moments when its guard is down, players can turn the tables and keep the upper hand in their matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

With its nuanced approach to board control, Karmic Justice can be a mighty force in your MTG arsenal. This enchantment not only protects your playing field but also strategically hinders your opponent’s actions. As you fashion your deck, consider the ways Karmic Justice can act as both a shield and a sword. Guard against heavy-handed removal and shape play to your advantage, ensuring that opponents think twice before launching an assault on your noncreature permanents. For those seeking deeper insights and expert deck-building tips, join us and delve into a world where every card and strategy matters in clinching victory.


Cards like Karmic Justice

Karmic Justice offers a unique protective layer for players’ permanents in Magic: The Gathering. When comparing it to other enchantments like Greater Auramancy, we observe that while both focus on safeguarding your assets, the approach they take differs significantly. Greater Auramancy shields your other enchantments from being targeted, whereas Karmic Justice deters opponents from destroying your noncreature permanents through its retributive effect, without offering actual hexproof or shroud. This dissuasive presence can influence opponents’ decision-making processes significantly.

Purely in terms of enchantment defense, we also see cards like Sterling Grove, which provides a blanket of protection for other enchantments and has the added ability to tutor for an enchantment card when it’s sacrificed. Karmic Justice’s trigger on a much wider variety of permanents sets it apart as a broad-spectrum defensive tool. Against more removal-heavy decks, Karmic Justice can turn the tide by transforming routine destruction into a heavy cost for the opponent.

To sum up, Karmic Justice stands out in MTG due to its capacity to balance the scales when facing mass removal strategies, offering a form of passive, yet effective resistance that can be central to a player’s defense. Its unique effect creates an environment where each destruction comes with a price, potentially granting the player with Karmic Justice a significant strategic advantage.

Greater Auramancy - MTG Card versions
Sterling Grove - MTG Card versions
Greater Auramancy - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Sterling Grove - Invasion (INV)

Cards similar to Karmic Justice by color, type and mana cost

Damping Field - MTG Card versions
Farmstead - MTG Card versions
Cooperation - MTG Card versions
Noble Steeds - MTG Card versions
Aura of Silence - MTG Card versions
Empyrial Armor - MTG Card versions
Cessation - MTG Card versions
Arrest - MTG Card versions
Glorious Anthem - MTG Card versions
Samite Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Pariah - MTG Card versions
Tattoo Ward - MTG Card versions
Sparring Regimen - MTG Card versions
Shielded by Faith - MTG Card versions
The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration - MTG Card versions
Oblivion Ring - MTG Card versions
Cage of Hands - MTG Card versions
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant // Rune-Tail's Essence - MTG Card versions
Guardian's Magemark - MTG Card versions
Celestial Dawn - MTG Card versions
Damping Field - Antiquities (ATQ)
Farmstead - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Cooperation - Ice Age (ICE)
Noble Steeds - Alliances (ALL)
Aura of Silence - Commander 2015 (C15)
Empyrial Armor - Weatherlight (WTH)
Cessation - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Arrest - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Glorious Anthem - Junior Super Series (PSUS)
Samite Sanctuary - Prophecy (PCY)
Pariah - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Tattoo Ward - Odyssey (ODY)
Sparring Regimen - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Shielded by Faith - Signature Spellbook: Gideon (SS2)
The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Oblivion Ring - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Cage of Hands - Commander Legends (CMR)
Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant // Rune-Tail's Essence - The List (PLST)
Guardian's Magemark - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Celestial Dawn - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Karmic Justice MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey and Commander 2015, 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 Karmic Justice and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Karmic Justice Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2001-10-01 and 2023-09-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12001-10-01OdysseyODY 261997normalblackRay Lago
22015-11-13Commander 2015C15 722015normalblackRay Lago
32023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting TalesWOT 72015normalborderlessMatteo Marjoram
42023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting TalesWOT 852015normalborderlessYakotakos
52023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine Art SeriesAWOE 772015art_seriesborderless
62023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine Art SeriesAWOE 622015art_seriesborderless
72023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting TalesWOT 652015normalborderlessYakotakos

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Karmic Justice has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
GladiatorLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 A spell or ability that asks for a sacrifice will not trigger this card.
2004-10-04 If an opponent destroys Karmic Justice, it will trigger on its own destruction.
2004-10-04 Karmic Justice will not trigger if an opponent’s spell or ability causes your permanent to be destroyed indirectly. For example, if the spell caused an ability you control to trigger, and thereby destroy your permanent.
2004-10-04 Karmic Justice will not trigger off of its ability destroying a permanent since you destroy the permanent and you are not one of your opponents.

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