by Mishra Planeswalker

Created on: September 08, 2009

Doom Blade is a common card from the latest Magic: The Gathering Core Set: Magic 2010. It is a black instant that costs a single black mana and a single colourless mana to cast. When cast, it destroys any nonblack creature. This card is a common, which means that it will seldom cost more than 25 cents. A foil version of this black instant will set you back $4 USD, simply because it is played in popular tournament decks.

-Flavour

The concept of Doom Blade is simple. It's a magical blade made out of pure black magic, and Brian Chippy Dugan illustrates this perfectly as he shows a classical angel being rent apart by dark magic. Unfortunately, the Doom Blade name is not as evocative of traditional fantasy themes as other versions such as Terror, Expunge and Dark Banishing.

3/5

-Impact on Limited (Draft, Sealed)

Doom Blade is an easy first pick when drafting Magic 2010. It is able to deal with the formats most powerful bombs such as Baneslayer Angel, Bogardan Hellkite and Djinn of Wishes. All this for the price of only 2 mana, and you'll never be disappointed to play a doom blade in your main deck. While your opponent might be happy to crack open a $20 bomb, the fact that a 25 cent common can be picked at the same time and is often more valuable should not be ignored. If you're playing sealed, consider playing black if you open a couple of these, and if you only have one, strongly consider splashing black. Yes, this card is that good.

5/5

-Impact on Constructed (Standard, Extended, Vintage, Legacy)

Doom Blade's most obvious ancestor is Terror, which appeared in Tenth Edition, the previous Core Set. The only trade-off between the two is that terror cannot target artifact creatures, but doom blade allows for the possibility of regeneration. This is because Wizards of the Coast is trying to make regeneration more relevant in constructed play, so cards like Doom Blade, Lightning Bolt and the upcoming Day of Judgement allow for the creature-saving mechanic to be activated. This is in stark contrast to their former counterparts: Terror, Incinerate, and Wrath of God respectively. Doom Blade will not affect the older environments in a large way, because there is superior removal available in the older sets. However, Doom Blade should see play in Standard while it is legal, because it is probably the second-most efficient piece of spot removal there is (Path to Exile being the best).

4/5

Doom Blade is exactly what it was designed to be. A simple, cleanly designed black spell that would take the place of Terror in the upcoming Standard environment, as well as Magic 2010 limited formats.

Doom Blade Overall Rating: 12/15

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