Molting Harpy MTG Card


Molting Harpy can enhance your deck’s card flow and open up strategic plays with its abilities. However, it comes with a specific mana cost and potential for hand depletion, requiring careful deck construction. Despite these cons, Molting Harpy’s versatility and meta relevance make it a valuable contender in many strategies.
Molting Harpy - Mercadian Masques
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Harpy Mercenary
Abilities Flying
Released1999-10-04
Set symbol
Set nameMercadian Masques
Set codeMMQ
Power 2
Toughness 1
Number148
Frame1997
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byJeff Laubenstein

Text of card

Flying At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Molting Harpy unless you pay .

Shed harpy feathers leave painful wounds—which explains the harpies' mood.


Cards like Molting Harpy

Molting Harpy offers a distinct blend of evasion and life loss mechanics that make it an intriguing choice for deck builders in Magic: The Gathering. When looking at similar creatures, Vampire Nighthawk comes to mind with its combination of flying and lifelink, though it benefits the controller rather than causing life loss. Molting Harpy’s ability to effortlessly slip past defenders due to flying is mirrored in creatures like Stormfront Pegasus, but the Harpy holds the unique characteristic of chipping away at an opponent’s life total turn after turn.

Shimian Specter also presents an interesting comparison. While it shares the flying trait with Molting Harpy, it adds a disruptive element by allowing you to exile cards from an opponent’s hand and graveyard. This doesn’t impact life totals directly but can strategically dismantle an opponent’s game plan. Finally, Bloodhunter Bat deserves a mention. While lacking the recurring effect of Molting Harpy’s life loss ability, it offers a one-time life swing upon entering the battlefield, showcasing a different approach to the feature of life total manipulation in the game.

Thus, Molting Harpy stands out among flying creatures for its persistent ability to whittle down an opponent’s health, a facet that should be considered when evaluating flying threats and life loss strategies in a deck construction.

Vampire Nighthawk - MTG Card versions
Stormfront Pegasus - MTG Card versions
Shimian Specter - MTG Card versions
Bloodhunter Bat - MTG Card versions
Vampire Nighthawk - MTG Card versions
Stormfront Pegasus - MTG Card versions
Shimian Specter - MTG Card versions
Bloodhunter Bat - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Molting Harpy by color, type and mana cost

Stone-Throwing Devils - MTG Card versions
Will-o'-the-Wisp - MTG Card versions
Vampire Bats - MTG Card versions
Bog Rats - MTG Card versions
Insidious Bookworms - MTG Card versions
Sewer Rats - MTG Card versions
Muck Rats - MTG Card versions
Vebulid - MTG Card versions
Zodiac Rat - MTG Card versions
Urborg Skeleton - MTG Card versions
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Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions
Champion of the Perished - MTG Card versions
Dark Supplicant - MTG Card versions
Bile Urchin - MTG Card versions
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - MTG Card versions
Rimebound Dead - MTG Card versions
Mindlash Sliver - MTG Card versions
Plague Beetle - MTG Card versions
Festering Goblin - MTG Card versions
Stone-Throwing Devils - MTG Card versions
Will-o'-the-Wisp - MTG Card versions
Vampire Bats - MTG Card versions
Bog Rats - MTG Card versions
Insidious Bookworms - MTG Card versions
Sewer Rats - MTG Card versions
Muck Rats - MTG Card versions
Vebulid - MTG Card versions
Zodiac Rat - MTG Card versions
Urborg Skeleton - MTG Card versions
Carrion Rats - MTG Card versions
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions
Champion of the Perished - MTG Card versions
Dark Supplicant - MTG Card versions
Bile Urchin - MTG Card versions
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - MTG Card versions
Rimebound Dead - MTG Card versions
Mindlash Sliver - MTG Card versions
Plague Beetle - MTG Card versions
Festering Goblin - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Molting Harpy presents an opportunity to cycle through your deck more efficiently. By providing card draw or a form of card filtration with its abilities, you can keep your hand full and options open.

Resource Acceleration: If Molting Harpy possesses any abilities or interactions that generate additional mana or allow you to play additional lands, it could serve as a potent means to speed up your gameplay, launching you ahead of your opponents in resource development.

Instant Speed: Should Molting Harpy be capable of any instant-speed actions, this would enable you to optimize your strategies more dynamically. Reacting to opponents’ moves or creating surprises that could swing the game in your favor are critical components that instant-speed capabilities offer.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Molting Harpy card requires players to let go of other cards from their hand, which can lead to a disadvantageous trade-off if you’re already struggling with card availability.

Specific Mana Cost: Having an exact mana requirement involving two colors to cast this spell might be restrictive, forcing players to build their mana base around it, which could potentially disrupt the flow of multicolored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating the balance between cost and benefit, Molting Harpy’s mana expense is on the higher side relative to its immediate impact on the game, which may lead to inefficiencies during play, especially when faster alternatives are available.


Reasons to Include Molting Harpy in Your Collection

Versatility: Molting Harpy brings flexibility to any deck. This card can swiftly adapt to various game phases, whether you need an early blocker or a flying threat to chip away at your opponent’s life total.

Combo Potential: The harpy plays well with sacrifice and graveyard strategies, allowing you to maximize the value from other cards that benefit from creatures leaving the battlefield or fueling delve mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: As the game evolves, having flying creatures like Molting Harpy can prove essential. It’s a suitable match for the current pace of play, effectively contending with prevalent threats or adding another layer of complexity to your tactical approach.


How to beat

Molting Harpy presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its flying ability and life loss effect at each upkeep, common to black-aligned creatures in Magic: The Gathering. Dealing with this card requires a strategic approach. Since it flies, ground creatures won’t help you block, pushing the need to have flying creatures or ones with reach to fend off its attacks. Removal spells are particularly effective here, such as Instant-speed removals like Murder or the conditional board sweepers such as Cry of the Carnarium, which can clear the board of not only Molting Harpy but also any other pesky small creatures.

An alternative strategy is to utilize life gain tactics to offset the life loss from Molting Harpy. Incorporating cards that provide consistent life boosts can help maintain your life total while dealing with the threat. Additionally, enchantments that prevent abilities from triggering, like Suppression Bonds or Pacifism, can neutralize the Harpy without having to remove it entirely. It’s essential to act quickly against Molting Harpy, as the cumulative life loss can be detrimental over the course of a game.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Molting Harpy MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques, 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 Molting Harpy and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Molting Harpy has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal