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Moxonomy

Root Snare

Instant1 generic manaGreen mana

The Fog effect in its plainest casing, taxed one mana above the spell it descends from. The original set the template for the trick: turn off a turn's worth of combat for a single green mana, then dare the attacker to have wasted the swing. This version buys the same window at two mana, and it buys nothing else. No scry, no cantrip, no attached clause to soften the upcharge. That makes it a curiosity within its own lineage, because green has printed a long line of damage-prevention instants and most of the later ones justify their slot by stapling a second effect onto the prevention. This one refuses to. It prevents all combat damage for the turn and stops, which leaves its entire worth in when you cast it rather than what you cast. Every Fog lives on the bluff and the blowout: hold it up, let an opponent commit to a lethal-looking alpha strike, then erase the arithmetic after they are already tapped out and exposed. Because it touches only combat damage, it answers nothing that comes from outside the attack step: burn spells, pingers, and direct-damage effects all sail through. Dead in most games, a one-card win in the exact turn it was saved for.

Root Snare (m19)
M19 · #199common
Pricing
Normal: $0.14
Foil: $0.38
Oracle Text

Rules text

Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
Legalities

Format Status

Standard
N/A
Pioneer
Legal
Modern
Legal
Legacy
Legal
Vintage
Legal
Commander
Legal
Pauper
Legal
Brawl
Legal
Historic
Legal
Alchemy
N/A
Timeless
Legal
Standard Brawl
N/A
More formats
Old School
N/A
Premodern
N/A
PreDH
N/A
Pauper Commander
Legal
Oathbreaker
Legal
Gladiator
Legal
Penny Dreadful
Legal
Duel Commander
Legal
Future Standard
N/A
COMPETITIVEBRAWL
Legal
TLR
Legal
Printings elsewhere

Other printings

1 set
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