Sadistic Sacrament MTG Card


Sadistic Sacrament - Zendikar
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeSorcery
Abilities Kicker
Released2009-10-02
Set symbol
Set nameZendikar
Set codeZEN
Number110
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDan Scott

Key Takeaways

  1. Sadistic Sacrament disrupts opponents by exiling up to three critical cards from their deck.
  2. Triple black mana cost is restrictive, making early game plays challenging for diverse decks.
  3. Strategically crippling in control decks, it’s a preemptive measure against combo-heavy opponents.

Text of card

Kicker (You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.) Search target player's library for up to three cards, exile them, then that player shuffles his or her library. If Sadistic Sacrament was kicked, instead search that player's library for up to fifteen cards, exile them, then that player shuffles his or her library.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sadistic Sacrament offers unique card advantage through targeted library disruption, allowing you to remove up to three key cards from your opponent’s deck. While you don’t gain cards in hand, depleting an opponent’s resources can be just as powerful.

Resource Acceleration: While this card doesn’t directly accelerate your mana, by extracting crucial pieces from your adversary’s strategy, you can effectively slow them down, giving you a relative acceleration in resources and board presence.

Instant Speed: Although Sadistic Sacrament is a sorcery, it’s a preemptive strike that can be as impactful as any instant-speed interaction by meticulously dismantling your opponent’s game plan before critical pieces can be utilized.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: This does not apply to Sadistic Sacrament as the card does not require you to discard.

Specific Mana Cost: Sadistic Sacrament commands a triple black mana cost, which can be difficult to meet, especially early in the game or in decks with a diverse color palette.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing three black mana, this card carries a high price for targeting individual cards in an opponent’s deck – a strategy that, while potentially crippling, may not always impact the board state or your position in the game right away.


Reasons to Include Sadistic Sacrament in Your Collection

Versatility: Sadistic Sacrament is a card that can be strategically utilized in any black deck geared towards control or disruption. Its ability to exile up to three target cards from an opponent’s deck with the basic casting cost, or fifteen with the kicker, makes it adaptable against a variety of decks.

Combo Potential: This card plays an essential role in strategy, targeting key pieces of your opponent’s combos or essential cards, effectively dismantling their game plan before it unfolds. It’s a preemptive tool against decks that rely heavily on specific cards.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames dominated by combo or critical single-card win conditions, Sadistic Sacrament serves as a powerful countermeasure. It can eliminate the threats before your opponent has the chance to draw them, providing a significant edge in the match-up.


How to beat

Sadistic Sacrament is a unique tool in the toolbox of black Magic: The Gathering spells that can be devastating when targeting an opponent’s library. Its ability to exile three cards for three black mana makes it a precision instrument for removing key components of your opponent’s strategy. However, you can thwart the effectiveness of this disruptive spell.

One method is to diversify the threats in your deck, ensuring that removing any three individual cards will not cripple your ability to win. Counterspells are also a solid approach, providing a protective shield for the crucial spells in your library. Utilizing cards that can shuffle your library or pull items from your graveyard back into your deck negates some of the damage dealt by Sadistic Sacrament.

Moreover, Sadistic Sacrament is less impactful in the late game, where many spells are in play or in the graveyard. Swift, aggressive strategies can also make it a dead draw, overpowering the opponent before the card can be used effectively. By understanding your deck’s strengths and weaknesses, and by anticipating disruption, you can mitigate the effect of potent cards like Sadistic Sacrament and maintain the upper hand in your MTG matches.


Cards like Sadistic Sacrament

Sadistic Sacrament has carved a niche for itself within the arsenal of disruptive spells in Magic: The Gathering, offering unparalleled potential to dismantle an opponent’s strategy. It aligns with cards like Praetor’s Grasp or Cranial Extraction, which also pry into an opponent’s library to exile key pieces. Yet, what sets Sadistic Sacrament apart is the sheer number of cards it targets, removing up to three with its base cost or fifteen when kicked.

Another parallel comes into play with Bitter Ordeal. Both interact with the graveyard and posses the scalability factor, but Bitter Ordeal relies on the Gravestorm mechanic to potentially exile multiple cards, which can be less controllable than Sadistic Sacrament’s direct approach. Conversely, Jester’s Cap gives players an artifact option for hand inspection and exile, but lacks the capability to hit the astonishing numbers that a kicked Sadistic Sacrament can achieve.

In summary, Sadistic Sacrament presents a formidable option for players aiming to preemptively eliminate threats or crucial components from an adversary’s deck, offering an unmatched level of disruption when measured against other MTG cards with similar effects.

Praetor's Grasp - MTG Card versions
Cranial Extraction - MTG Card versions
Bitter Ordeal - MTG Card versions
Jester's Cap - MTG Card versions
Praetor's Grasp - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Cranial Extraction - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Bitter Ordeal - Future Sight (FUT)
Jester's Cap - Ice Age (ICE)

Cards similar to Sadistic Sacrament by color, type and mana cost

Darkpact - MTG Card versions
Demonic Attorney - MTG Card versions
Jovial Evil - MTG Card versions
Infernal Contract - MTG Card versions
Touch of Death - MTG Card versions
Wicked Pact - MTG Card versions
Nature's Ruin - MTG Card versions
Buried Alive - MTG Card versions
Choking Sands - MTG Card versions
Brush with Death - MTG Card versions
Perish - MTG Card versions
Coercion - MTG Card versions
Hand of Death - MTG Card versions
Grim Tutor - MTG Card versions
Forced March - MTG Card versions
Stupor - MTG Card versions
Soul Burn - MTG Card versions
Noxious Vapors - MTG Card versions
Mind Rot - MTG Card versions
Crippling Fatigue - MTG Card versions
Darkpact - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Demonic Attorney - Summer Magic / Edgar (SUM)
Jovial Evil - Legends (LEG)
Infernal Contract - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Touch of Death - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Wicked Pact - Portal (POR)
Nature's Ruin - Portal (POR)
Buried Alive - World Championship Decks 2003 (WC03)
Choking Sands - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Brush with Death - Stronghold (STH)
Perish - The List (PLST)
Coercion - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Hand of Death - Starter 1999 (S99)
Grim Tutor - Starter 1999 (S99)
Forced March - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Stupor - Arena League 2000 (PAL00)
Soul Burn - Invasion (INV)
Noxious Vapors - Planeshift (PLS)
Mind Rot - Kaladesh Remastered (KLR)
Crippling Fatigue - Hachette UK (PHUK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sadistic Sacrament MTG card by a specific set like Zendikar, 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 Sadistic Sacrament and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sadistic Sacrament has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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