The Importance of Cycles: A Macready Musings Video Essay

As I mentioned in my Christmas update, I've been planning on experimenting with the types of content I provide. As such, I'm very excited to present 'The Importance of Cycles' my debut as a Youtuber. I hope you enjoy it.

Unusual Tribes 10: Giants

Intro   

  

Welcome to the 10^th Unusual Tribes article. It’s hard to believe that I have been analysing Magic the Gathering’s presentation of niche Creature types for 10 weeks now, but here we are. Next week look out for something a little bit different, but still Magic the Gathering related.

As you may have guessed from the title, Giants will be the subjects of this week’s piece. Giants are both more populous (with 166 cards printed) and a little bit more popular than the tribes usually examined in these articles. Nevertheless, as this is the 10^th article it seemed appropriate to explore a tribe that has a lot of members, whilst still being less supported collectively than the likes or Goblins or Elves. Giants even received a tribal preconstructed Commander deck with 2015’s Wade Into Battle although, unfortunately, many do not consider this precon to be paticularly good. It is constructed in the Boros colour pair, which is infamously problematic in Commander due to its limited access to ramp and card draw spells. Furthermore Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas, the deck’s leader, is generally considered to be one of the weaker Commanders introduced that year.

There are giants of all five colours, although they are most commonly printed in Red. 88 of the games 166 giants having red somewhere in their colour identity. This is followed by white, which features 44 Giants. As they are a common feature in many different types of fantasy stories, Giants are a near universal presence across the planes of the multiverse. From Diregraf Colossus on Innistrad, to Hammer Dropper on Ravnica.

The Titans

By far the most famous Giants in Magic the Gathering are the Titan cycle. First printed in Core Set 2011 and then reprinted next year in Core Set 2012, the Titan cycle contains several extremely powerful cards… As well as Frost Titan. Each of the Titans costs 6 mana and has an impactful enter the battlefield effect, which is repeated whenever it attacks.

Grave Titan is, arguably, the most powerful member of the cycle. A 6/6 who brings out two 2/2 Zombie tokens when it enters play for only 6 mana offers incredible value. That Grave Titan generates another two Zombies every time it attacks only serves to make it even more absurdly strong. Grave Titan also has Deathtouch. This isn’t terribly useful on a 6/6 creature but is still a nice bonus.

Primeval Titan, if not quite as powerful as Grave Titan, is arguably the member of the cycle who has most impacted the game. Primeval Titan has Trample and puts two tapped lands from your library into play when it enters the battlefield or attacks. This ramping effect makes it the centre piece of so called ‘Amulet Titan’ decks in Modern. ‘Amulet Titan’ is a complex combo decks that relies on rushing Primeval Titan out quickly, and then making use of Amulet of Vigour to untap lands. These untapped lands are then used both to generate mana and to buff Primeval Titan to insane levels of power, such as by granting it Double Strike through the effect of Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. Outside of Modern, Primeval Titan was once a massive presence in Commander. Due to the length of Commander games, and the variety of powerful lands available in the format, being able to place multiple lands down every turn often quickly spirals out of control. This resulted in the card being banned in the format.

Sun Titan and Inferno Titan are both reasonably strong cards.  Sun Titan fetches permeants which cost 3 or less mana from the graveyard, whilst Inferno Titan deals 3 damage divided across any number of targets. Though too expensive, and not quite impactful enough, for use in Modern, these two Titans see frequent play in Commander.

Frost Titan, as mocked above, has been the member of cycle which has made the least impact on any format.  The card can usually be purchased for pocket change in contrast to Grave Titan which will typically set you back $10.00 or more.  Though not a bad card by any means, Frost Titan simply doesn’t impact the board anywhere near as heavily as his counterparts in other colours. Tapping an opponent’s creature for a prolonged period is certainly useful. Though this effect is nowhere near as useful as destroying them (as Inferno Titan does) or generating 4/4 worth of stats spread out over two bodies (as Grave Titan does).

Other Giants

Stone Giant is one of the first Giants brought into the game. Introduced in Alpha, alongside Hill Giant and Two-Headed Giant of Foryis, Stone Giant sets himself apart from his two contemporaries by having a very evocative effect. Stone Giant can be tapped down to grant Flying to a creature you control with toughness less than Stone Giant’s until the end of turn. That creature is then destroyed at the beginning of the end step. This ability demonstrates Stone Giant flinging a smaller creature through the air towards the foe. Stone Giant shows that, as far back as the game’s beginning, Magic the Gathering has always been home to creative ways of conveying concepts.

As Giants were one of the featured tribes of Lorwyn Block, a small number of Giant ‘tribal’ cards exist, that is to say non creature cards with the Giant subtype. Crush Underfoot, Favour of the Mighty, Feudkiller’s Verdict and Giant’s Ire are a selection of Instants, Enchantments and Sorceries which bear the Giant subtype.  Crush Underfoot and Giant’s Ire both reward you for having a Giant in play. Favour of the Mighty grants the creature with the highest converted mana cost protection from all colours, implicitly rewarding you for playing Giants due to their high mana costs. Finally, Feudkiller’s Verdict encourages you to become a Giant yourself, granting you ten life and placing a 5/5 Giant Token into play if you then have more life than an opponent. The flavour text of Feudkiller’s Verdict states that ‘There are all kinds of strengths, but if you have strength of soul, the others will follow.’ The life gain the card provides demonstrates the caster acquiring this ‘strength of the soul’ and the Giant token created demonstrates how this inner strength lends itself to other forms of power.

‘Tribal' cards were a short-lived addition to the game, that was never seen again after Rise of the Eldrazi in 2010. They were seen as adding too much unnecessary complexity. Whether this is a shame or a relief largely depends on who you’re asking. The short-lived nature of this card type means that Giants join a small selection of other creature types in also describing Instants, Sorceries and Enchantments.

Boldwyr Intimidator is one of the game's most famous giants. A 5/5 Giant Warrior, Boldwyr Intimidator bears the ability 'Cowards can't block Warriors' and, for a small payment in mana, can turn targeted creatures into either Cowards or Warriors. This ability shows Boldwyr Intimidator living up to his name, he is intimidating his foes and cowing them into submission. Boldwyr Intimidator's fearsome nature is further evidenced by the card's flavour text 'Now everyone knows what you are' showing how he has proven the cowardice of his foes to the world.

Two Giants from Theros block pay homage to characters from Greek mythology. Bearer of the Heavens references the Titan Atlas, a being condemned to carry the sky upon his back for all eternity. The name and art of Bearer of the Heavens make clear its duty to separate the sky from the earth, as does its effect. In the event that Bearer of the Heavens dies, all permeants on the battlefield are destroyed at the beginning of the next end step, demonstrating the sky crashing into the earth. Furthermore, the card’s flavour text ‘To hold the heavens from the earth is no curse, but a titanic responsibility’ surely uses the word ‘titanic’ to demonstrate how Atlas, the card’s inspiration, was a Titan.

The card Titan of Eternal Fire is a clear demonstration of the myth of Prometheus. In Greek mythology Prometheus stole the secrets of creating fire from the Gods and granted it to mankind. Titan of Eternal Fire grants all of its controller’s Human creatures the ability to tap themselves and pay 1 red mana to deal 1 damage to any target. A non-subtle, yet still neat, reference to him granting mankind the ability to use fire.  Prometheus’ punishment, being strapped to a mountain and having his liver constantly pecked out by gulls, is also referenced in Theros through the card Chained to the Rocks.

In the event that we ever go to Kaldheim (a plane inspired by Norse Mythology seen only in Planechase and a handful of Core Set cards such as Dwarven Priest) Giants will almost certainly be a large theme of any set based there. As the Giants or Norse mythology are the ancient rivals of the Nordic pantheon’s gods, some Legendary Giants are practically guaranteed.

Gigantic Synergies

Giants have a lord in the form of Sunrise Sovereign. Sunrise Sovereign grants other Giants +2/+2 and Trample. Unfortunately the Sovereign also bears the weighty drawback of costing six mana, making it significantly more expensive than most other lords. Furthermore, although the bonuses the Sovereign  provides are significant, unlike Gargos, Vicious Watcher, he does nothing to reduce the mana cost of other members of the tribe. This is significant as many Giants, due to their colossal size, have a fittingly large mana cost. Only a small number of them cost less than 3 mana. Although Stinkdrinker Daredevil exists, who reduces the mana cost of all Giants by 2, the fact that these effects are not merged on a single card hurts the viability of the tribe. These factors render building effective Giant tribal decks difficult outside of EDH.

Lorwyn also provided support to Giant decks in the form of Giant Harbinger. Each of the major tribes of Lorwyn received a harbinger card which allowed  its controller to place a card of the corresponding creature type on top of their library. Unfortunately Giant Harbinger is, arguably, the worst card of the cycle. He costs, a staggering, 5 mana which is egregiously expensive. This is especially notable when the card is compared to Treefolk Harbinger and Flamekin Harbinger who provide the same effect, for Treefolk and Elementals respectively, whilst only costing a single point of mana.

To end this, currently quite gloomy, segment on a positive note it’s worth saying that Giants do possess one thing which few other tribes do. Realm-Cloaked Giant’s adventure ability destroys all non-giant creatures in play. This is a tremendously useful board wipe effect as, in Giant tribal decks, it leaves your board completely intact whilst, likely, completely eradicating all of your opponents’ creatures.

Arbitrary Grades

Flavour: B

The primary thing to note about Giants is that… well that they are giant. Wizards of the Coast demonstrate this by printing Giants as expensive creatures with large stat blocks. Of course, if this was all, Giants would not be earning a B here.  Giants’ colossal size is also demonstrated through several other, creative, means. Whether it’s through cards such as Stone Giant or Brion Stourarm demonstrating their vastness through throwing smaller creatures or Realm-Cloaked Giant being literally so massive that the entire battlefield sits upon his back and can be cast off. Magic the Gathering also effectively demonstrates the diversity of Giants, as creatures present in all manner of popular media. Whether they are the Fee-fi-fo-fum foes of Fairytales, as demonstrated by cards such as Beanstalk Giant and Blind-Spot Giant, or hulking monstrosities from Gothic Horror stories such as Skaab Goliath .

Viability: C+

Though hardly unsupported (especially when compared to some of the earlier tribes analysed in this series such as Vedalken and Skeletons) Giants are not a top tier tribe. Collectively the creatures of the tribe cost too much mana to see play outside of EDH and, even in Commander, they are scattered across the colour pie.

Morophon, the Boundless makes an excellent Commander for Giant tribal decks. Morophon allows players to gather together Giants of every colour and provides the cost reduction, which they so desperately need. 

Due to their size, many giants can also be utilised in conjunction with cards which care about having high power such as Colossal Majesty, Crater’s Claws and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner. There are many individually strong giants, such as the Titan cycle listed above, so they make worthy additions to many decks and building a deck incorporating them is certainly a possibility.  The future also looks bright for Giants. New members of the tribe are introduced in almost every set and they are likely to play an important role in Kaldheim, in the likely event that we eventually venture to that corner of the multiverse.

Best and Worst Cards:

Unsurprisingly perhaps, due to the entire section dedicated to how powerful they are above, most of the members of the Titan cycle are eligible to be considered the best cards of the tribe. Grave Titan and Primeval Titan edge out the others and a fair case could be made to declare either the most powerful Giant.  Grave Titan due to the huge amounts of power it brings to the board and Primeval Titan due to its crazy combo potential.

Looking past the Titan cycle, however, there are a selection of other Giants worthy of giving an honourable mention to. Diegraf Colossus is an essential component of most Zombie tribal decks and, just like Grave Titan, is capable of flooding the board with 2/2 Zombie tokens. Nylea’s Colossus can accomplish some truly crazy things. Its ability to double creatures’ power multiple times per turn is exceedingly powerful, at least in Commander where expensive creatures are at their most viable. Though perhaps, all things considered, Nylea’s Colossus is one of the more fun members of the tribe, rather than one of the more competitively viable.

There are two cards worth mentioning as potential candidates for the worst member of the tribe. Hired Giant allows your opponents to fetch a land card from their library and put it onto the battlefield as it enters play. This is a disastrous downside; especially as non-basic lands can be retrieved enabling combos and other nastiness. The card also only possesses average stats for its cost, at least by today’s standards, being a 4/4 for 4 mana.

Karplusan Giant as a 3/3 for 7 mana is massively overcosted. Although the card can gain +1/+1 through tapping snow-covered lands you need to tap down 4 such lands each turn merely to break even and give the cards stats equal to its converted mana cost.  Even then, the card has no keyword abilities, such as Trample, making it not worth the investment.

Unusual Tribes 9: Hydras

Introduction

This week’s Unusual Tribes article will focus on Hydras. The Hydra was a many headed beast slain by the Greek hero Heracles, or Hercules in adaptations made by the Romans and the Disney corporation. Each time one of the Hydra’s heads was cut off two more would grow in its place, unless the stump of the neck was burned away with fire. Hydras are considered green’s ‘iconic creature type’, a term meaning that they are large creatures typically, although not always, printed in a single colour. This places them alongside Angels, Sphinxes, Demons and Dragons, who are the iconic creatures of white, blue, black and red respectively.[1] Despite their modern association with green, Hydras were initially printed exclusively in red. Rock Hydra, the first Hydra ever printed, was a red card. Rock Hydra was then followed by several other mono-red Hydras including Balduvian Hydra, Ancient Hydra and Molten Hydra.

The first green Hydra would not see print until 2005 in Ravnica: City of Guilds. Phytohydra was a green/white Plant Hydra aligned with the Selesnya Conclave.  Phytohydra would later be joined, in the same block, by Ulasht, the Hate Seed and Sprouting Phytohydra. Interestingly, of these 3 hydras, only Ulasht, the Hate Seed was not a Hydra/Plant. As Ulasht is the only one of the three to have red in its colour identity this suggests that red was still the colour primarily associated with hydras, with the green of the other Hydras coming stemming from their Plant creature type. The printing of Khalni Hydra in 2010’s Rise of the Eldrazi marked the decisive shift of Hydras from red to green. Khalni Hydra is officially the greenest card ever made. It costs 8 green mana, that is to say it has 8 individual green mana pips in its casting cost. This gives Khalni Hydra the single most mana pips of any, black-bordered, card in the game. It loses out only to B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster), a joke card printed in Unglued, which costs 15 black mana. Khalni Hydra’s cost is reduced by one green for each green creature controlled by its owner, demonstrating further that Hydras are now aligned with green.

Although Theros: Beyond Death will undoubtedly contain a handful of Hydras, as the plane of Theros is inspired by Greek mythology, this article will be spoiler free. After the set is released, if any of these Hydras are notable enough to warrant mention here, information about them will be retroactively added in.

Heads and Tails

Typically, Hydras many heads are represented through +1/+1 counters. This is made clear when looking at the first hydra printed,  Rock Hydra. Like many of Magic the Gathering’s oldest cards, Rock Hydra’s original rules text is incredibly bizarre by modern standards. The card costs 2 red mana + X and states, ‘Put X +1/+1 counters (heads) on Hydra.  Each point of damage Hydra suffers destroys one head unless R is spent.  During upkeep new heads may be grown for RRR apiece’. The first clause of Rock Hydra’s effect has been replicated on many of Magic’s later Hydras. Of the 48 Hydras in the game, 18 of them (or 37.5%) have X in their mana cost. Each of these Hydras enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.

Protean Hydra is one of the more flavourful Hydras in the game. It perfectly captures the idea of two heads growing back from the stump each time a single head is decapitated. Whenever Protean Hydra takes damage, it loses that number of heads, in the form of+1/+1 counters. 2 +1/+1 counters are then placed upon it at the next end step, for each counter which was removed that turn. This shows new heads sprouting from the severed stumps.

Interestingly, Phyrexian Hydra works in the opposite way to Protean Hydra. Any damage dealt to  Phyrexian Hydra is prevented, but in return, a -1/-1 counter is placed on the card. This, coupled with the card possessing the ability Infect, demonstrates that Phyrexian Hydra grows more and more diseased and sickly as it takes more and more damage. This is an interesting demonstration of the nature of the Phyrexian infection, which spread across Mirrodin, but a slightly strange take on a Hydra. Perhaps the card does the opposite of what other Hydras do to reflect Phyrexia’s status as an absurd and nightmarish world where nothing works as would be expected.

Kalonian Hydra is a peculiar card, in terms of how it conveys the idea of being a Hydra, but a brilliant support card to other members of the tribe. Kalonian Hydra enters play with 4 +1/+1 on it. Whenever it attacks, the number of +1/+1 counters on it is doubled as well as the number of counters on every other card its owner controls. This effect works brilliantly when played alongside other Hydras, as many of them will also be covered in +1/+1 counters. The flavour text of  Kalonian Hydra ,‘Even baloths fear its feeding time’, implies that the +1/+1 counters on the Hydra are doubled due to it feasting on prey. This is slightly inconsistent with other members of the tribe, where the +1/+1 counters are used to represent additional heads. Perhaps feasting on baloths causes Kalonian Hydra to sprout new heads?

+1/+1 counters are not the only way that the multiple heads of Hydras are demonstrated through game mechanics. In multiplayer, Hydra Omnivore deals its combat damage to every opponent, reflecting how each of its heads is lashing out at a different foe. Similarly, Savageborn Hydra  possesses Double Strike to reflect how its multiple heads enable it to bite opponents several times simultaneously.

Gargos and Other Hydra Legends

Until the release of Core Set 2020 Hydras did not really have a lord.  That all changed with the printing of Gargos, Viscious Watcher.

Gargos is the ideal commander for a mono-green hydra deck. Although Gargos does not provide +1/+1 to each Hydra you control, he reduces the price of every other Hydra in his controller’s deck by 4 and fights an opponent’s creatures whenever one of your creatures is targeted by a spell. Gargos’ price reduction effect is extremely valuable. Being able to bring out Oran-Rief Hydra or Hydra Omnivore for a mere two mana is quite intimidating. Furthermore, this cost reduction ability synergises effectively with the series of Hydras who have X in their mana cost, such as Protean Hydra and Hooded Hydra. As each of these Hydras get +1/+1 equal to the value of X, Gargos effectively grants each of these Hydras four extra power and toughness. Gargos’ fight ability is also useful, as it essentially turns your opponent’s removal spells into two for ones. Gargos will fight, and presumably destroy, one of their creatures in the event that they attempt to target one of your Hydras with Swords to Plowshares.

For all of Gargos’ strengths, the card has one major flaw as a commander. Sadly, due to only possessing green in his colour identity, a deck led by Gargos loses access to several of the most powerful members of the tribe. This includes such cards as Hydroid Krasis and Savageborn Hydra. This leaves EDH decks which want to run many non-green Hydras with several potential alternatives, namely, Gyrus, Waker of Corpses, Ulasht, the Hate Seed and Progenitus. Although each of these cards are Hydras, they do not synergise nearly as well with other Hydras as  Gargos’ does, and pull you towards other strategies. Gyrus, Waker of Corpses works best in a graveyard reanimation deck. Ulasht, the Hate Seed wants to be in a go-wide deck. Progenitus, as one of only two cards to bear the clause ‘protection from everything’, wants to act as the centrepiece of a battlecruiser strategy. [2] In summary, despite losing access to several members of the tribe, the sheer impact of Gargos’ ability in a Hydra deck makes him the premier choice for Hydra tribal. The other legendary Hydras encourage you to run alternative strategies.

Arbitrary Grades

Flavour: A

The primary attribute which distinguishes Hydras from each of the game’s other creature types is their multiple heads. By tying heads into +1/+1 counters, Wizards of the Coast have created an effective and consistent means of showing off what makes Hydras novel, and demonstrating them losing and gaining heads over the course of a fight. It is perhaps curious that this ability is not universal amongst all Hydras, and some have a predetermined amount of power and toughness, or else do not interact with +1/+1 counters at all. Overall, however, it is probably for the best that every Hydra in the game is not simply a creature with X in its mana cost that gains +1/+1 counters equal to the value of X. This ensures that the design space for Hydra cards is significantly wider than merely being a series of, marginally altered, duplicates of Rock Hydra. Cards such as Hydra Omnivore and Savageborn Hydra are also effectively able to portray their multiheaded nature.

Viability: B

Hydras have always been powerful creatures, yet green has no shortage of strong threats. Gargos has done a lot to make the tribe more viable collectively as he circumvents Hydras’ most significant weakness, their high cost. Given how recently Gargos was released, and Hydras’ status as green’s iconic creature type, it seems highly possible that more Hydra tribal support is incoming in the future. The many Hydras who rely on +1/+1 counters also make them a great fit in decks that revolve around Proliferate and other mechanics which increase the number of +1/+1 counters in play. Kalonian Hydra is an essential component in any EDH deck in which +1/+1 counters are a major component, and works well alongside other Hydras. Furthermore, as was discussed above, there are several Legendary Hydras who make interesting centerpieces to novel deck concepts.

Best and worst cards:

Hydroid Krasis is certainly the most used card of the tribe at the present moment. Simic Ramp decks are currently very popular in Standard, even if they don’t dominate the meta as they once did in the days prior to the banning of Oko.  Hydroid Krasis is able to offer these decks the dual utilities of card draw and life gain attached to an incredibly evasive threat. A Hydroid Krasis, with enough mana thrown into it, effectively makes its caster’s victory an inevitability. 

Voracious Hydra is another member of the tribe made powerful due to its versatility. Voracious Hydra fits into the long line of Hydras where X can be paid in order to give it +1/+1 counters. As Voracious Hydra enters the battlefield it can either fight a creature your opponent controls, or the number of +1/+1 counters on it can be doubled. The Hydra can thus be a removal spell attached to a decently powerful creature, or simply an overwhelmingly powerful threat. 

A final Hydra worthy of mention here is Hydra Omnivore. An 8/8, for a mere 6 mana, Hydra Omnivore has stats worthy of its cost. The Omnivore deals damage to every single opponent in multiplayer games. If it can be made unblockable, such as through the use of Aqueous Form, then the Omnivore quickly shifts the balance of multiplayer games in its controller’s favour. Although this comes with the downside of Hydra Omnivore being a lightning rod for removal and often drawing out the fury of the other players at the table.

Not every Hydra can get ahead like those mentioned above. Molten Hydra is one of the absolute worst cards of the tribe. It hits the battlefield as a 1/1 for 2 mana. Though Molten Hydra has the ability to place +1/+1 counters on itself, and to remove these counters to damage opponents, the fact that placing each of these counters costs 3 mana ensures that you’re merely sinking more mana into an already overcosted card.  Balduvian Hydra is another member of the tribe headed straight for the trash. Unlike every other Hydra with X in its casting cost, Balduvian Hydra places +1/+0 counters on itself, rather than +1/+1 counters, ensuring that it will only ever enter play with a single point of toughness.  this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that a counter can be removed to prevent a point of damage from being dealt to the Hydra. Having a 4/1 for six mana is a terrible deal. This is especially notable, considering that Balduvian Hydra grows weaker every time it is blocked by creatures with a single point of power or more.

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[1] More information about Iconic Creature types can be found in this article by Mark Rosewater which defines the term https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/building-better-monster-2013-11-11
[2] Hexdrinker is the 2nd card to have 'Protection from Everything'.

A Christmas Update & The Future of Macready Musings

Merry Christmas everyone.  Just a quick update today to share two pieces of news...

1. I am taking Christmas off, so there will be no Unusual Tribes column this week. I hope you all have a happy holiday season and that you have a good time, whatever you are getting up to.  Maybe try a Christmas Chaos Draft?

2. I felt it was best to say something here regarding my plans for the future of this blog.  I have been pleasantly surprised, and quite humbled, by the attention my articles have received.  Thank you all, sincerely, for your views and your support.

Whilst writing this column is a tremendous amount of fun, and I intend to continue writing new Unusual Tribes articles into the foreseeable future, I am also hoping to expand the sort of content I upload here in several ways.

Primarily, I would like to supplement my written articles with videos. I have something in the works already which I am hoping to be able to share early in 2020.

Additionally, I am considering expanding the sort of content I discuss here.  This blog's tagline has always been, 'A blog where I ramble about gaming, history and how history has influenced gaming'.  Currently I have only discussed Magic the Gathering which, whilst a significant interest of mine, is far from my only hobby.  I am planning on creating new content discussing more forms of games, whether they are played digitally or on a tabletop.  I would also be keen to try and bring some historical analysis into the mix. I want to discuss the inspiration which top-down sets like Theros, Amonkhet and Kamigawa take from real world cultures.

As always feel free to message me with any feedback, comments or questions at macreadymusings@gmail.com

Thanks and best wishes,

-Macready

Unusual Tribes 8: Rats

Introduction

Having spent the last few weeks looking at Dwarves, Orcs and other high fantasy races, it’s time to return to reality and analyse some tribes of real creatures. This week we’ll be looking at Rats and exploring how they are portrayed in Magic the Gathering, and whether you can build a viable decks around them. Despite their seemingly mundane and unassuming nature Rats possess some of the tightest synergies of any of the tribes discussed in this series so far. Magic’s premiere rodents offer some incredibly fun and unique deck building possibilities.

Magic the Gathering currently features 55 Rats. Every single Rat which has ever been printed has been black. There are, however, 3 Rats which are black/red, namely: Gobhobbler Rat, Sanity Gnawers and Hellhole Rats. As the overwhelming majority of Rats are mono-black, it is usually advisable to run Rats in a mono-black deck. This is both because other colours don’t have many Rats to offer, and for budgetary reasons. You probably don’t want to spend too much money on an expensive land base for a fun, yet gimmicky, deck full of Rats.

Relentless Rat Packs

Rats in Magic the Gathering are known for commonly possessing 2 sorts of effects. Discard and what is known unofficially as the ‘Relentless Effect’. This effect lifts the typical deck building limitation of only being able to run 4 copies of any given card. This unofficial term derives its name from the card Relentless Rats, the most famous bearer of the effect. The ‘Relentless Effect’ demonstrates how rats live in huge packs, which grow increasingly threatening as they gain more members. Relentless Rats gains +1/+1 for each other iteration of Relentless Rats in play, encouraging players to fill their decks with as many copies of the card as possible. Rat Colony also possesses the ‘Relentless Effect’. When compared with Relentless Rats, Rat Colony is one mana cheaper and gets stronger for each other rat your control, regardless of name. Unfortunately, unlike Relentless Rats, it has only 1 toughness and only gains +1/+0 for each other Rat in play, leaving it much more vulnerable.

Several other Rats possess abilities which are similar to the ‘Relentless Effect’. Plague Rats was the first Rat ever printed, back in Alpha. It was clearly intended to be run in decks similar to those structured around cramming in many copies of Relentless Rats or Rat Colony. Unfortunately, due to changes to the rules, Plague Rats is easily the worst of the three. As Plague Rats was printed prior to the rule restricting a deck to  4 copies of any individual card, it does not possess an effect stating ‘A deck can have any number of cards named Plague Rats’. As a result, it is now impossible to build a working Plague Rats deck. Even if this were possible, for 3 mana it hits the field as a 1/1, which is an unexciting prospect and makes it worse than Relentless Rats. For all of its flaws, Plague Rats does earn some style points  for having truly unnerving art work.

Rats nature, as pack animals, is also illustrated on the card Pack Rat fittingly enough. Pack Rat gains +1/+1 for each rat in play, showing how the pack gets stronger as more Rats join. Pack Rat also allows its controller to discard a card, and pay 3 mana, to create a token which is a copy of it. The discarded card represents the Rats consuming food to feed their growing swarm. This food is likely carrion, as Pack Rat’s art depicts the pack in the sewers beneath Ravnica. Discarding a card is the closest mechanical means the game can provide to dropping an unsavoury snack into the sewers to be consumed by Rats.

Discard and Disease

Now to look at discard. Rats association with discard effects can be explained in several possible ways. On one level discard may represent how Rats are stealing from the opponent. Burglar Rat is the most explicit in this regard, though the flavour text of several printings of Ravenous Rats also support this interpretation. The card states ‘Nothing is sacred to the rats. Everything is simply another meal’. This reflects real life rats which are notorious for pinching food and shiny objects.

There are several, more abstract, interpretations of what these discard effects may represent. The hand in Magic the Gathering is often used to represent the thoughts and mental wellbeing of the player’s character.  This is evidenced by cards such as Thoughtseize and Mind Rot which lead to discard as they are a direct assault on the opponent’s mind. Using this logic, it may seem strange that Rats cause discard. Unlike Spectres, another tribe frequently printed with discard effects, Rats are not magical creatures who directly assault the opponent’s mind.  The cards discarded may represent how Rats induce fear into people’s minds, leading to mental agitation and unrest.

A final interpretation may be that the discard represents Rats spreading disease. This is backed up by the fact that many of Magic the Gathering’s Rats are associated with illness, for example Rotting Rats. Discard is not the only way through which Magic’s Rats show their propensity to produce plagues. Ichor Rats and Septic Rats both demonstrates Rats’ ability to spread sickness through the use of poison counters. Whilst Typhoid Rats represent Rats’ role as carries of deadly diseases via the ability Deathtouch. The Rats depicted in Disease Carriers demonstrate the accuracy of their name by giving opponent’s creature -2/-2.

Kamigawa and the Nezumi

Rats were pushed most prominently as a tribe during Kamigawa block. The Nezumi (which translates from Japanese as ‘rat’ creatively enough) are anthropomorphic Rats native to the plane. As Kamigawa’s Rats are more humanoid than their counterparts on other planes, the block provided Rats with a slew of subtypes they would not normally have access too. Nezumi Cutthroat is a Rat Warrior, Nezumi Bone-Reader is a Rat Shaman and, of course, due to Kamigawa being based on Shinto and Japanese mythology, there are a slew of Rat Samurai and Rat Ninjas.

On Kamigawa, Rats’ typical focus on discard is present, but it is also expanded in new ways. Gnat Miser and Locust Miser both reduce each opponent’s maximum hand size. These effects play into Saviours of Kamigawa’s ‘hand size matters’ theme, wherein certain cards put the player at an advantage for having more cards in their hand than their opponent, such as Akuta, Born of Ash.

Every legendary Rat ever printed was released in Kamigawa block. Marrow-Gnawer, the most notable of these Rat legends, warrants his own section and will be discussed below. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is a Rat Ninja bearing the Ninjustsu effect, as many of Kamigawa’s ninjas, whether they are Rats or otherwise, also do.

This block also featured two Rat flip cards, a visually unique card type exclusive to Kamigawa. Nezumi Graverobber/Nighteyes the Desecrator and Nezumi Shortfang/Stabwhisker the Odious.  Both of these cards tell interesting, self-contained, tales of mundane rodents rising to infamy. Nezumi Graverobber empties out an opponent’s graveyard, as is perhaps appropriate for a Graverobber, before transforming into Nighteyes the Desecrator. Nighteyes’ ability to return creatures from graveyards to the battlefield demonstrates how they have advanced from merely robbing the dead to reviving them through necromancy. Although the two sides of this card are inherently non-synergistic (you can no longer return cards from the dead who Nezumi Graverobber  has exiled,) it still offers a compelling story. Nezumi Shortfang, meanwhile, tells the tale of a small-time thief transforming into the fearsome, if incredibly stupidly named, master criminal Stabwhisker the Odious. Nezumi Shortfang’s discard effect is used to convey the idea of the Rat Rogue robbing your opponent. Stabwhisker’s effect, which penalises opponents who have few cards in their hand, then demonstrates a crime lord preying on the poor.

The Witch, the Piper the Slumlord and Marrow-Gnawer

Although there are no Rat ‘lords’ in the strictest terms, meaning there is no card which provides +1/+1 to all other Rats in play, there are several Rat support cards, or cards which grant all Rats beneficial abilities. The first of these is Marrow-Gnawer, a legendary Rat Rogue printed in Champions of Kamigawa. Marrow-Gnawer grants all Rats Fear, including himself and any Rats your opponent may control. He also allows you to sacrifice a Rat to create a number of 1/1 Black Rat tokens equal to the number of Rats you control. Although Marrow-Gnawer is an expensive card, both in terms of money and mana, he remains the most obvious choice for the commander of any Rat tribal EDH deck. 

Ogre Slumlord, printed in Gatecrash, is the next notable Rat support card. The Slumlord creates a 1/1 Rat token for his controller whenever another non-token creature dies. He also grants all Rats Deathtouch.  This effect is reasonably powerful even in decks which aren’t running any Rats. The Slumlord is considered an auto include in many mono-black EDH decks, especially those themed around sacrificing creatures. In Rat tribal decks the Slumlord’s effect grows even better. Ogre Slumlord grants a large swathe of your deck Deathtouch, whilst also generating a potentially huge number of tokens of a relevant creature type.

Throne of Eldraine granted Rat tribal decks three new support cards. Chittering Witch, from the Savage Hunger Brawl preconstructed deck, generates a number of 1/1 of rat tokens equal to the number of opponents you have, and enables you to sacrifice creatures to give target creature -2/-2.  Though obviously non-viable outside of multiplayer formats, and perhaps more of a sacrifice matters than a Rats matter card, the Witch is still a potentially fun include in any Rat based Commander deck. Next up is Mad Ratter who, sadly, probably isn’t worth including in any Rat tribal deck. The Ratter is red and is not worth splashing for in an otherwise, probably, mono-black Rat deck. Furthermore, although its effect generates two 1/1 Rats, it is triggered by drawing a second card in a turn. Although card draw is always useful, and is available in both red and black, there are no Rats which provide card draw, meaning that you will need to add draw effects from other sources.

Although Eldraine’s two prior cards were perhaps barely worthy of a mention, Piper of the Swarm is by far the most relevant and exciting Rat support card from the set. The Piper grants all Rats Menace. He can also be tapped down to create a 1/1 Rat token, at the cost of two mana, and, for four mana, allows you to sacrifice 3 Rats to gain control of an opponent’s creature. Being able to do all of this for a mere 2 mana makes Piper of the Swarm an essential component of Rat tribal decks, and has certainly increased their viability going forward. Plus, the card is a neat reference to the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and his ability to hypnotise both Rats and people through the hypnotic music of his flute.

Flavour: A

Rats have a consistent mechanical identity. They frequently have discard or the ‘relentless effect’, and these repeated mechanics authentically convey life as a rodent. The ‘relentless effect’ shows that Rats are pack animals, and encourages you to fill your deck with several iterations of the same Rat to reflect this. Discard is used to represent myriad things including: their ability to steal, how they induce fear and unrest, and how they spread disease. Rats’ nature as carriers of disease is also represented in several other ways, such as giving them Deathtouch or Infect, or having them debuff opponents’ creatures. In summary, Magic has always portrayed Rats creatively, coherently and effectively.

Viability: B+

There are several potentially fun decks which can be built with Rats. You can frustrate your opponents with mass discard before reanimating their graveyard, whether through Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni or cheaper, albeit less rodent-based, means. Decks based around Relentless Rats or Rat Colony are also entertaining to play. Last Standard season even bore witness to a number of Rat Colony decks. Although these decks were far from top tier, due to their incredible vulnerability to board wipes and direct damage spells, they remained present on the fringes and were both cheap to build and fun to play.

A Rat tribal deck is highly possible, and far more supported than many of the previous tribes discussed in these pieces. The plethora of support cards discussed above, in combination with the sheer power provided by Pack Rat, makes them an intimidating presence.

Finally, as so many rats are printed at common, they make good additions to Pauper decks. Chittering Rats makes for a decent removal spell in the format, and is a key component of mono-black devotion decks alongside Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

Best and Worst Cards

Just as Wurmcoil Engine was the clear winner in the article on Wurms, this week’s answer is an equally foregone conclusion. Pack Rat has earned itself an infamous reputation for breaking Return to Ravnica drafts in half. Pack Rat’s reputation is well-earned, and it is deservedly recognised as one of the most format warping Limited cards of all time. Pack Rat is so formidable due to the power of its 2 abilities. Its first ability makes its power and toughness equal to the number of rats you control, whilst its second allows you to pay 3 mana and discard a card to create a token which is a copy of itself. This makes Pack Rat, effectively, both the cheapest and most versatile of the ‘relentless’ rats described above. Its ability effectively lets you turn all of the other cards in your deck into, slightly more expensive, Pack Rats. This is especially useful in Limited where removal is less effective and board wipes, the bane of such a strategy, are rarer. Beyond Limited, Pack Rat naturally faces more well-constructed competition, though it is also possible to build more synergistic decks around the rodent. Making the swarm of giant rats which Pack Rat will inevitably generate harder to block through playing them alongside  Piper of the Swarm or Marrow-Gnawer poses a clear danger to opponents without an answer prepared.

Carrion Rats is possibly the weakest card of the tribe. Though one mana for a 2/1 creature is a good deal, especially in 2002 when the card was released, any player may prevent the damage the Rats would deal by exiling a card from their graveyard.  This is an easy price to pay in just about any game of Magic which has advanced beyond the early game. This condition is especially easy to meet in a game in which Carrion Rats is played alongside other Rats, as they will be rapidly filling your opponent’s graveyard due to their discard effects. Carrion Rats thus sadly lacks synergy with the rest of the tribe. Unfortunately  Carrion Rats often ends up either continuously striking through for no damage at all, or being blocked and brought down without trading.