Flare of Malice is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
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.
Complete guide
Flare of Malice is a powerful removal spell that can catch your opponents off guard by bypassing its mana cost. It forces every opponent to give up their most significant threat, making it a potent tool in multiplayer formats. Understanding how to navigate its sacrifice cost and its unique targeting logic is key to mastering this black instant.
Casting for Free
Flare of Malice has an alternative casting cost that allows you to sacrifice a nontoken black creature rather than paying its mana value of four. To use this, you must have a black creature that is not a token already on the battlefield. Note that you still follow all timing rules for casting an instant, and the sacrifice happens as part of the casting process, meaning your opponents cannot react to the sacrifice itself to stop the spell from being cast.
Resolving the Malice
When Flare of Malice resolves, each opponent checks their own battlefield for creatures and planeswalkers. They must identify which of those permanents has the highest mana value. If a player controls a creature with mana value 5 and a planeswalker with mana value 3, they must sacrifice the creature. If there is a tie for the highest mana value, that opponent chooses which one to sacrifice. The choices are made in turn order, starting with the next player or the active player, and then all chosen permanents are sacrificed simultaneously.
Common Pitfalls
A common mistake is thinking the caster chooses what the opponents sacrifice. Flare of Malice does not target, so 'Hexproof' or 'Ward' will not protect an opponent's permanent. However, because the opponent chooses in the case of a tie, they will always pick their least valuable high-cost permanent. Another thing to remember: you cannot sacrifice a black token creature to pay the alternative cost; it must be a nontoken card.
When to Play It
This spell is best used when your opponents have invested heavily in a single large threat. Since it bypasses targeting, it is one of the few ways to clean up creatures that are otherwise difficult to remove with traditional spells. It is also excellent during your opponent's turn when you are tapped out, provided you have a nontoken black creature to spare.
Interaction examples
Deadly RollickIf your opponent has a creature with Protection from Black, Deadly Rollick cannot target it. However, Flare of Malice does not target. If that protected creature has the highest mana value on their board, they will be forced to sacrifice it regardless of its protection or ward abilities.
Fell the Profane // Fell MireSuppose your opponent has a mana value 6 creature and a mana value 4 planeswalker. You want them to lose the planeswalker. If you use Fell the Profane, you can destroy the planeswalker directly. If you use Flare of Malice, they must sacrifice the creature because its mana value is higher. You can use Fell the Profane first to remove the high-cost creature, then cast Flare of Malice to force them to sacrifice the next highest threat.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Flare of Malice
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
If an opponent has multiple creatures and/or planeswalkers tied for the greatest mana value, that player chooses which one to sacrifice.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
Starting with the next opponent in turn order (or, if you cast Flare of Malice on an opponent's turn, starting with the opponent whose turn it is) and proceeding in turn order, each opponent chooses a creature or planeswalker with the greatest mana value among creatures and planeswalkers they control to sacrifice. Then those permanents are sacrificed at the same time.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Flare of Malice
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.