A-Deal Gone Bad
SNC · common · Released 2022-10-06
Power
brawl
tier-2Role-player7/19
commander
tier-2Role-player7/19
Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell). The score (-8 to 19) is a rank signal derived from tier + kind + atoms; browse by it on the cards page.
Derived from the 7 atoms below.
on
on rate
incremental
minor value alone
modular
fits anywhere
caps
fixed effect
flexible
multiple modes
broad
broadly useful
n/a
n/a
Commander Bracket
1Precon2Core3Upgraded4Optimized5cEDH
Archetypes
positive:
milllifegain
negative:
aggrocontrolcombo
Roles
conditional-removalmill-payofflifegain-instant
Risks
slow-setupcard-disadvantage
Mechanics
—
Typal
synergy:
—
anti:
—
Structural
—
Rationale
A-Deal Gone Bad is a 4-mana instant that combines a -3/-3 debuff (conditional removal), mills 3 cards from target player, and gains 3 life — a triple-mode effect that is spread thin across three weak payoffs. It's a strictly Arena-only Brawl card (not legal in Commander) and sits at the lower power end; useful in a precon/bracket-1-2 shell that wants incidental mill or lifegain. The removal clause misses most mid-to-late game threats and the card is not efficient enough for competitive Brawl play.
Learnings (2)
A-Deal Gone Bad is an Arena-only Brawl reprint (the 'A-' prefix denotes a card altered or exclusive for Arena), so it has no Commander legality and should not be tagged for EDH bracket 3+.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
The -3/-3 effect is not a destruction effect and fails against most commanders and large creatures; it primarily clears utility creatures or tokens, making it situational removal at best.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6