Soul Shatter MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeInstant

Key Takeaways

  1. Offers card advantage by removing high-cost creatures or planeswalkers, altering game control.
  2. Instant speed allows for strategic plays and opponent disruption during their turn.
  3. Exact mana cost and selectiveness may limit Soul Shatter’s versatility in some decks.

Text of card

Each opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker with the highest mana value among creatures and planeswalkers they control.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Soul Shatter is a strategic addition to your deck that tips the scale in your favor by forcing each opponent to sacrifice a creature or planeswalker with the highest converted mana cost they control. This targeted removal often translates to removing your opponent’s most powerful threat on the board while leaving your resources intact, creating a palpable shift in control of the game.

Resource Acceleration: While Soul Shatter itself doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, it efficiently utilizes your mana by dealing with expensive threats for a relatively low casting cost. This allows you to manage your resources better and keep mana available for other crucial plays during your turn or your opponent’s.

Instant Speed: The instant speed of Soul Shatter grants you the flexibility to disrupt your opponent’s strategy during their turn. This surprise factor can be particularly potent as it allows you to wait until your opponent has committed to their actions for the turn, potentially causing them to overextend into your removal, thus maximizing the impact of Soul Shatter on the game state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Soul Shatter doesn’t force players to discard, it targets the opponent’s costliest creatures or planeswalkers. This selectiveness sometimes won’t align with your strategy, especially if the opponent’s most expensive permanent isn’t the current threat.

Specific Mana Cost: Soul Shatter demands exact mana in {1}{B}{B}, which means it’s exclusively tailored for black decks or those with reliable mana fixing, potentially restricting its integration in multicolor decks that struggle with mana consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Ringing up at three mana, Soul Shatter may compete with other vital removal spells in your deck that are less costly or offer additional versatility, such as lower-cost creature removal or board wipes that handle a wider array of threats.


Reasons to Include Soul Shatter in Your Collection

Versatility: Soul Shatter is a powerful and flexible removal spell that can be slotted into various deck archetypes. Its ability to target nonland permanents without targeting makes it exceptional against opponents’ high-value creatures and planeswalkers, even those with hexproof or protection.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with strategies that manipulate the sacrifice mechanic. It can be a key component in decks that benefit from opponents losing crucial pieces or in conjunction with your own effects that trigger when your opponents sacrifice permanents.

Meta-Relevance: With many decks relying on big threats to secure victory, Soul Shatter proves indispensable. Providing a cost-effective answer to popular and potent creatures and planeswalkers, it secures a spot in sideboards and main decks tuned to compete in a diverse and shifting metagame.


How to beat

Soul Shatter is an intriguing removal spell in Magic: The Gathering that targets not based on a creature’s power or even its toughness, but its mana value. This unique approach forces opponents to sacrifice their creature or planeswalker with the highest mana value, offering a strategic element involved in navigating around this pesky spell.

To outsmart Soul Shatter, flexibility and foresight are key. Consider populating the battlefield with multiple threats of various mana values. This tactic diffuses the impact of the spell by not putting all your eggs in one high-cost basket. Additionally, deploying creatures with indestructible or those that can easily be recurred from the graveyard can also help nullify the effect of Soul Shatter. When it comes to planeswalkers, it’s wise to advance ones that have already used their most valuable abilities, thereby reducing the loss if they’re chosen for the sacrifice.

Ultimately, it’s a matter of maintaining a diverse battlefield and being ready to replace valuable assets swiftly. Playing around Soul Shatter effectively can mean the difference between keeping a dominant presence on the board or falling victim to a single, well-timed spell.


BurnMana Recommendations

Soul Shatter’s nuanced power reshapes the MTG battlefield, making mastery of it an art in itself. Recognizing the importance of this mighty card is just the beginning. To truly excel, integrating it effectively into your deck and understanding its role across various matchups is key. If you aspire to finesse your opponent’s threats and turn the tides with strategic play, delving deeper into the realm of spell-slinging intricacies is next on your list. Discover additional insights and amplify your gameplay. Embrace the art of the sacrifice at Soul Shatter’s altar, and let’s journey towards MTG brilliance together. Enhance your strategies with us today.


Cards like Soul Shatter

Soul Shatter stands out in Magic: The Gathering for its targeted removal capabilities. It’s often placed in the same category as other removal spells like Doom Blade or Go for the Throat, which also allows players to eliminate threats on the board. Soul Shatter differs in that it forces each opponent to sacrifice a creature or planeswalker with the highest converted mana cost, bypassing protections and not being restricted to non-black or non-artifact creatures.

Another close relative in terms of functionality is Deadly Rollick, granting the ability to remove a creature without paying its mana cost if you control your commander. However, while Deadly Rollick offers flexibility in casting cost, it doesn’t affect the entire board like Soul Shatter does. Then there’s Vona’s Hunger, which also causes opponents to sacrifice creatures and has the Ascend mechanic, potentially having a wider impact but at a higher mana cost.

Overall, Soul Shatter has a unique standing among MTG’s removal spells due to its forced sacrifice effect that doesn’t target, skirting around indestructible and hexproof defenses, making it a strategic inclusion in any deck looking to manage the board against high-value targets.

Doom Blade - MTG Card versions
Go for the Throat - MTG Card versions
Deadly Rollick - MTG Card versions
Vona's Hunger - MTG Card versions
Doom Blade - Magic 2010 (M10)
Go for the Throat - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)
Deadly Rollick - Commander 2020 (C20)
Vona's Hunger - Rivals of Ixalan Promos (PRIX)

Cards similar to Soul Shatter by color, type and mana cost

Spoils of Evil - MTG Card versions
Dark Banishing - MTG Card versions
Stench of Decay - MTG Card versions
Carrion - MTG Card versions
Corpse Dance - MTG Card versions
Sick and Tired - MTG Card versions
Bone Harvest - MTG Card versions
Slay - MTG Card versions
Hapato's Might - MTG Card versions
Afflict - MTG Card versions
Dismember - MTG Card versions
Body Count - MTG Card versions
Reaping the Graves - MTG Card versions
Execute - MTG Card versions
Kill! Destroy! - MTG Card versions
Sudden Death - MTG Card versions
Footbottom Feast - MTG Card versions
Fevered Strength - MTG Card versions
Hideous End - MTG Card versions
Corpse Lunge - MTG Card versions
Spoils of Evil - Ice Age (ICE)
Dark Banishing - Duel Decks Anthology: Divine vs. Demonic (DVD)
Stench of Decay - Alliances (ALL)
Carrion - Mirage (MIR)
Corpse Dance - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Sick and Tired - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Bone Harvest - Beatdown Box Set (BTD)
Slay - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Hapato's Might - Sega Dreamcast Cards (PSDG)
Afflict - Odyssey (ODY)
Dismember - Modern Event Deck 2014 (MD1)
Body Count - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Reaping the Graves - Magic Online Theme Decks (TD0)
Execute - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Kill! Destroy! - Unhinged (UNH)
Sudden Death - Time Spiral (TSP)
Footbottom Feast - Commander 2011 (CMD)
Fevered Strength - Masters Edition III (ME3)
Hideous End - The List (PLST)
Corpse Lunge - Innistrad (ISD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Soul Shatter MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Zendikar Rising, 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 Soul Shatter and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Soul Shatter Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2020-09-25 and 2020-09-25. Illustrated by Wylie Beckert.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 838302015normalblackWylie Beckert
22020-09-25Zendikar RisingZNR 3452015normalblackWylie Beckert
32020-09-25Zendikar Rising PromosPZNR 127s2015normalblackWylie Beckert
42020-09-25Zendikar Rising PromosPZNR 127p2015normalblackWylie Beckert
52020-09-25Zendikar RisingZNR 1272015normalblackWylie Beckert

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Soul Shatter has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-09-25 As Soul Shatter resolves, first the opponent whose turn it is (or the next opponent in turn order, if it’s your turn) chooses a creature or planeswalker they control with the highest converted mana cost among that player’s creatures and planeswalkers, then each other opponent in turn order does the same, knowing the choices made before them. Then all of the chosen permanents are sacrificed at the same time.

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