Mana Efficiency Unleashed with Might Makes Right

In TCG ·

Might Makes Right MTG card art

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Maximizing tempo: mana efficiency with Might Makes Right

Red is the color of impulsive decisions, raw power, and the occasional flamboyant swing for the throat. In the Magic 2015 core set, a spell lands that perfectly embodies that ethos: Might Makes Right costs 5 of red mana plus a single red mana (total of six mana) and resolves with a tempo-rich payoff if you can orchestrate the battlefield just right. As an enchantment, it’s not the flashiest install in a red deck, but its layered condition invites a careful dance of board state management, card economy, and timing. When you pull the trigger correctly, you don’t just steal a turn—you steal momentum 🧙‍♂️🔥.

The card’s oracle text reads: “At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you control each creature on the battlefield with the greatest power, gain control of target creature an opponent controls until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn. (It can attack and {T} this turn.)” That’s a mouthful, but the core idea is elegant: create a scenario where your board dominates the power leaders on the table, then seize a powerful foe’s creature for a quick strike. In practice, that means you’re not just casting a 6-mana spell and hoping for the best—you’re building a tempo engine that punishes stalled or overextended boards. The artful part is recognizing the human-limit of “greatest power” on the battlefield and manipulating it to your advantage. The flavor text, “An oath of fealty sworn with a handshake,” captures red’s swagger: loyalty is transactional, and power is the currency 🧩.

Reading the condition like a puzzle

To maximize efficiency, you need to plan around the condition: you must control all creatures that share the battlefield’s greatest power. If your opponent drops a towering beater or a go-wide swarm with massive threats, Might Makes Right can stumble—because you must own every top-power creature on both sides. The upside, however, is enormous when you tilt the board in your favor. If you’re running a deck that stacks a handful of big, durable red creatures (think of a robust red-midrange or a red game-ender strategy), you can align your line-up so that you are the only player with the top-power threats dominating the board. Then a single well-timed Might Makes Right becomes a lightning-quick swing—the captured creature untaps, gains haste, and thunders in for significant damage or a crucial tempo shift. It’s not just stealing a creature; it’s distributing threat equity across a single turn, and sometimes beyond, if you’ve built with synergy in mind 🔥⚡️.

In terms of mana efficiency, the spell asks for a heavy upfront investment, but the payoff can be immediate: gaining control of an opponent’s creature for a turn can allow you to commandeer blockers, force trades favorable to your plan, or push through a final attack. The untap and haste grant you a second bite at the apple—especially potent in red where extra combat phases, pump effects, or direct damage backlashes can turn a one-turn steal into a multi-step KO. It’s the kind of card that rewards your patience in building a precise, lean mana curve and punishes players who overcommit to the battlefield without considering power parity and tempo windows 🧠🎯.

Deck-building tips: turning the covenant into momentum

When crafting a deck around Might Makes Right, balance is your friend. Here are a few practical angles to consider:

  • Control the top power players: If your plan is to satisfy the condition consistently, include creature selection and protection that keeps your highest-power threats safe while you stack your board. Cards that pump power or prevent removal on key creatures can help you lock in the top-tier status on your side of the board.
  • Amplify tempo with red tricks: Red offers lots of cheap, punchy plays—removal, anthem effects, or combat tricks—that can clear the path for your big turn. A well-timed burn spell or pump spell can set up your Might Makes Right window and ensure you’re not left staring at a board where your biggest creature remains outmoded in practice.
  • Protect the payoff: Since the enchantment doesn’t end the moment you steal a creature, you’ll want to back Might Makes Right with removal and counterplay that preserves your newly acquired advantage across combat steps and into the next draw.

Flavor and function rhyme here: the card’s power isn’t just about the creature you steal—it’s about the sudden shift in how power is distributed across the battlefield, and how tempo can be weaponized to create a moment that your opponent can’t recover from quickly. The red spell is loud, brash, and absolutely satisfying when it lines up with a well-timed combat step 🗡️🎲.

Art, rarity, and the collectable side

From the Magic 2015 core set, Might Makes Right is an uncommon enchantment with a bold red identity. Illustrated by Mark Winters, the image captures red’s fierceness and the oath-bound moment with a sharp, almost cinematic delivery. The card exists in both foil and non-foil printings, with foil versions often catching the eye with a little extra glint on the battlefield. Its rarity and historical placement in a core set give it a certain nostalgia: the core sets are where players first feel the slam of a red rush, and a well-judged Might Makes Right slot can be a centerpiece in a red-themed EDH build or a spicy modern-legal legacy deck that leans into tempo and bite-sized thefts 🔥💎.

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In the end, Might Makes Right emphasizes a core truth of MTG: mana is not just a resource to spend, but a pace-setter for your entire game plan. When you align your board’s power with precision and press the moment when you control the battlefield’s strongest threats, you craft a turn that feels like a masterstroke—one where red’s heat meets strategic cunning and the table breathes a little quicker ⚔️🔥.

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