Power Taint MTG Card


Power Taint - Urza's Saga
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Cycling,Enchant
Released1998-10-12
Set symbol
Set nameUrza's Saga
Set codeUSG
Number90
Frame1997
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byBrian Snõddy

Key Takeaways

  1. Power Taint can disrupt opponents at instant speed, making it a surprise element of strategy.
  2. Its discard requirement and color-specific mana may limit deck inclusion and hand options.
  3. In diverse metagames, Power Taint deters big-mana decks and punishes excessive mana usage.

Text of card

During the upkeep of enchanted enchantment's controller, that player pays or loses 2 life. Cycling (You may pay and discard this card from your hand to draw a card. Play this ability as an instant.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Power Taint offers a unique angle for card advantage, potentially forcing your opponent to repeatedly lose cards or forgo the use of a powerful ability.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, Power Taint can indirectly lead to resource gains by hampering your opponent’s ability to utilize their mana effectively.

Instant Speed: Casting Power Taint at instant speed adds a layer of strategy, enabling you to surprise an opponent by targeting a key ability they rely on, during a moment when they’re least prepared.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Power Taint necessitates the discard of a card upon usage. This can prove detrimental during gameplay when your hand is already depleted, making it challenging to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Power Taint includes both blue and black mana, which could hinder its inclusion in decks not dedicated to these colors. Deck flexibility is somewhat reduced, as the card demands a specific mana base to be played effectively.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Power Taint offers a unique effect, the combined cost of four mana — two of which are colored — can be quite steep, especially when you could opt for alternative lower-cost cards that disrupt opponents without the additional discard requirement.


Reasons to Include Power Taint in Your Collection

Versatility: Power Taint is a unique enchantment that can fit into various blue control or combo decks. Its ability to turn an opponent’s strength against them by converting excess mana to damage makes it adaptable to a range of strategies and game states.

Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with effects that stop opponents from using their mana efficiently, like mana pool emptiers or cost increasers. In such combinations, Power Taint can become a potent source of recurring damage, pressuring opponents even in the early game stages.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where big-mana decks thrive, Power Taint can act as a deterrent against them. This card’s inclusion can be a tactical choice, especially if the current meta includes many players relying on spells that generate large amounts of mana.


How to beat

Power Taint presents a unique challenge in Magic: The Gathering, often causing opponents to think twice before using activated abilities that require a mana cost. The card essentially turns any mana-using ability against the player, dealing damage equal to the mana cost. This can quickly turn the tide in a match, especially if an opponent relies heavily on such abilities.

To effectively overcome Power Taint, one must either avoid playing cards with costly activated abilities or remove Power Taint from the board. Spell removal cards, such as Naturalize or Disenchant, can effortlessly dispatch Power Taint, allowing you to proceed with your strategy unhindered. Alternatively, countering it directly through spells like Negate or Mana Leak can prevent it from ever affecting the game state.

It’s also advantageous to have a diverse deck that does not solely depend on activated abilities, thereby reducing Power Taint’s potential impact. Incorporating passive abilities or relying on triggered abilities can circumvent the restrictions Power Taint imposes. Being adaptable and having a contingency plan for such enchantments is key to maintaining control of the game.


Cards like Power Taint

The Power Taint card in Magic: The Gathering presents a unique approach to controlling the battlefield. Its closest relatives in terms of functionality include a card like Psychic Venom. Both enchantments attach to land and punish the land’s controller for using it, but Power Taint offers a more flexible penalty, allowing opponents to choose between losing life or forfeiting the land’s use, which can be a critical strategic choice during a game.

We then have cards such as Contaminated Ground. It shares the concept of land enchantment with Power Taint but converts the enchanted land into an entirely different type — Swamp — and deals a fixed amount of damage when the land is tapped. While not granting the opponent’s choice, the predictable damage output can be useful in certain deck strategies.

Another consideration is Manabarbs, a card not enchanting lands directly but punishing all players whenever they tap lands for mana, potentially spreading significant damage across the board. Although it affects all players rather than targeted ones like Power Taint, the ability to influence the entire game flow can’t be ignored.

Evaluating each card’s tactical advantages is crucial. Power Taint’s variable penalty could lead to either predictable life loss or an obstruction of the opponent’s mana flow, thus positioning it as a potentially versatile tool in disrupting opponent strategies.

Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Contaminated Ground - MTG Card versions
Manabarbs - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Contaminated Ground - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Manabarbs - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)

Cards similar to Power Taint by color, type and mana cost

Copy Artifact - MTG Card versions
Invisibility - MTG Card versions
Power Leak - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Terrain - MTG Card versions
Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Stasis - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Flooded Shoreline - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions
Immobilizing Ink - MTG Card versions
Copy Artifact - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Invisibility - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Power Leak - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Phantasmal Terrain - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Creature Bond - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Stasis - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Lifetap - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)
Power Artifact - Antiquities (ATQ)
Psychic Venom - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Venarian Gold - Legends (LEG)
Soar - Mirage (MIR)
Flooded Shoreline - Visions (VIS)
Dance of Many - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Teferi's Veil - Weatherlight (WTH)
Legacy's Allure - Tempest (TMP)
Chill - Tempest (TMP)
Buoyancy - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Mana Maze - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Psionic Gift - Odyssey (ODY)
Immobilizing Ink - Odyssey (ODY)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Power Taint MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga, 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 Power Taint and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Power Taint has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2008-10-01 Cycling is an activated ability. Effects that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle or Rings of Brighthearth) will interact with cycling. Effects that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul or Faerie Tauntings) will not.

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