Desolation MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Enchantment
Released	1997-02-03
Set symbol
Set name	Visions
Set code	VIS
Number	58
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	George Pratt

Key Takeaways

Desolation’s discard effect with land play can decisively shift game momentum to your advantage.
Enhancing control decks, Desolation aligns well with land destruction and resource denial strategies.
Amidst a land-rich meta, Desolation acts as a potent sideboard option, disrupting opponents’ tempo.

Text of card

At the end of each turn, each player who tapped a land for mana during that turn sacrifices a land. If a plains is sacrificed in this way, Desolation deals 2 damage to that plains' controller.

"Kill a creature, destroy the present. Kill the land, destroy the future." —Kaervek

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Desolation offers a unique angle on card advantage as it forces the opponent to discard a card whenever a land enters the battlefield under their control. This can quickly deplete an opponent’s hand, especially in land-heavy formats, shifting the game’s momentum in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While Desolation doesn’t directly ramp your mana resources, it indirectly accelerates your position by slowing down your opponent. Each land they play can cost them card resources, potentially delaying their strategy and giving you a time advantage to deploy your threats or set up your defenses.

Instant Speed: As a continuous effect enchantment, Desolation itself doesn’t operate at instant speed. However, its ability synergizes exceptionally well with instant-speed land destruction or land bounce spells, allowing you to trigger its effect during your opponent’s turn. This ensures you can maintain pressure and card advantage without sacrificing tempo.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Desolation enforces a discard action each turn, potentially bleeding your hand and diminishing strategic options.

Specific Mana Cost: Placing a black mana in its casting cost, the card demands a commitment to black mana sources, potentially straining your deck’s color balance.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that competes with other impactful cards in the same mana range, Desolation might lag behind in terms of value and board impact.

Reasons to Include Desolation in Your Collection

Versatility: Desolation is a card that can slide into a variety of deck archetypes, notably those that are control-oriented or utilize land destruction tactics. Its ability to chip away at your opponents’ resources each turn adds a level of depth to the game, often changing the tide in prolonged matches.

Combo Potential: For decks focusing on resource denial, Desolation can synergize flawlessly. When combined with cards that force players to search for land, or with effects that reset lands to hand, Desolation becomes an engine for maintaining a lead while hindering opponents’ board development.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where land-based strategies are prominent, having Desolation in your arsenal can provide a significant edge. It has the ability to disrupt opponents’ tempo and makes for a powerful sideboard card against decks that heavily rely on their mana base.

How to beat

Desolation is a card that can be quite disruptive to players who heavily rely on lands to fuel their gameplay. To effectively navigate and counteract the detrimental effects of Desolation, it’s pivotal to adapt your strategy. This card punishes those who play lands, so consider utilizing land alternatives or landless strategies to mitigate its impact.

One method is to leverage mana artifacts or creatures that produce mana. These alternatives to lands will help keep your gameplay flowing without the penalty Desolation imposes. Employing spells that return lands to your hand or deck, such as bounce spells, can also help avoid Desolation’s damaging sacrifices. Additionally, you can defeat Desolation by utilizing instant-speed spells and abilities that disrupt enchantments, effectively removing it before it can affect your board state.

While facing Desolation, it’s essential to adjust your strategy and reduce your dependency on playing lands. By exploring other avenues for mana generation and keeping enchantment removal up your sleeve, you can sustain your game plan and ultimately overcome the challenges Desolation presents in MTG.

Cards like Desolation

In the expansive universe of MTG, Desolation stands as a significant enchantment that targets players who nurture a land-rich playstyle. The card confronts similar enchantments like Manabarbs, which deals damage whenever a player taps a land for mana. What differentiates Desolation is its specific punishment for untapped lands at the end of turns, pressing players to strategize their land usage carefully. Meanwhile, Manabarbs applies a constant pressure on life totals, making every spell casting decision critical.

Looking at cards like Polluted Bonds reveals another comparable aspect, this enchantment’s damage triggered by land enters the battlefield under an opponent’s control. Although Polluted Bonds can potentially affect opponents more frequently in multiplayer settings, Desolation’s constant threat at the cleanup step of each turn offers a unique tension. Moreover, compared to the black spell Painful Quandary, which imposes a loss of life whenever an opponent casts a spell, Desolation narrows its influence to land-based strategies, offering a niche but formidable obstacle.

In essence, Desolation earns its place in MTG as a tactical choice for players seeking control over tempo and resource management. It dispenses a subtle yet potent deterrent, seamlessly aligning with decks focused on pressuring opponents to act within constricted margins of safety.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Desolation MTG card by a specific set like Visions, 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 Desolation and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Desolation has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2004-10-04	Each Desolation only causes up to one land per turn to be sacrificed. If you have more than one, each will do this.
2004-10-04	It works even if it was not on the battlefield when the land was tapped for mana.