Cruel Ultimatum
From the Vault: Twenty 17 • mythic
- Set
- From the Vault: Twenty
- Collector number
- 17
- Rarity
- Mythic
- Mana cost
- blue mana blue mana black mana black mana black mana red mana red mana
- Type
- Sorcery
- Colors
- Black · Red · Blue
- Artist
- Todd Lockwood
- Finish
- Foil
What it does
Target opponent sacrifices a creature of their choice, discards three cards, then loses 5 life. You return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand, draw three cards, then gain 5 life.
There is always a greater power.
Where you can play it
- StandardNot legal
- PioneerNot legal
- ModernLegal
- LegacyLegal
- VintageLegal
- CommanderLegal
- PauperNot legal
- BrawlLegal
- HistoricLegal
- TimelessLegal
- Penny DreadfulLegal
- OathbreakerLegal
Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Card text via Scryfall. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards. As of the last catalogue refresh.
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Where it came from
Cruel Ultimatum was originally released in the 2008 Shards of Alara expansion, designed by Mark Rosewater and the Wizards of the Coast development team to serve as a high-impact, splashy sorcery representing the Grixis shard of the Alara plane. The card became a hallmark of late-game control strategies due to its ability to swing the momentum of a match entirely in the caster's favor through a combination of life drain, card advantage, and board disruption.
The version included in From the Vault: Twenty, released in 2013 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Magic: The Gathering, features the original artwork by Volkan Baga. This printing is distinguished by its unique foil treatment and the set-specific expansion symbol, aiming to commemorate iconic cards that defined the game's competitive history. The release was well-received by collectors for its inclusion of powerful, tournament-staple cards housed in a premium, limited-edition set.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
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About Cruel Ultimatum
Cruel Ultimatum is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. From the Vault: Twenty 17 • mythic. Catalog data is sourced from Scryfall. No public cards collectors track this one yet — adding yours would make you the first on collecto.rs.
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