Sacrifice MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 10 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Sacrifice cards provide card advantage and strategic depth, particularly when managing resources during gameplay.
  2. While offering instant speed and versatility, sacrifice cards may limit deck building due to specific mana requirements.
  3. They remain meta-relevant, often serving as combo enablers or strategic game-changers in many decks.

Text of card

Destroy one of your creatures without regenerating it, and add to your mana pool a number of black mana equal to black creature's casting cost.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sacrifice-based cards often enable players to trade one resource for multiple benefits. A prime example allows the sacking of a creature for drawing cards, thereby refilling the player’s hand and maintaining the flow of strategic options.

Resource Acceleration: Some of these cards are designed to boost your mana pool when sacrificing a creature or another permanent. This burst of resources can allow you to deploy more threats or activate key abilities sooner than usual, giving you an edge in the race for board dominance.

Instant Speed: Having the flexibility to sacrifice at instant speed provides a tactical advantage, making the most of the cards even when it’s not your turn. This can disrupt the opponent’s plans, save your creatures from removal, or simply be the unexpected play that tilts the game in your favor.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Often, a sacrifice card in MTG necessitates you to let go of another creature, which could potentially shrink your battlefield presence and diminish your capacity to counter upcoming threats.

Specific Mana Cost: Many powerful sacrifice cards come with a tight color requirement, sometimes demanding both black and another color. This could restrict deck-building options and make it challenging to maintain a consistent mana base, especially in multicolor decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sacrifice effects that pack a punch tend to come with a sizable mana cost. This elevates the risk against agile opponents who might exploit the tempo loss, wielding more cost-effective spells that could swing the game before you’ve even made your sacrifice play.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sacrifice mechanics in MTG offer flexibility as they can fit into a wide array of deck archetypes. Whether you need to trigger death effects or simply want an emergency mana boost, these cards can accommodate different strategies with ease.

Combo Potential: Cards with sacrifice abilities synergize exceptionally well with numerous combos and synergies. They often serve as key pieces in engine-like interactions that can potentially lead to a swift victory.

Meta-Relevance: Given that the metagame regularly includes strategies that capitalize on creature death or benefit from graveyard interactions, sacrifice cards maintain their significance. Their inclusion could pivotally disrupt your opponents’ plans or bolster your board state to create a competitive advantage.


How to beat

Confronting a sacrifice mechanic in MTG can be a true test of strategy and adaptability. These cards often push players to make tough decisions by offering a beneficial trade at the cost of losing a creature or other valuable asset. The power of a sacrifice card lies in its disruptive capability, forcing opponents to alter their game plan.

Successfully navigating against sacrifice tactics involves a fine balance between resource management and timing. Having creatures on the board that you can afford to lose or that yield benefits when they die is key. For instance, employing creatures with death triggers can offset the cost of a forced sacrifice. Additionally, save instant-speed removal that can disrupt your opponent’s strategy before they have a chance to utilize their sacrifice effect to its full potential.

It’s also about predicting and preemptively countering your opponent’s moves. That means keeping a watchful eye for the most opportune moment to play your cards while maintaining a board presence that isn’t too crippled by a potential forced sacrifice. Mastering these aspects makes navigating a sacrifice-based deck less daunting and keeps you in control of the match.


BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the depths of MTG’s complex strategies is perpetually enthralling, and understanding the intricacies behind sacrifice cards can significantly advance your gameplay. Taking the insights gleaned from striking the balance between pros and cons, strategic inclusions, and comparing similar cards enhances your deck-building prowess. With the metagame constantly evolving, grasp the opportunity to integrate sacrifice cards into your arsenal, refining combos and staying ahead of the competition. Engage with our content further to master these concepts and construct decks that not only compete but dominate. Elevate your understanding, outmaneuver opponents, and transform each duel into a testament of your skill. Discover more with us and claim victory in the MTG arena.


Cards like Sacrifice

The concept of sacrifice in Magic: The Gathering is pivotal to various strategies, and the Sacrifice card is an embodiment of this dynamic game mechanic. Similar to effects found on cards like Altar’s Reap, which also converts creatures into card advantage, the Sacrifice card allows players to exchange creatures for beneficial effects. Altar’s Reap, however, requires an additional mana and the act of sacrificing as an additional cost to draw two cards.

In comparison, another related card is Viscera Seer, which provides a free sacrifice outlet to scry and better shape future draws, although it does not provide direct card draw like Sacrifice does. Then there’s Diabolic Intent, which also asks players to sacrifice a creature, but unlike the straightforward effect of Sacrifice, it turns the sacrifice into a powerful tutor effect, searching for any card in the player’s library.

Choosing the right sacrifice effect depends on the deck’s strategy and the desired outcome from the sacrifice. Whether it’s for immediate card draw, deck manipulation, or precision tutoring, the Sacrifice card integrates seamlessly into decks that thrive on turning resources into meaningful power plays.

Altar's Reap - MTG Card versions
Viscera Seer - MTG Card versions
Diabolic Intent - MTG Card versions
Altar's Reap - Innistrad (ISD)
Viscera Seer - Magic 2011 (M11)
Diabolic Intent - Planeshift (PLS)

Cards similar to Sacrifice by color, type and mana cost

Howl from Beyond - MTG Card versions
Dark Ritual - MTG Card versions
Darkness - MTG Card versions
Marsh Gas - MTG Card versions
Deathlace - MTG Card versions
Gravebind - MTG Card versions
Misinformation - MTG Card versions
Vampiric Tutor - MTG Card versions
Dredge - MTG Card versions
Vendetta - MTG Card versions
Coffin Purge - MTG Card versions
Defile - MTG Card versions
March of Wretched Sorrow - MTG Card versions
Fatal Push - MTG Card versions
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions
Fade from Memory - MTG Card versions
Duh - MTG Card versions
Aesthetic Consultation - MTG Card versions
Stop That - MTG Card versions
Disembowel - MTG Card versions
Howl from Beyond - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Dark Ritual - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Darkness - Warhammer 40,000 Commander (40K)
Marsh Gas - The Dark (DRK)
Deathlace - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Gravebind - Ice Age (ICE)
Misinformation - Alliances (ALL)
Vampiric Tutor - Dominaria Remastered (DMR)
Dredge - Invasion (INV)
Vendetta - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Coffin Purge - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
Defile - Modern Horizons 1 Timeshifts (H1R)
March of Wretched Sorrow - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Fatal Push - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Fade from Memory - Onslaught (ONS)
Duh - Unhinged (UNH)
Aesthetic Consultation - Unhinged (UNH)
Stop That - Unhinged (UNH)
Disembowel - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sacrifice MTG card by a specific set like Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta, 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 Sacrifice and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sacrifice Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 1993-08-05 and 2022-11-28. Illustrated by Dan Frazier.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11993-08-05Limited Edition AlphaLEA 1241993normalblackDan Frazier
21993-10-04Limited Edition BetaLEB 1251993normalblackDan Frazier
31993-12-01Unlimited Edition2ED 1251993normalwhiteDan Frazier
41993-12-10Collectors' EditionCED 1251993normalblackDan Frazier
51993-12-10Intl. Collectors' EditionCEI 1251993normalblackDan Frazier
61994-04-01Revised Edition3ED 1261993normalwhiteDan Frazier
71994-04-01Foreign Black BorderFBB 1261993normalblackDan Frazier
81994-06-21Summer Magic / EdgarSUM 1261993normalwhiteDan Frazier
92022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 1212015normalblackDan Frazier
102022-11-2830th Anniversary Edition30A 4181997normalblackDan Frazier

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sacrifice has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Sacrifice 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 Sacrificing an animated land gives no mana since the converted mana cost was zero.
2013-04-15 Players can only respond once this spell has been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to destroy the creature you sacrificed to prevent you from casting this spell.
2013-04-15 You must sacrifice exactly one creature to cast this spell; you cannot cast it without sacrificing a creature, and you cannot sacrifice additional creatures.

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