TCG Playability
Sorcery
Earthquake deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player.
From far away, now dim, now growing, now mounting to the clouds, there came a drumming rumble, a roar, a long echoing roll of ruinous noise.
This classic red sorcery from the LTC set represents one of the most versatile and punishing board wipes in Magic's history, offering red mages a powerful tool for controlling the game state across multiple formats. Earthquake's elegant design deals X damage to each creature without flying and each player, making it an exceptionally flexible spell that scales with your mana investment while simultaneously advancing your clock against opponents. The beauty of this card lies in its dual functionality: it can serve as a sweeper to clear problematic board states, a finisher to close out games by dealing direct damage, or a clever way to leverage your own evasive creatures while punishing opponents' ground-based strategies. This makes Earthquake particularly valuable in red deck archetypes that emphasize fast, aggressive strategies, including Burn variants where the direct damage component creates a threatening clock, Gruul midrange decks that can leverage their own fliers while clearing enemy blockers, and control shells that need efficient creature removal in the early to mid-game. The card's legality across Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, and multiple other formats ensures accessibility for players across all competitive and casual environments. Players seeking this card typically want a mana-efficient, scalable removal spell that punishes opponents for playing ground-based creatures while providing damage output that contributes to their primary game plan. Whether you're building an aggressive shell, a control deck, or anything in between, Earthquake's flexibility and raw power make it an excellent addition to any red player's collection.
Illustrated by Tomáš Honz