Blast of Genius MTG Card
2013-05-03 - Number 55
2018-12-07 - Number 197
2002-06-24 - Number 95475
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Sorcery |
Key Takeaways
- Draw three cards to gain an upper hand and devise winning strategies.
- Transform unused high mana cards into impactful damage against adversaries.
- Instant-like game changing effects despite being a sorcery card.
Text of card
Choose target creature or player. Draw three cards, then discard a card. Blast of Genius deals damage equal to the discarded card's converted mana cost to that creature or player.
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Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Blast of Genius card shines in providing card advantage by allowing a player to draw three cards as part of its effect. This ensures you have more options at your disposal, increasing your chances to outmaneuver your opponent.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, Blast of Genius can serve as a form of resource acceleration by discarding a high mana cost card, thus converting a potentially unused resource into direct damage and cycling through your deck for more useful cards.
Instant Speed: Although Blast of Genius is a sorcery, its ability to potentially finish the game with a big play can be as impactful as an instant. The strategy is to cleverly choose when to unleash its power, often turning the tide by eliminating a major threat or dealing a decisive blow to your opponent’s life points.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Delving into the depths of your hand, Blast of Genius necessitates the discard of a card to kindle its effect. This discard condition could spell trouble, especially when your arsenal is waning and every card is a precious commodity.
Specific Mana Cost: The spell’s potency is encoded in a complex mana recipe, demanding not just any mana but a trio of distinct types. This precise blend of one blue, one red, and one colorless mana could shackle it to decks cozy with these hues, potentially excluding it from more diverse mana bases.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a steep ascent to a six mana summit, this sorcery may lag behind in the race of efficiency. Alternatives flutter in the MTG cosmos, offering similar or enhanced outcomes without the cumbersome weight of such a high cost, casting a shadow of doubt on its supremacy in your deck.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Blast of Genius is highly adaptable, fitting comfortably into spell-heavy decks that thrive on casting large, impactful instants and sorceries.
Combo Potential: With the ability to draw cards and deal damage based on those draws, Blast of Genius synergizes with strategies that manipulate the top cards of your library or require discarding high-cost cards for value.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where removing key threats is as crucial as maintaining hand advantage, Blast of Genius offers a two-pronged approach to staying ahead of the opposition.
How to beat
Blast of Genius is a potent spell in MTG, where strategy blends with a mixture of brute force and card advantage. It allows a player to draw three cards and then discard a card to deal damage equal to the discarded card’s mana cost to any target. To effectively counter this, you’ll want to consider a few strategies.
Firstly, leveraging instant-speed removal spells or counterspells can disrupt your opponent’s plan. Having a Negate or a similar counterspell can stop Blast of Genius from ever taking effect. If Blast of Genius is already on the stack, you may need to find a way to protect your targeted creature or planeswalker, perhaps by using a hexproof-giving spell like Blossoming Defense.
Another approach is to apply pressure with an aggressive deck, forcing your opponent to use their Blast of Genius for survival rather than an offensive game plan. Moreover, hand disruption techniques can be crucial. Use cards like Thoughtseize or Duress to pluck Blast of Genius from your opponent’s hand before they have the chance to cast it. Limiting their resources and keeping their hand size small will minimize the impact if they manage to resolve the spell. Understanding these tactics can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Cards like Blast of Genius
Blast of Genius stands out in the spell caster’s arsenal for its dual-purpose utility. Aligning closely with cards like Cathartic Reunion, it allows a player to draw cards at the cost of discarding. However, Blast of Genius adds flair by turning discarded fodder into direct damage, an option Cathartic Reunion does not offer. It showcases its versatility against cards like Inspiration, which merely allows drawing two cards at instant speed without the additional impact on the opponent’s life total.
Another parallel can be drawn with Invoke the Firemind, offering a choice between drawing cards and dealing damage. Still, Invoke the Firemind lacks the symbiosis that Blast of Genius possesses, as it does not leverage discarded cards for effect magnitude. Epic Experiment also shares a similarity in the thrill of unpredictability and potential for significant impact. However, it forgoes the targeted damage component in favor of casting any number of spells for free.
Direct damage spells are a powerful staple in MTG play, but when you blend utility with versatility as Blast of Genius does, it carves a niche for itself. It truly delivers a double punch – refreshing your hand while depleting your opponent’s resources – reinforcing its esteemed place among hybrid utility spells.
Cards similar to Blast of Genius by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Blast of Genius MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Dragon's Maze, 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 Blast of Genius 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 Magic products
Printings
The Blast of Genius Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2013-05-03 and 2018-12-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 95475 | 2015 | normal | black | Svetlin Velinov | ||
| 2 | 2013-05-03 | Dragon's Maze | DGM | 55 | 2003 | normal | black | Terese Nielsen | |
| 3 | 2018-12-07 | Ultimate Masters | UMA | 197 | 2015 | normal | black | Terese Nielsen |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Blast of Genius has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Blast of Genius card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2018-12-07 | If a discarded card has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0. |
| 2018-12-07 | If the target permanent or player becomes an illegal target for Blast of Genius, the spell doesn’t resolve. You don’t draw or discard any cards. |
