Painful Quandary
The Brothers' War Promos 111s • rare
- Set
- The Brothers' War Promos
- Collector number
- 111s
- Rarity
- Rare
- Mana cost
- 3 generic mana black mana black mana
- Type
- Enchantment
- Colors
- Black
- Artist
- David Palumbo
- Finish
- Foil
What it does
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, that player loses 5 life unless they discard a card.
In Mishra's desperation to destroy his brother, he allowed Gix to destroy him instead.
Where you can play it
- StandardLegal
- PioneerLegal
- 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
Painful Quandary was originally introduced to the Magic: The Gathering card game in the 2010 Scars of Mirrodin set, designed as a rare black enchantment intended to punish opponents for casting spells. The version identified as collector number 111s was released as part of The Brothers' War promotional series, which reimagined iconic artifacts and enchantments through the lens of the game's storied historical conflict between Urza and Mishra.
The illustrative direction for this particular promotional printing sought to evoke the mechanical, industrial aesthetic of the Brothers' War setting. By emphasizing the cold, artifact-heavy nature of the lore, the design team aimed to align the card's function of imposing a taxing penalty on the opponent with the ruthless, attrition-based nature of the war itself, ultimately receiving a positive reception from collectors who favor thematic cohesion in promotional reprints.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
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About Painful Quandary
Painful Quandary is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. The Brothers' War Promos 111s • rare. 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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