Ashes to Ashes MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers potent removal power by exiling two creatures, thwarting indestructible and graveyard strategies.
  2. Ashes to Ashes demands forethought in usage due to its sorcery speed and life cost implications.
  3. Despite its mana specificity, it remains a staple for decks capable of leveraging its unique exile mechanic.

Text of card

Ashes to Ashes removes two target non-artifact creatures from the game and does 5 damage to you.

"All rivers eventually run to the sea. My job is to sort out who goes first." —Maeveen O'Donagh, Memoirs of a Soldier


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ashes to Ashes offers a distinct edge by allowing you to remove two creatures from the game, effectively handling multiple threats with a single card. This can tilt the balance in your favor, as you deal with potential problems using fewer resources than your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or tokens, the efficient removal of two creatures can indirectly accelerate your game plan. By clearing the way, you pave a path for your attacks or pave the way for your own creatures to dominate the board without opposition.

Instant Speed: Ashes to Ashes operates at sorcery speed, which requires strategic planning for its use. This characteristic encourages players to think ahead and use the element of surprise to their advantage. The timing of this card’s usage is critical, as it can dramatically shift the game state when played smartly within your main phases.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with this card means accepting a discard trade-off. To activate its effect, you have to sacrifice some of your own life points. This exchange can be detrimental, especially if you’re already under pressure from your opponent’s strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: It’s not just mana, but the precise colors that bind the hands of deck architects. The requirement of both black mana and its quantity makes this card a bit of a misfit in decks that aren’t deeply steeped in the swamp’s essence.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Five mana might not seem like much in isolation, but when viewed through the lens of the overall game, it’s a significant investment. Deck builders often have to weigh the benefits of obliterating two creatures against other available options that might not erode their life total in the process.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ashes to Ashes offers a unique and powerful option for removal in decks that can manage its life payment cost. It’s able to exile two creatures for a single card, bypassing indestructibility and graveyard-based strategies.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combos that benefit from the exile mechanic, enabling you to pair it with cards that punish opponents when their creatures leave the game or to clear the way for your own combo pieces to work unimpeded.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where creature-based strategies dominate, Ashes to Ashes can be a game-changer. The ability to remove key creatures from the equation without a return possibility can tilt the scales in your favor, making it a strategic asset in such environments.


How to beat

Ashes to Ashes is a distinctive removal spell in the Magic: The Gathering arsenal. It’s known for its ability to exile two nonartifact creatures for the cost of just three mana, an effect that can significantly alter the board state in your opponent’s favor. Despite its efficiency, the card comes with a drawback, costing the caster 5 life points. This life payment is an important factor to consider when planning your counter strategy.

To effectively overcome Ashes to Ashes, consider using cards that grant you hexproof or protection abilities to safeguard your creatures from being targeted. Artifacts or creatures with indestructible are also immune to its effects, preserving your board presence even if your opponent attempts to use the spell. Moreover, countermagic is your ally here; having blue spells like Counterspell ready can intercept and nullify Ashes to Ashes before it resolves. Lastly, consider leveraging life gain strategies to mitigate the life loss your opponent incurs, tipping the balance in your favor and forcing them to think twice before casting it.

Adapting your playstyle and card choices to counter the consequences of Ashes to Ashes can be the key to maintaining dominance on the MTG battlefield and outlasting your opponents.


Cards like Ashes to Ashes

Delving into the realm of spot removal options within MTG, Ashes to Ashes serves as an intriguing point of comparison. Like its kin, Go for the Throat, it offers the straightforward utility of obliterating a creature from the game. However, the significant difference lies in Ashes to Ashes’s capacity to exile two creatures at the cost of 5 life, which isn’t required by Go for the Throat. This makes it an effective tool, particularly against graveyard-based strategies where exiling cards is crucial.

Alternatively, there is Vindicate, another versatile removal spell. While it lacks the specific creature focus that Ashes to Ashes has, Vindicate presents the advantage of targeting any permanent. This flexibility can be instrumental in the right deck. When looking at efficiency, Snuff Out is another card that can eliminate a creature at no mana cost, provided you pay 4 life and control a Swamp, which might fit better in a faster-paced game than the dual-exiling Ashes to Ashes.

Evaluating Ashes to Ashes in the panorama of removal spells, we see it brings a unique blend of aggressive board impact and strategic depth, cementing its status as a potent choice for players looking to efficiently deal with multiple threats in MTG.

Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Vindicate - MTG Card versions
Snuff Out - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Vindicate - Apocalypse (APC)
Snuff Out - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)

Cards similar to Ashes to Ashes by color, type and mana cost

Darkpact - MTG Card versions
Demonic Attorney - MTG Card versions
Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
Infernal Contract - MTG Card versions
Touch of Death - MTG Card versions
Wicked Pact - MTG Card versions
Nature's Ruin - MTG Card versions
Buried Alive - MTG Card versions
Choking Sands - MTG Card versions
Brush with Death - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Grim Tutor - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Soul Burn - MTG Card versions
Noxious Vapors - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Crippling Fatigue - MTG Card versions
Flaying Tendrils - MTG Card versions
Darkpact - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Demonic Attorney - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Jovial Evil - Legends (LEG)
Infernal Contract - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Touch of Death - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Wicked Pact - Portal (POR)
Nature's Ruin - Portal (POR)
Buried Alive - Odyssey (ODY)
Choking Sands - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Brush with Death - Stronghold (STH)
Coercion - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Hand of Death - Starter 1999 (S99)
Grim Tutor - Starter 1999 (S99)
Forced March - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Stupor - Arena League 2000 (PAL00)
Soul Burn - Invasion (INV)
Noxious Vapors - Planeshift (PLS)
Mind Rot - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Crippling Fatigue - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Flaying Tendrils - Friday Night Magic 2016 (F16)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ashes to Ashes MTG card by a specific set like The Dark and Fourth Edition, 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 Ashes to Ashes and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ashes to Ashes Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 1994-08-01 and 2010-11-08. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11994-08-01The DarkDRK 391993normalblackDrew Tucker
21995-04-01Fourth Edition4ED 1191993normalwhiteDrew Tucker
31995-04-01Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border4BB 1191993normalblackDrew Tucker
41995-08-01RenaissanceREN 471993normalblackDrew Tucker
51996-05-02Pro Tour Collector SetPTC ll33sb1993normalgoldDrew Tucker
61997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 141s1997normalwhiteDrew Tucker
71997-03-24Fifth Edition5ED 1411997normalwhiteDoug Keith
82009-09-07Masters Edition IIIME3 581997normalblackDrew Tucker
92010-11-08Magic Online Theme DecksTD0 A371997normalblackDrew Tucker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ashes to Ashes has restrictions

FormatLegality
OldschoolLegal
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2009-10-01 If both of the targeted creatures are illegal targets by the time Ashes to Ashes resolves, it’s countered. It doesn’t deal 5 damage to you.
2009-10-01 If one of the targeted creatures is an illegal target by the time Ashes to Ashes resolves, it still exiles the other one and deals 5 damage to you.

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