Tracking Annihilate's Print Frequency Across Expansions

In TCG ·

Annihilate art by Kev Walker from Eternal Masters

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

How Annihilate’s Print Frequency Has Evolved Across Expansions

Magic’s black removal suite has always walked a fine line between tempo and inevitability. Annihilate embodies a classic moment in that balance: a hard-hitting instant that wipes out a nonblack creature, denies a regeneration, and whips out a fresh card to keep your hand healthy. Its cadence as a card—powerful, a touch brutal, and deliberately narrow in its targeting—feels like a nod to the old-school design ethos: trade raw tempo for lasting card advantage. For players who savor the grind of a late-game engine, Annihilate is a reminder that sometimes the best answer is a shock to the board that also keeps you swinging firepower in hand. 🧙‍♂️🔥

When we chart its print history, you quickly see that Annihilate occupies a special, laser-focused lane. Its first modern printing arrives in Eternal Masters (EMA) with the iconic “Master Experience” angle: reprints of many beloved spells, refreshed with premium foil options and a sweep of familiar frames. The card’s mana cost of {3}{B}{B} places it squarely in the realm of mid-to-late-game disruption—a five-mana tempo play that can swing games when the board presents a stubborn threat. The rarity is uncommon, which in practice means it isn’t widely drawn in draft environments, yet it remains a tempting target for black-control decks that crave a reliable answer to troublesome nonblack threats. The color identity is black, and the design deliberately excludes targeting black creatures, a constraint that rewards thoughtful timing and a read of the battlefield. ⚔️

Card snapshot: what you’re really getting

  • Name: Annihilate
  • Mana cost: {3}{B}{B} (CMC 5)
  • Type: Instant
  • Colors: Black
  • Rarity: Uncommon
  • Set: Eternal Masters (EMA)
  • Text: Destroy target nonblack creature. It can’t be regenerated. Draw a card.
  • Flavor text: "Whatever Yawgmoth marks, dies. There is no escape." —Tsabo Tavoc, Phyrexian general
  • Artist: Kev Walker
  • Legal formats: Legacy, Duel, Modern is not legal; Commander legal; EDH legal

Print frequency across expansions: what the data tells us

In the broader landscape of MTG, this card’s print footprint is modest. Annihilate first appears in Eternal Masters, a Masters set designed to reprint and refresh beloved older cards for modern play experiences. The data show a single, clear print line for Annihilate across official sets; there isn’t a long trail of reprints spanning multiple contemporary expansion cycles. That means its print frequency—counting distinct expansions that include a new printing—is relatively low. For collectors and players, that translates to a certain scarcity in high-visibility formats, paired with the comfort of a card that remains reliably usable in black-focused control and midrange builds in the right metagame. The foil version sits at a modest premium relative to its nonfoil, with prices frequently hovering around a few nickels to a few dimes, depending on supply and demand at the moment. 💎

From a design perspective, the decision to include Annihilate in EMA aligns with the era’s appetite for heavy, high-impact answers that still leave room for follow-up plays. The “nonblack creature” clause ensures that black decks don’t simply trivially take out every opponent’s threats, which adds an interesting dynamic in multiplayer formats like Commander. The phrase “it can’t be regenerated” adds a further line in the sand against older regrowth and immortality mechanics, nudging players to think about the best times to cash in a four-mana swing into domination. In practice, the spell rewards tempo players who can time the removal for maximum value while anchoring their advantage with the drawn card. 🧙‍♂️

Strategy corner: where Annihilate fits in your black toolbox

In a world of-styled control, Annihilate is the kind of card you want when an opposing board promises a late-game flood of threat cards. You’ll want to hold until you can safely answer a crucial nonblack creature—something like a planeswalker, a large beater, or a locking creature that would otherwise overwhelm your defenses. The draw-a-card clause is a lifeline, ensuring you don’t fall behind on resources after you’ve cleared the path for your finishers. The fact that it can’t target black creatures becomes a tactical tell for both you and your opponent: if you’re playing this in a multiplayer setting, you’ll often be waiting for the moment when your opponents have deployed their nonblack threats in tandem with your plan to answer them without starving your own hand. ⚔️

For deck builders, there are neat synergy lanes. Consider pairing Annihilate with removal-heavy, card-advantage engines that lean on accumulating resources as you rinse and repeat. In Commander, where many players lean on wide boards and resilient permanents, a single spell that clears a swarm while drawing a card can be a game plan enabler. It’s not a one-card win condition, but in the right board state, it can buy you a crucial turn or two to deploy a decisive strategy—whether that’s a combo piece, a planeswalker, or a menacing finisher. And while you’ll often side it out in faster formats, EMA’s Annihilate remains a nostalgic reminder of when black removal could reshape a battlefield with a quiet, methodical thumb on the scale. 🧙‍♂️🎲

Collectors will notice the foil treatment and the enduring appeal of Kev Walker’s art, which, in its stark contrast and Phyrexian menace, speaks to the flavor of the era. The card’s market presence—modest foil premiums, frequent reprints in premium collections, and a reliable EDH footprint—means it remains a welcome addition to many black-heavy decks that prize efficiency and hand advantage over sheer raw power. The collector’s joy comes not from bloated price tags but from a shared memory of a time when Masters sets offered a bridge between nostalgia and modern gameplay. 🔥💎

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