Rancid Rats MTG Card


Rats’ Skulk ability provides a consistent threat, chipping away at opponents’ life totals and maintaining card advantage. Perfect synergy with instant speed spells, Rancid Rats balance offensive pressure and defensive spell versatility. Though demanding specific mana sources, Rancid Rats suit various strategies and pose a meta-relevant presence.
Rancid Rats - Shadows over Innistrad
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Zombie Rat
Abilities Deathtouch,Skulk
Released2016-04-08
Set symbol
Set nameShadows over Innistrad
Set codeSOI
Power 1
Toughness 1
Number130
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byDaniel Ljunggren

Text of card

Skulk (This creature can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.) Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)

"They're in the walls! Can't you hear them?"


Cards like Rancid Rats

In the realm of persistent threats within Magic: The Gathering, Rancid Rats stands its ground as a deceptively powerful card. Its nearest kin on the battlefield is Typhoid Rats, both creatures equipped with the menacing keyword ability ‘deathtouch’. While Typhoid Rats boasts a lower mana cost, making it a quicker play, Rancid Rats offers the added advantage of ‘skulk’, allowing it to potentially evade blockers and stay a perpetual nuisance on the board.

Another similar card is Vampire of the Dire Moon, which poses a two-front assault with both lifelink and deathtouch. A comparably cost-efficient creature, the Vampire provides both offensive gains and defensive stability. It’s notable, though, that Rancid Rats’ skulk ability offers unique strategic maneuvers not found in the Vampire’s arsenal. Lastly, Pharika’s Chosen serves as a direct parallel to Typhoid Rats in mana and abilities but lacks the additional skulk feature that defines Rancid Rats’ niche on the field.

Assessing their roles in control or aggressive strategies, Rancid Rats embodies a versatile role within Magic: The Gathering. Its blend of evasiveness and lethal defensive prowess cements its position as a modest yet cunning addition to any deck focused on incremental advantage.

Typhoid Rats - MTG Card versions
Vampire of the Dire Moon - MTG Card versions
Pharika's Chosen - MTG Card versions
Typhoid Rats - MTG Card versions
Vampire of the Dire Moon - MTG Card versions
Pharika's Chosen - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Rancid Rats by color, type and mana cost

Drudge Skeletons - MTG Card versions
Nether Shadow - MTG Card versions
Erg Raiders - MTG Card versions
Cyclopean Mummy - MTG Card versions
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Order of the Ebon Hand - MTG Card versions
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Wall of Corpses - MTG Card versions
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Rabid Rats - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Bat - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Rats - MTG Card versions
Flesh Reaver - MTG Card versions
Bloodcurdler - MTG Card versions
Nantuko Shade - MTG Card versions
Piper of the Swarm - MTG Card versions
Undead Augur - MTG Card versions
Black Knight - MTG Card versions
Shepherd of Rot - MTG Card versions
Swarm of Rats - MTG Card versions
Drudge Skeletons - MTG Card versions
Nether Shadow - MTG Card versions
Erg Raiders - MTG Card versions
Cyclopean Mummy - MTG Card versions
Cuombajj Witches - MTG Card versions
Order of the Ebon Hand - MTG Card versions
Bog Imp - MTG Card versions
Wall of Corpses - MTG Card versions
Blighted Shaman - MTG Card versions
Rabid Rats - MTG Card versions
Dakmor Bat - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Rats - MTG Card versions
Flesh Reaver - MTG Card versions
Bloodcurdler - MTG Card versions
Nantuko Shade - MTG Card versions
Piper of the Swarm - MTG Card versions
Undead Augur - MTG Card versions
Black Knight - MTG Card versions
Shepherd of Rot - MTG Card versions
Swarm of Rats - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Integrating Rancid Rats into your deck can be strategically beneficial as it often leads to advantageous exchanges with your opponent’s creatures. Its Skulk ability ensures that it can avoid being blocked by creatures with greater power, often allowing it to remain a persistent presence on the battlefield, thus indirectly contributing to maintaining card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: Although Rancid Rats doesn’t directly contribute to resource acceleration in terms of mana, it can rapidly speed up your board state’s development. By forcing your opponent to deal with it, they may have to use resources they would otherwise allocate to their own board development or acceleration, indirectly helping you stay ahead.

Instant Speed: While the Rats themselves don’t operate at instant speed, they synergize exceptionally well with instant speed spells. With their evasive ability, they can apply pressure while you hold mana open for reactive spells. This keeps opponents guessing whether you have a trick up your sleeve, effectively blurring the lines between your offensive and defensive plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Rancid Rats requires you to discard another card to utilize its abilities fully. This could set you back when your hand is already limited, making it a risky play if you’re not ahead in card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: Deploying Rancid Rats into the battlefield necessitates specific black mana, restricting the card’s flexibility and potentially limiting it to mono-black or two-color decks already heavy on black mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While the rats come with skulk, making them unblockable by creatures with greater power, its casting cost might be seen as steep for its stats and abilities. There may be alternatives that deliver a better value or that fit more strategically into a given deck archetype for the same or lower mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Rancid Rats sneak their way into a variety of black-centered strategies with their Skulk ability, allowing them to avoid blockers and chip away at an opponent’s life total regardless of the board state. This makes them a unique tool in any collection.

Combo Potential: Being a creature with inherent evasion, Rancid Rats pairs well with equipment and auras that benefit from creatures dealing combat damage to a player. They work well within recursive decks that aim to utilize the graveyard, adding strategic depth to gameplay.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where ground stalls are common, Rancid Rats can consistently apply pressure. Additionally, their Deathtouch keyword lets them serve as excellent blockers, deterring opponents from attacking and often removing threats outright, which is always relevant regardless of the shifting tides of the meta-game.


How to Beat

Rancid Rats skulk into the MTG battlefield with deathtouch, making them a persistent nuisance for your opponents. Their key feature is the ability to take down any creature it blocks or gets blocked by, regardless of that creature’s size. This makes Rancid Rats a perfect candidate to deter attackers or to take down formidable foes.

To effectively combat Rancid Rats, strategy is key. One approach is utilizing flyers or creatures with the reach ability, as Rancid Rats can’t block creatures flying above them. This bypasses their deathtouch entirely, allowing for safe assaults. Another method is leveraging removal spells that don’t require combat such as Lightning Bolt or Fatal Push, promptly getting rid of the pesky rodents without risking your own creatures in battle.

Card strategies that focus on mass removal or board wipes, like Wrath of God or Damnation, also work wonders against Rancid Rats. These strategies clear out multiple creatures at once, including those with deathtouch. Keeping these tactics in mind, players can navigate around the threat posed by Rancid Rats with ease, maintaining control of the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the MTG world with Rancid Rats, a card known for its crafty ability to stay alive and chip away at an opponent’s life. Whether it’s evading taller creatures with Skulk or frustrating your adversary with its Deathtouch, Rats have a peculiar knack for remaining relevant in various game scenarios. Enhancing your black-themed decks or plotting new strategies, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of Rancid Rats could tilt the scales in your favor. Navigate through the ever-changing battlefield with informed choices. Ready to outsmart your opponents with Rancid Rats? Visit BurnMana for a detailed understanding and expert tips on incorporating this sneaky creature into your winning decks.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rancid Rats MTG card by a specific set like Shadows over Innistrad, 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 Rancid Rats and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Rancid Rats has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2016-04-08 If you cause a creature to have 0 power or less, use the actual value (which may be negative) to determine whether it can block or be blocked. A creature with skulk and 0 or less power most likely won’t be blocked, but it won’t deal combat damage and won’t trigger any abilities that trigger when combat damage is dealt.
2016-04-08 Skulk matters only as blockers are chosen. Modifying either creature’s power after blockers are chosen won’t cause the attacking creature to become unblocked.