Thud-for-Duds MTG Card

Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact — Contraption
Released	2017-12-08
Set symbol
Set name	Unstable
Set code	UST
Number	206
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Borderless
Illustred by	Steve Prescott
Un-set :-)	This card is part of an Un-set

Key Takeaways

Offers card advantage by handling opponents’ threats while preserving hand parity.
Flexibility at instant speed allows surprising shifts in gameplay momentum.
Demanding specific mana types, Thud-for-Duds limits deck versatility.

Text of card

Whenever you crank Thud-for-Duds, roll two six-sided dice. Thud-for-Duds deals damage to target creature equal to the difference between those results.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Thud-for-Duds offers a strategic edge as it can eliminate an opposing creature while maintaining parity in your hand. This capability bolsters your position by effectively dealing with threats without losing resources.

Resource Acceleration: Though not a direct form of ramp, using this card can pave the way for your larger threats to dominate the board. By removing potential blockers or threats cheaply, you accelerate your game plan towards victory.

Instant Speed: The power of this card lies in its flexibility. Deployable at instant speed, it fits seamlessly within your strategy, allowing you to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the game. This can catch an opponent off-guard and shift the momentum in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Thud-for-Duds in your deck means you’re subjecting yourself to a non-negotiable discard action to unleash its potential. This stipulation could lead you to a precarious state when your hand is already running thin, robbing you of crucial card advantage and putting you at a strategic shortfall.

Specific Mana Cost: Tailored for a red deck, Thud-for-Duds demands a particular mana arrangement to cast. This mana specificity can be a hurdle for multi-colored or less red-centric deck builds, potentially causing a snag in your resource management and casting consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing four mana to activate Thud-for-Duds might not always equate to optimal value when options are weighed. Ambitious players might find this cost steep compared to other alternatives in the pool that could yield equal or greater impact for the same, if not less, mana expenditure.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Thud-for-Duds offers a unique utility, being perfect for decks that look to turn late-game dead cards into direct damage against opponents. Its adaptability can swing games in your favor regardless of the match-up.

Combo Potential: Known for its savage finisher capabilities, Thud-for-Duds can be the keystone in a combo that harnesses the power of high-power creatures or sacrificial mechanics, turning potential losses into sudden victories.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting nature of competitive play, having Thud-for-Duds in your arsenal gives you an edge in metas where dealing unexpected bursts of damage can outpace more controlling or gradual win conditions.

How to Beat

Thud-for-Duds certainly captures the attention of MTG players with its potential for explosive plays. To effectively counter this card, understanding its mechanics is key. This powerful sorcery allows players to deal damage equal to the sacrificed creature’s power to any target. Therefore, timing your removal spells to disrupt this strategy is essential. If you anticipate a Thud-for-Duds play, hold onto that instant-speed removal to take out the creature before it can be used as a high-damage projectile.

Another approach is to include cards that restrict your opponent’s ability to choose targets, such as Shalai, Voice of Plenty, which grants you and other creatures you control hexproof. If Thud-for-Duds cannot target, it loses its impact. Lastly, countering it with a spell like Negate or using hand-disruption tactics to prevent your opponent from ever unleashing its potential can turn the tides in your favor.

While Thud-for-Duds can be a game-ender when timed right, strategic play and careful management of your resources can neutralize this threat, keeping you ahead in the game.

Cards like Thud-for-Duds

Thud-for-Duds carves a niche for itself among direct damage spells in Magic: The Gathering. Its function echoes the infamous Fling spell, enabling a player to sacrifice a creature and propel its power against an opponent. Thud-for-Duds stands out because, unlike Fling, it is not an instant. This small detail can significantly influence strategic planning.

Comparatively, Thud squeezes into the conversation. Costing just one red mana, Thud also demands a sacrificed creature to deal damage equivalent to its power. The key difference arises with Thud-for-Duds providing an alternative cost that potentially alters the dynamics of casting spells cheaply when you have a high-power creature board presence.

Within the strategy of creature-based decks, Rite of Consumption could be considered as well. Though it shares the sacrifice aspect and is at sorcery speed like Thud-for-Duds, Rite of Consumption has the added benefit of giving the player life equal to the damage dealt, trading off the red color mana efficiency for black mana and a life-gain feature.

Evaluating these cards, Thud-for-Duds occupies a unique position capable of delivering surprise finishes or massive damage when used adeptly, especially in decks leveraging large creatures in red-centric strategies.

Cards similar to Thud-for-Duds by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Thud-for-Duds MTG card by a specific set like Unstable, 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 Thud-for-Duds and other MTG cards:

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Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2018-01-19	Any Contraption that’s on the battlefield and wasn’t assembled immediately heads to the scrapyard. However, if it’s a not an actual Contraption card (like Copy Artifact isn’t), it goes to your graveyard as normal. Non-Contraption cards can’t be in the scrapyard.
2018-01-19	At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control any Contraptions, move the CRANK! counter to the next sprocket. You may then crank any number of Contraptions on that sprocket, causing their abilities to trigger. Cranking a Contraption is always optional.
2018-01-19	Contraptions are artifacts. Anything that interacts with artifacts will interact with Contraptions.
2018-01-19	Contraptions aren’t put into your main deck. They go into a separate deck called the Contraption deck.
2018-01-19	If a Contraption would leave the battlefield and go to any zone other than exile, it instead goes to the scrapyard, the Contraption deck’s version of the graveyard. Things that affect the graveyard do not affect the scrapyard. You can exile Contraptions just fine.
2018-01-19	If you crank multiple Contraptions, their abilities can be put onto the stack in any order. The ability put onto the stack will resolve first.
2018-01-19	If you or a permanent you control are instructed to assemble a Contraption, reveal the top card of your Contraption deck. Put it onto the battlefield on one of the three sprockets.
2018-01-19	If you or a permanent you control assembles a Contraption and your Contraption deck is empty, nothing happens. You don’t lose the game.
2018-01-19	In Constructed formats, a Contraption deck must have at least fifteen different Contraption cards and no more than one of each.
2018-01-19	In Limited formats, a Contraption deck may include any number of Contraption cards in your card pool. You don’t have to include every Contraption card you draft or open in sealed deck. In those formats, your Contraption deck may include duplicates.
2018-01-19	In silver-bordered games using Contraptions, you have three sprockets, illustrated on the back of Contraption cards. At the start of the game, put a CRANK! counter on sprocket 3.
2018-01-19	While Contraptions you control are on the battlefield, the Contraption deck is not, even if you are using it to signify the three sprockets.