Cruel Feeding MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Instant |
| Abilities | Strive |
| Released | 2014-05-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Journey into Nyx |
| Set code | JOU |
| Number | 64 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Jason A. Engle |
Key Takeaways
- Cruel Feeding can shift game momentum through life gain and instant-speed versatility.
- Requires careful hand management due to its discard condition and specific mana cost.
- Strive mechanic allows targeting multiple creatures, increasing potential impact.
Text of card
Strive — Cruel Feeding costs more to cast for each target beyond the first. Any number of target creatures each get +1/+0 and gain lifelink until end of turn. (Damage dealt by a creature with lifelink also causes its controller to gain that much life.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: With Cruel Feeding, players have the capacity to potentially draw extra cards if the life gained allows them to stabilize and outlast their opponent. This can lead to gaining the upper hand in card resources over the course of a match.
Resource Acceleration: This card can be a key component in strategies that benefit from life gain. As players increase their life total, they indirectly accelerate their resources by staying in the game longer and having more opportunities to deploy their tactics and creatures.
Instant Speed: Cruel Feeding’s status as an instant grants players the flexibility to cast it during the combat phase or in response to an action, thus employing it as a combat trick or an unexpected way to save a creature from damage or destruction. The instant speed also allows for better reaction timing during an opponent’s turn, keeping them guessing about the cards in your hand.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Cruel Feeding demands a discard from your hand to unleash its full potential, which could be a setback when you’re already facing a shortage of cards.
Specific Mana Cost: With its need for specific mana types to cast, the card may not seamlessly fit into decks that don’t heavily utilize black mana, limiting its versatility across various deck builds.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Cruel Feeding can potentially offer a significant power boost, its mana cost is on the higher end when compared to other pump spells, possibly hindering your tempo during crucial turns.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Cruel Feeding can be an unexpected addition to decks focused on lifegain strategies, or those looking to capitalize on the surprise factor of an instant-speed boost during combat.
Combo Potential: With the right setup, this card can be part of a life-swapping combo or enhance an attack unexpectedly, often leading to significant swings in life totals.
Meta-Relevance: In a metagame filled with creature-based strategies, Cruel Feeding can provide key moments where you gain a considerable advantage, especially in races or to outmaneuver opposing aggro decks.
How to beat
Cruel Feeding is a spell that can be daunting to encounter for those unprepared in Magic: The Gathering. It’s a potent combat trick, making it essential to understand the best strategies to counter it. One effective method for outplaying this card is by managing your life total so that its life-draining impact is minimized. Keeping removal in hand to deal with any creature that’s been targeted by Cruel Feeding ensures it won’t drastically shift the combat in your opponent’s favor.
Another robust tactic is to stay alert and hold up mana for countermagic when you suspect your opponent might be setting up for a Cruel Feeding play. Play conservatively; do not overcommit your creatures into a battle where Cruel Feeding could turn the tides. Additionally, utilizing creatures with lifelink or having access to instant-speed lifegain can negate the life loss and help maintain a healthy life total, reducing the card’s impact. Beating Cruel Feeding often comes down to timing, strategic play, and maintaining control over the life totals at all times.
In essence, resilience and strategic foresight are crucial in overcoming the challenge posed by Cruel Feeding in your matches. By mastering these tactics, you can ensure that this card does not dictate the pace of the game or become the turning point in your opponent’s favor.
Cards like Cruel Feeding
Diving into the dark alleys of life gain spells within Magic: The Gathering, Cruel Feeding offers a thrilling twist to the usual mechanics. It’s akin to cards like Child of Night, which grants lifelink until the end of turn. However, Cruel Feeding holds its own with the additional Strive mechanic, allowing you to pay extra mana to target multiple creatures. This contrasts with Child of Night’s limitation to a single creature benefit.
Another relative in this shadowy niche is Moment of Craving. This spell not only gives a creature -2/-2 until the end of the turn but also provides the caster with 2 life straight away. The immediate life gain is something Cruel Feeding lacks, yet Cruel Feeding can influence numerous creatures and potentially change the tide of battle immensely.
When it comes to enhancing the power of your army, Cruel Feeding can work wonders when timed effectively. It doesn’t provide the immediate gratification of Moment of Craving, but in scenarios with multiple attackers, the Strive feature can overshadow its counterparts, showcasing its superiority in larger skirmishes.
Cards similar to Cruel Feeding by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Cruel Feeding MTG card by a specific set like Journey into Nyx, 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 Cruel Feeding 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Cruel Feeding has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Cruel Feeding card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-04-26 | If a spell or ability allows you to cast a strive spell without paying its mana cost, you must pay the additional costs for any targets beyond the first. |
| 2014-04-26 | If all of the spell's targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. If one or more of its targets are legal when it tries to resolve, the spell will resolve and affect only those legal targets. It will have no effect on any illegal targets. |
| 2014-04-26 | If such a spell is copied, and the effect that copies the spell allows a player to choose new targets for the copy, the number of targets can't be changed. The player may change any number of the targets, including all of them or none of them. If, for one of the targets, the player can't choose a new legal target, then it remains unchanged (even if the current target is illegal). |
| 2014-04-26 | The mana cost and mana value of strive spells don't change no matter how many targets they have. Strive abilities affect only what you pay. |
| 2014-04-26 | You choose how many targets each spell with a strive ability has and what those targets are as you cast it. It's legal to cast such a spell with no targets, although this is rarely a good idea. You can't choose the same target more than once for a single strive spell. |
