Abundant Maw MTG Card


Emerge reduces cost by sacrificing creatures, optimizing your board while gaining card advantage. Life swing of loss and gain can significantly alter the game, akin to instant speed effects. Specific mana and high casting cost necessitate careful deck integration and strategic planning.
Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost8
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Eldrazi Leech
Abilities Emerge
Power 6
Toughness 4

Text of card

Emerge (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's converted mana cost.) When you cast Abundant Maw, target opponent loses 3 life and you gain 3 life.


Cards like Abundant Maw

Abundant Maw stands out amid creature spells within Magic: The Gathering, especially when considering its synergy with the emerge mechanic. Likened to Eldrazi Devastator, another formidable creature, Abundant Maw offers an emerge option that can present a significant advantage. While Eldrazi Devastator lacks this flexibility, it compensates with sheer power being an 8/9 creature.

Looking at Benthic Infiltrator, we find a shared theme as both cards embody the Eldrazi lineage. Benthic Infiltrator provides an unblockable 1/4 body with an ingest ability, enhancing exiling strategies without the life loss aspect that Abundant Maw brings to the table. It’s an alternative angle for Eldrazi decks focused on disruption rather than direct damage.

The comparison isn’t complete without mentioning Wretched Gryff, another emerge creature that can impact the game through card draw rather than Abundant Maw’s life loss. Wretched Gryff’s emerge cost and the added bonus of drawing a card provides tactical flexibility, which can sometimes overshadow the immediate impact of Abundant Maw’s life loss trigger.

Every card has its place in MTG’s complex ecosystem, and despite Abundant Maw’s unique abilities, players must weigh the costs and benefits of including it within their Eldrazi arsenal, just as with any other specialized creature card in the game.

Eldrazi Devastator - MTG Card versions
Benthic Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Wretched Gryff - MTG Card versions
Eldrazi Devastator - MTG Card versions
Benthic Infiltrator - MTG Card versions
Wretched Gryff - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Abundant Maw by color, type and mana cost

Infernal Denizen - MTG Card versions
Baron Sengir - MTG Card versions
Avatar of Woe - MTG Card versions
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Myojin of Night's Reach - MTG Card versions
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Razaketh, the Foulblooded - MTG Card versions
Torgaar, Famine Incarnate - MTG Card versions
Archfiend of Despair - MTG Card versions
Infernal Denizen - MTG Card versions
Baron Sengir - MTG Card versions
Avatar of Woe - MTG Card versions
Devouring Strossus - MTG Card versions
Griselbrand - MTG Card versions
Void Beckoner - MTG Card versions
Scion of Darkness - MTG Card versions
Reiver Demon - MTG Card versions
Myojin of Night's Reach - MTG Card versions
Sanguine Praetor - MTG Card versions
Liege of the Pit - MTG Card versions
Tombstalker - MTG Card versions
Skeletal Wurm - MTG Card versions
Pestilence Demon - MTG Card versions
Baleful Force - MTG Card versions
Shambling Attendants - MTG Card versions
Distended Mindbender - MTG Card versions
Razaketh, the Foulblooded - MTG Card versions
Torgaar, Famine Incarnate - MTG Card versions
Archfiend of Despair - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Abundant Maw ensures that as you cast it, its Emerge mechanic can be strategically used by sacrificing a lesser creature, effectively optimizing your battlefield presence while also contributing to the development of card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: This creature can quicken your gameplay tempo by effectively reducing its own casting cost through its Emerge ability, propelling you ahead by utilizing available resources more efficiently.

Instant Speed: While Abundant Maw does not itself have instant speed, its ability to trigger an opponent to lose life while you gain life can be a significant shift in a closely contested game. This life exchange can be analogous to acquiring an edge that might as well have been gained at instant speed due to its immediate impact on the game state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Abundant Maw demands that you exile another creature card from your hand as part of its casting cost. During gameplay, this can backfire if you’re already in a tight spot, leaving you with fewer options and a potentially weaker hand overall.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for this creature includes a specific requirement of one black mana. This could potentially restrict its inclusion only to decks that run black mana, possibly edging out mono-color strategies that don’t include black or colorless decks that might otherwise benefit from its presence.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of seven mana, which includes six generic and one black, summoning Abundant Maw can be a tall order, especially in faster-paced games. There are alternative creatures and spells that might provide a more immediate impact or value for the same or less mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Abundant Maw offers a blend of life drain and creature prowess that can slide into various deck archetypes. Its ability to convert excess creatures into both a life swing and a formidable body makes it versatile in game scenarios where maintaining board presence is pivotal.

Combo Potential: With its Emerge mechanic, this card can be used creatively in sacrificing combos, effectively turning any creature into a source of life loss for your opponent while deploying a threat—an appealing prospect for those playing with graveyard synergy or sacrificing strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In environments heavy with aggro decks, Abundant Maw can act as a stabilizer, providing players with a way to recuperate lost life points while reducing the opponent’s life total, putting you in a favorable position during the late-game.


How to beat

Abundant Maw is a formidable presence in any MTG deck, part of the esteemed Eldrazi lineage. It brings a distinctive mechanic to the table, devouring a player’s life total with its cast trigger. This feature enables players to leverage the loss of life in both offensive and defensive strategies. The key to overcoming Abundant Maw lies in timing and disruption. Strategic use of counterspells can effectively neutralize it before it hits the field, preventing its life-draining ability from activating. Hand disruption tactics can also tilt the game in your favor, as discarding it from your opponent’s hand before they can cast it guarantees that its ominous presence never becomes a reality on the board.

Another effective strategy against Abundant Maw is to maintain board control. Creatures with abilities to exile or sacrifice prevent the Eldrazi from achieving its potential. Swift removal spells like Path to Exile or targeted sacrifices, such as through Fleshbag Marauder, can ensure that Abundant Maw’s impact is minimal. Players can also outpace it by advancing their board state quickly, establishing a robust lineup of creatures or defenses that can weather the life-loss and take advantage of the Eldrazi’s absence post-cast. By understanding and interrupting your opponent’s plans, you can ensure victory, even against the might of Abundant Maw.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Abundant Maw MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Shadows over Innistrad Remastered, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Abundant Maw and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Abundant Maw Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Greg Staples.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-07-22Eldritch MoonEMN 12015NormalBlackGreg Staples
22023-03-21Shadows over Innistrad RemasteredSIR 12015NormalBlackGreg Staples

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Abundant Maw has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Abundant Maw card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2016-07-13 A "when you cast" triggered ability resolves before the original spell resolves. It resolves even if the original spell is countered, and the original spell resolves even if the triggered ability is countered.
2016-07-13 A creature's mana value is determined solely by the mana symbols printed in its upper right corner (unless that creature is the back face of a double-faced card, is a melded permanent, or is copying something else; see below). If the mana cost includes , X is considered to be 0. If it's a single-faced card with no mana symbols in its upper right corner (because it's an animated land, for example), its mana value is 0. Ignore any alternative costs or additional costs (such as kicker) that were paid as the creature was cast.
2016-07-13 Colored mana components of emerge costs can't be reduced with emerge.
2016-07-13 Each card with emerge is colorless and has an emerge cost that includes one or more colors of mana. These cards are still colorless if you pay the emerge cost.
2016-07-13 If you sacrifice a creature with in its mana cost, that X is considered to be 0.
2016-07-13 Once you begin to cast a spell with emerge, no player may take actions until you're done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the creature you wish to sacrifice.
2016-07-13 The creature chosen to be sacrificed is still on the battlefield up through the time that you activate mana abilities. Its abilities may affect the spell's cost, be activated to generate mana, and so on. However, if it has an ability that triggers when a spell is cast, it will have been sacrificed before that ability can trigger.
2016-07-13 The mana value of a creature spell with emerge isn't affected by whether its emerge cost is paid. For example, if you cast Elder Deep-Fiend for its emerge cost and sacrifice a creature whose mana value is 3, Elder Deep-Fiend's mana value remains 8.
2016-07-13 The mana value of the back face of a double-faced card is the mana value of its front face. The mana value of a melded permanent is the sum of the mana values of its front faces. A creature that's a copy of either has a mana value of 0.
2016-07-13 You may sacrifice a creature with a mana value of 0, such as a token creature that's not a copy of another permanent, to cast a spell for its emerge cost. You'll just pay the full emerge cost with no reduction.
2016-07-13 You may sacrifice a creature with mana value greater than or equal to the emerge cost. If you do, you'll pay only the colored mana component of the emerge cost.