Sepulcher Ghoul MTG Card
2021-07-23 - Number 118
2022-07-07 - Number 166
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Zombie |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- The Ghoul facilitates card advantage through creature sacrifice, bolstering board presence and synergy.
- Sepulcher Ghoul’s instant speed ability provides significant combat and timing flexibility.
- Its mana cost and discard requirements impose strategic deck-building considerations.
Text of card
Sacrifice another creature: Sepulcher Ghoul gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Activate only once each turn.
Ghouls devour the dead and any living creatures unwary enough to fall into their grasp.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Sepulcher Ghoul might not directly allow you to draw more cards, but its ability to sacrifice another creature to get stronger can pave the way to overwhelming your opponent with quality over quantity. Additionally, this can synergize with effects that provide benefits when a creature dies, turning each sacrifice into potential incremental gains.
Resource Acceleration: While Sepulcher Ghoul doesn’t produce mana or treasures, it accelerates your game plan by giving you an edge in board presence. Consistently sacrificing smaller creatures can quickly make your Ghoul a formidable threat, enabling faster and more threatening plays to outpace opponents.
Instant Speed: Sepulcher Ghoul’s ability activates at instant speed, offering flexibility during combat or at the end of an opponent’s turn. This can lead to unexpected swings in power that can catch an opponent off guard, disrupt their calculations, and force them to react to your moves on the field.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Sepulcher Ghoul demands card sacrifices, specifically discarding another card, to harness its full potential. This might challenge players to maintain a steady hand size, especially in longer duels where resources are critical.
Specific Mana Cost: A dedicated mana cost requires black mana to summon Sepulcher Ghoul. It imposes restrictions on deck construction, as it’s less flexible for multicolored decks that might not always have the necessary black mana source readily available.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: While costing only two mana might seem efficient on the surface, when assessed against other aggressive two-drops, the Ghoul’s power level is contingent on additional card plays, potentially making it a slower option in fast-paced games where tempo is key.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Sepulcher Ghoul can serve a dual role in any deck. It’s both an early blocker and an aggressive attacker. With its ability to grow in strength by sacrificing other creatures, it can adapt to various board states, making it a flexible pick for your lineup.
Combo Potential: This ghastly card shines in strategies focusing on creature sacrifice. It pairs well with cards that generate tokens or benefit from creatures dying, allowing for explosive turns and potentially game-winning plays.
Meta-Relevance: In a format where the graveyard is a resource, Sepulcher Ghoul stands out. It thrives in environments filled with self-mill or reanimation tactics, keeping your gameplay sharp and responsive to current trends.
How to beat
Sepulcher Ghoul can be quite a pesky creature card to face in the Magic: The Gathering arena. With the ability to gain strength quickly by sacrificing another creature, it demands a strategic approach to tackle it effectively. The ghoul thrives in decks that fuel its power boost regularly through numerous expendable creatures.
When you’re matched against this relentless undead, having removal spells at the ready is key. Instant speed removals like Fatal Push or Path to Exile can efficiently handle the Ghoul before it becomes a larger threat. Cards that prevent creatures from entering the battlefield, like containment spells, are also valuable because they disrupt the rhythm of your opponent’s sacrifices for powering up the Ghoul.
Playing around its mechanics involves foresight and precision—time your spells to negate the advantage the Ghoul’s controller is building up. Ultimately, quick and decisive action, coupled with disruption tactics, can ensure Sepulcher Ghoul doesn’t overrun your defenses and becomes just another creature that fell short of its potential terror on the battlefield.
Cards like Sepulcher Ghoul
Exploring the depths of Magic: The Gathering, Sepulcher Ghoul has carved a niche for itself among cards that thrive on graveyard mechanics. It shares traits with the much-respected Putrid Goblin, which also has undying and can be a persistent nuisance on the battlefield. Sepulcher Ghoul, while lacking undying, compensates with its aggressive mana-free activation that makes it a formidable force during the combat phase.
Another card with a kindred spirit is Sanitarium Skeleton. This creature boasts the ability to return to a player’s hand, ensuring it repeatedly emerges to fight another day. Sepulcher Ghoul lacks this type of direct recursion but instead offers immediate board impact that Sanitarium Skeleton cannot match. Then, we encounter Carrion Feeder, a creature that can’t block but excels in growing its power through sacrifice, much like Sepulcher Ghoul. The main difference lies in Carrion Feeder’s capacity to increment its own power and toughness permanently, as opposed to the temporary boost provided by Sepulcher Ghoul.
Comparing these creatures helps us appreciate Sepulcher Ghoul’s place in a deck where creatures can be used as a recurring resource. It suspends the balance between resilience and resourcefulness, making it an intriguing choice for players who capitalize on graveyard synergies.
Cards similar to Sepulcher Ghoul by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Sepulcher Ghoul MTG card by a specific set like Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate, 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 Sepulcher Ghoul and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Sepulcher Ghoul Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-07-23 and 2022-07-07. Illustrated by Jason A. Engle.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-07-23 | Adventures in the Forgotten Realms | AFR | 118 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jason A. Engle | |
| 2 | 2022-07-07 | Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate | HBG | 166 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Jason A. Engle |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Sepulcher Ghoul has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
