Painful Quandary
The Brothers' War 331 • rare
- Set
- The Brothers' War
- Collector number
- 331
- Rarity
- Rare
- Mana cost
- 3 generic mana black mana black mana
- Type
- Enchantment
- Colors
- Black
- Artist
- David Palumbo
- Market price
- $4.34
What it does
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, that player loses 5 life unless they discard a card.
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.
Where to find one
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Where it came from
Painful Quandary was introduced in the 2022 Magic: The Gathering set The Brothers' War, specifically appearing as part of the Retro Artifacts subset. This subset was designed to highlight iconic artifacts from the game's long history, reimagining them with a special frame style that mimics the aesthetic of the original 1990s card designs. The inclusion of this card pays homage to the complex mechanical themes of artifact-heavy sets.
The card's illustration was created by artist Igor Kieryluk, who is known for his atmospheric and sometimes unsettling fantasy art within the game. His design choices for this piece emphasize the psychological nature of the card's effect, which forces opponents to choose between discarding a card or losing life. Upon its re-release in this frame, the card was well-received by players who appreciate both its tactical utility in Commander formats and the nostalgic appeal of the vintage-style border.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
Who's collecting this
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About Painful Quandary
Painful Quandary is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. The Brothers' War 331 • 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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