Forcing Value Trades with This MTG Card: A Practical Example

In TCG ·

Make an Example artwork from New Capenna Commander

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Turning the Tables with Make an Example

In the ether of multiplayer formats, value trades aren’t just about numbers on a board—they’re about psychology, timing, and reading the room. Make an Example, a rare black sorcery from New Capenna Commander, gives you a deliberate lever to tilt the battlefield in your favor. For three mana plus a black, you force each opponent to split their creatures into two piles and then you pick which pile they sacrifice. It’s a surgical tool for turning a crowded board into a controlled, favorable exchange 🧙‍♂️🔥. The moment you resolve this spell, you’re not just removing threats—you’re rebalancing the contest on terms you set.

First, a quick recap of the core mechanic: "Each opponent separates the creatures they control into two piles. For each opponent, you choose one of their piles. Each opponent sacrifices the creatures in their chosen pile. Piles can be empty." This is a classic divide-and-conquer move with a twist—your choice comes after the split, so your goal is to force a trade where your opponents pay more than you do, even if they try to game the piles. The black mana cost and NCC frame emphasize control, deterrence, and the satisfaction of making someone sacrifice their prized blockers or key tokens. The flavor text about rival families escalating their conflicts adds a wickedly thematic sense of strategy to the flow of the game ⚔️.

“As the Adversary's influence grew, the conflicts between families escalated.”

Strategies: When to cast and how to maximize value

  • Cast when your opponents have multiple creatures across the board. The more options they split, the more you can steer the sacrifice to a high-value target. If someone is sitting on a slew of dangerous attackers, aim to force their largest immediate threat to vanish.
  • Play into a crowded political dynamic. In Commander, politics rule. Use Make an Example to demonstrate your hand is firm: you’re not sweeping the board—you’re pruning it with surgical precision. Your opponents may recalibrate their boards and suddenly you gain momentum as the table recalibrates around you 🧙‍♂️.
  • Protect your own boards through perceptive timing. You’ll want to cast this when you’re prepared for the disruption—the spell itself doesn’t target or exile, so you’re not inviting a bounce loop or a removal spell to erase the moment. If you wait too long, the opportunity to split and sac can evaporate, leaving you with less control over the outcome 🔥.
  • Pair it with sacrifice outlets and value-driven recursion. If you have a way to recast the spell or recycle your own threats, the long game becomes your playground. Cards that reward you for sacrificing or reanimating can turn Make an Example into a domino effect of value, not a one-off tax on resources 💎.
  • Be mindful of piles created by opponents with misdirection in mind. If a player piles two sets of threats that look equally scary, your choice is about maximizing the sacrifice on the board you actually want to shrink—and sometimes that means leaving a highly threatening token to be dealt with later, depending on your strategy and endforeach players’ lifetotals ⚔️.

One practical scenario helps illustrate the rhythm: you’re on the cusp of a board wipe, but you don’t want to blow out your own board. You cast Make an Example; opponents split into two piles. You choose the larger of each pile or the pile with the most valuable threats, forcing two or more big creatures to leave the battlefield. The table loses a chunk of board presence, you maintain a foothold, and your hand remains primed for the next tempo swing. It’s not always a clean sweep, but it’s a disciplined way to extract maximum tempo and resource advantage from a single spell 🧙‍♂️🎲.

Design, flavor, and collector appeal

From a design perspective, Make an Example embodies the New Capenna Commander era’s knack for high-impact, non-targeted interaction. It sits in black’s wheelhouse of forcing choices on opponents—one of the most satisfying avenues to lean into in multiplayer formats. The rarity and reprint history imply a premium feel in competitive circles, while the card’s color identity (black) and the subtle flavor text about family conflicts tie the gameplay to a rich, narrative arc that fans of the set remember vividly 🔥🎨.

For collectors and casual players alike, the card offers a strong nod to the archetypal disruption you see in black-intensive decks. It’s not about brute force; it’s about crafting a controlled disruption that pays dividends in the long game. The card’s art by Igor Grechanyi captures a moody, underworld vibe—an aesthetic that matches the intrigue of New Capenna’s crime families and the way players marshal resources under pressure. If you’re chasing that balance between strategic control and flavorful storytelling, Make an Example hits a sweet spot ⚔️💎.

Where this card shines in practice

In Captain-level or cEDH-adjacent builds, the spell’s value is in its resilience to opposing countermagic and its capacity to reset the board in layers. You don’t need to whittle down every creature; you can strategically prune enough to swing combat, force blockers to trade, or pave a path for a winning blink or sac-loop combo. The timing—that word again—is everything. If you drop it too early, you invite a quick answer. If you delay too long, the table might consolidate threats that you can’t safely peel away. The sweet spot is often mid-to-late game when you can force meaningful sacrifices without losing your own most critical guardians 🧙‍♂️🎲.

The card’s price point—roughly in the mid-range from recent listings—reflects strong demand in casual and Commander circles, where the political and board-state dynamics reward bold, well-timed plays. It’s a showcase of how one spell can bend the table’s narrative: you become a consultant for the moment, guiding the flow of violence in the room with your choice and your calm, decisive hand 🔥.

Product spotlight and how to get more of the MTG vibe

Shown here is a fun, practical cross-promotion that pairs well with the MTG mindset: a customizable desk mouse pad for your gaming setup. While you map out your next big play, you can also upgrade your workspace with a personalized pad that keeps your notes, lists, and decklists within arm’s reach. Check out the product linked below and consider how a tidy desk can sharpen your focus when you’re deciding which pile to sacrifice—the table reward is all part of the game 🎨.

Customizable Desk Mouse Pad – One-Sided Print, 3mm Thick Rubber Base

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