25-Year-Old MTG Enchantment Sparks Debate On Mass Land Destruction

Of all the many, many card effects in Magic, few are more reviled than mass land destruction. In most cases, removing players’ lands is tantamount to shutting them out of the game, leading to slow, unsatisfying losses that leave a bad taste in the mouth. This is especially true in Commander, where such effects are banned under the bracket system everywhere below bracket 4.

As with much in Magic, however, what exactly counts as ‘mass land destruction’ is up for debate. Price of Glory, for instance, is a classic MTG enchantment that very much blurs the line. This week, players are debating its role in the format, and which brackets it should be allowed to run free in.

Price of Glory MTG

Lucidlife9 kicked off this discussion yesterday, when they started a thread on r/EDH talking about how someone in their playgroup dropped out of a game on the spot after they played Price of Glory. Looking at the card, you can certainly see where this argument comes from. Price of Glory does destroy lands, and potentially en masse, provided they’re tapped for mana on an opponent’s turn.

For the most part, players in the comments agreed with Lucidlife9’s assertion that Price of Glory isn’t mass land destruction. As many noted, the card only destroys your lands if you choose to use them outside of your turn, meaning it’s entirely opt-in. Since the penalty is so steep, the card essentially functions as a Grand Abolisher Grand Abolisher During your turn, your opponents can't cast spells or activate abilities of artifacts, creatures, or enchantments. -type effect for the most part and shuts down a lot of interaction.

Cards like these are plentiful in white, with bangers like Voice of Victory Voice of Victory Mobilize 2 (Whenever this creature attacks, create two tapped and attacking 1/1 red Warrior creature tokens. Sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step.)
Your opponents can't cast spells during your turn. and Jennifer Walters Jennifer Walters Your opponents can't cast spells during your turn.
{3}{G}{W}{W}: Transform Jennifer Walters. Activate only as a sorcery. being staples all the way up in cEDH. There, these effects are primarily used to protect combo lines by shutting down opposing countermagic and similar effects during your turn. Price of Glory provides largely the same effect in red, which makes it pretty much one of a kind and the only option in this category for some decks.

What’s interesting is that, despite restricting players less than other options, Price of Glory psychologically feels a bit worse. Because it lets you sacrifice your lands to interact, rather than just stopping you from interacting at all, you have to deal with the dilemma of making a tricky choice. As a result, while it’s technically a softer stax piece than most, Price of Glory is still fairly salt-inducing for many.

Glorious Combo Lines

Though the debate largely seems to have been settled in the thread, with Price of Glory not being considered mass land destruction, there are ways to change that. Provided you’re playing in bracket 4 or above, you can make use of a spicy combo line to essentially use the card as land removal. To do this, simply cast Drain Power Drain Power Target player activates a mana ability of each land they control. Then that player loses all unspent mana and you add the mana lost this way. on an opponent while you have Price of Glory in play, they’ll be forced to tap and destroy all the untapped lands they have in play.

If you time this combo right, it can essentially knock an opponent out of the game for good. For just five mana total, that’s a great deal. With cards that copy spells for each opponent, however, like Radiant Performer Radiant Performer Flash
When this creature enters, if you cast it from your hand, choose target spell or ability that targets only a single permanent or player. Copy that spell or ability for each other permanent or player the spell or ability could target. Each copy targets a different one of those permanents and players. and Radiate Radiate Choose target instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single permanent or player. Copy that spell for each other permanent or player the spell could target. Each copy targets a different one of those permanents and players. , this can hit the whole pod and essentially win you the game. This combo is particularly good in Zevlor, Elturel Exile Zevlor, Elturel Exile Haste
{2}, {T}: When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets only a single opponent or a single permanent an opponent controls this turn, for each other opponent, choose that player or a permanent they control, copy that spell, and the copy targets the chosen player or permanent. decks, since you get the enabler right in the command zone.

Price of Glory also has another, funkier combo line with Sacred Ground Sacred Ground Whenever a spell or ability an opponent controls causes a land to be put into your graveyard from the battlefield, return that card to the battlefield. and any Donate Donate Target player gains control of target permanent you control. -type card. If you give Price of Glory to an opponent, tapping your lands on an opponent’s turn will destroy them, bringing them right back untapped with Sacred Ground.

This nets you infinite Landfall triggers, allowing instant wins with cards like Sabotender Sabotender Reach
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, this creature deals 1 damage to each opponent. . You’ll also get infinite mana as you tap your lands repeatedly, so Walking Ballista Walking Ballista This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
{4}: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
Remove a +1/+1 counter from this creature: It deals 1 damage to any target. wins are on the table, too. You’ll need a Flash granter like Vedalken Orrery Vedalken Orrery You may cast spells as though they had flash. in the latter case, but the reward of an immediate win is well worth it.

A Rare Role-Player

Despite players’ varying opinions on the card, Price of Glory is becoming more relevant than ever as Commander grows. Despite this, Price of Glory has a relatively modest play rate, appearing in around 26,700 lists. That’s still very respectable for a 25-year-old card, however, especially given how few printings it’s seen over the years.

This uniqueness doesn’t come cheap, though, since Price of Glory is reasonably expensive for how niche it is. Near-mint copies run about $11.60 on TCGplayer right now, though you can get that down to $7.25 if you don’t mind grabbing the List printing. Either way, it’s not exactly a budget card, but it definitely earns its keep.

With no real alternative available in red, Price of Glory is a must-have if you’re looking to fend off disruption in your non-white brews.

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