A-Skull Skaab MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Zombie
Abilities	Exploit
Released	2021-11-19
Set symbol
Set name	Innistrad: Crimson Vow
Set code	VOW
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	A-248
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Nicholas Gregory

Key Takeaways

A-Skull Skaab refines hands and graveyards, offering dual utility and superior deck filtering capabilities.
Generates strategic Zombie tokens from the graveyard, rapidly advancing board state and army size.
Demands specific mana and creature card discards, posing potential deck-building and gameplay challenges.

Text of card

Exploit (When this creature enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice a creature.) Whenever a creature you control exploits a creature, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: A-Skull Skaab aids in filtering your deck by allowing you to discard a creature card to then draw a card, refining your hand and graveyard strategy simultaneously.

Resource Acceleration: This creature is proficient in generating a favorable board state quickly by exiling creature cards from your graveyard to create tapped Zombie tokens, effectively converting graveyard resources into a potent army.

Instant Speed: While A-Skull Skaab doesn’t operate at instant speed itself, its ability to create tokens from your graveyard can be leveraged during your turn to surprise opponents with unexpected blockers or attackers based on your previous actions in the graveyard.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: A-Skull Skaab introduces a drawback by obligating players to discard another creature card just to get it on the battlefield. This can be particularly cumbersome when your hand is already running low, or when each card in hand is a vital piece of your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both blue and generic mana to be played, A-Skull Skaab demands precise mana fixing, potentially limiting its inclusion to decks with a reliable mana base or those specifically tailored around the blue part of the color spectrum.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value that’s on the upper end for its abilities, A-Skull Skaab can sometimes be overshadowed by other creatures in the same mana range. Players may find other creatures or spells that provide a more immediate impact on the game state or offer a better cost-to-benefit ratio.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: A-Skull Skaab provides flexibility in deck building, fitting seamlessly into zombie tribal strategies or any blue-focused decks needing graveyard manipulation.

Combo Potential: With its ability to exploit creatures, it synergizes with decks that benefit from self-mill or recasting creatures from the graveyard, potentially unlocking powerful on-death effects repeatedly.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of graveyard-based strategies in many metas, A-Skull Skaab can be a crucial piece, disrupting opponent plays or enhancing your own graveyard tactics.

How to beat A-Skull Skaab

Overcoming A-Skull Skaab, a creature card that resonates with strategic zombie synergy in Magic: The Gathering, requires a tactical approach. While it stands as a formidable threat, enhancing other zombies and creating new ones upon death, players should focus on removal spells that don’t trigger death-related abilities. Direct exile effects, like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, can effectively remove A-Skull Skaab without the downside of its dying trigger.

Alternatively, countering A-Skull Skaab before it hits the battlefield is another effective strategy. Utilize counter spells like Dovin’s Veto or Negate that prevent the card from resolving in the first place, ensuring that its abilities never come into play. Players may also resort to continuously managing the graveyard, employing cards like Relic of Progenitus or Scavenging Ooze to hinder the accumulation of creatures that A-Skull Skaab seeks to exploit.

Combining these methods disrupts the synergies A-Skull Skaab depends on, diminishing its impact on the game and granting you an upper edge in maintaining board supremacy.

Cards like A-Skull Skaab

A-Skull Skaab makes its mark as an intriguing creature card within the world of Magic the Gathering. It finds company among other zombie-involved cards that collaborate with the graveyard. A clear comparison can be drawn to Stitcher’s Supplier, which, although it sacrifices itself to mill three cards, sets up further graveyard strategies without requiring an additional discard as A-Skull Skaab does. However, A-Skull Skaab presents an upside with its looting ability, offering selective graveyard stocking while also building your assault with a growing zombie army.

Gravecrawler is another counterpart worth mentioning. It lacks the self-mill mechanics but boasts persistent resilience, as it can be cast from the graveyard effortlessly, an advantage A-Skull Skaab doesn’t share. Yet, A-Skull Skaab compensates by actively shaping the contents of your graveyard and fueling more strategic plays. Lastly, Diregraf Captain presents itself as a comparison, bolstering zombie dominance with a static power increase and delivering direct damage upon death of your zombies. Unlike the synergistic milling of A-Skull Skaab, the Captain favors a more aggressive, battle-focused stance.

While each card upholds its unique strengths within zombie-themed decks, A-Skull Skaab holds its ground through strategic graveyard manipulation and potential army enhancement, highlighting its role in adaptive and versatile deck-building strategies.

Cards similar to A-Skull Skaab by color, type and mana cost

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase A-Skull Skaab MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Crimson Vow, 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 A-Skull Skaab and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where A-Skull Skaab has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal