Flare of Malice — Fiery Gambit
Flare of Malice is a precise instant that slots into black-based strategies from the Modern Horizons 3 set. You may sacrifice a nontoken black creature rather than pay this spell’s mana cost. This trade-off preserves your mana for future plays while pressuring opponents, and each opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker with the greatest mana value among creatures and planeswalkers they control. In the right moment, the spell can redraw the line of engagement and open paths for your follow-up plays.
In practice the spell rewards timing and board awareness; when you can spare a black creature, Flare of Malice can blunt a major threat and tilt the battlefield in your favor without overextending your resources. The flavor text, “Suffer as I have suffered. Lose as I have lost,” underlines a ruthless pragmatism that fits the sometimes brutal tempo of this set.
Card Details:
- Mana Cost: {2}{B}{B}
- Card Type: Instant
- Subtypes: None
- Card Text (Printed): You may sacrifice a nontoken black creature rather than pay this spell's mana cost. Each opponent sacrifices a creature or planeswalker with the greatest mana value among creatures and planeswalkers they control.
- Power / Toughness: N/A
- Loyalty: N/A