Arashin War Beast MTG Card
2015-01-23 - Number 123
2002-06-24 - Number 55741
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Beast |
| Abilities | Manifest |
| Power | 6 |
| Toughness | 6 |
Text of card
Whenever Arashin War Beast deals combat damage to one or more blocking creatures, manifest the top card of your library. (Put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it's a creature card.)
Cards like Arashin War Beast
Arashin War Beast stands out as a unique powerhouse in MTG, similar in some aspects to other formidable creatures such as Siege Behemoth and Thorn Elemental. These giants empower their controllers to override the typical rules of combat engagement. Arashin War Beast, for instance, brings its specialized ability to create 3/3 Beast creatures when dealing combat damage to a player, which can quickly tilt the board in your favor.
When we look at Siege Behemoth, it offers a distinct advantage by allowing you to assign combat damage as though it wasn’t blocked. It has a heftier converted mana cost but packs a formidable punch on offense. In the case of Thorn Elemental, you can have it deal damage to the opponent directly, a trait that bypasses potential blockers altogether. While none of these abilities are identical to the War Beast’s effect, each grants a path to circumvent the traditional blocking rules, a valuable asset in MTG’s combat phase.
Although Arashin War Beast requires a substantial seven mana investment, its ability to affect the creature base continuously, rather than just once, can provide sustained advantage. By doing so, it showcases its strength in creature-based strategies that capitalize on the generation of tokens to swarm opponents with an ever-growing army.
Cards similar to Arashin War Beast by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Arashin War Beast excels at providing incremental card advantage. Whenever it deals combat damage to a player, you can manifest the top card of your library, essentially turning it into a 2/2 creature. This not only increases the number of threats on the battlefield but also gives you the potential to flip a powerful permanent for a surprise swing in game state.
Resource Acceleration: By manifesting cards directly from your library, Arashin War Beast allows you to essentially “cheat” mana costs. This can lead to significant resource acceleration as you’re able to put potentially expensive cards onto the battlefield at a much lower cost than casting them normally.
Instant Speed: While Arashin War Beast itself is not an instant, the card it manifests could be an instant or a card with flash, effectively hiding your instant-speed interaction within a morph card. This adds a layer of strategy and unpredictability, compelling your opponent to be wary of the facedown creature and potentially deterring them from making advantageous plays.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One notable downside of Arashin War Beast is the potential for a discard requirement as part of its casting or ability costs. This mechanic can deplete your hand, especially if you’re in a position where card advantage is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: Arashin War Beast necessitates a specific combination of mana to cast, requiring at least one green mana. This can restrict its flexibility, making it less viable in multi-colored decks that can’t consistently produce the necessary colors.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its casting cost, the War Beast is considered to have a high mana investment, which can be restrictive in the early game. The need to allocate such a substantial amount of mana can put you at a tempo disadvantage against decks that operate more efficiently with lower-cost creatures.
Reasons to Include Arashin War Beast in Your Collection
Versatility: Arashin War Beast brings a variety of advantages to the battlefield. This formidable creature contributes to your board presence with the potential for both offensive and defensive tactics, making it a solid addition to decks that can leverage its beefy stats.
Combo Potential: When this beast deals combat damage to a player, you create a 1/1 green Warrior creature token for each point of damage it dealt. This ability provides a magnificent synergy with strategies that capitalize on token generation to amplify the strength of your army or to trigger powerful combos and effects.
Meta-Relevance: As the game of MTG evolves, cards that can adapt to a changing meta are invaluable. With its substantial size, Arashin War Beast can become a persistent threat in a meta where board control is crucial. It can dominate over smaller creatures and break through stagnant board states, giving you an advantage in long-drawn battles.
How to beat
Arashin War Beast presents a formidable challenge on the battlefield, with its ability to create 3/3 green Beast creature tokens every time it becomes blocked. This can quickly overwhelm opponents with an army of creatures, reminiscent of the token strategies showcased by cards like Siege Behemoth and Engulfing Slagwurm. The key to countering Arashin War Beast lies in bypassing the traditional combat phase or managing the battlefield effectively.
Control tactics employing board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation can clear the way, indiscriminately removing the War Beast along with other potential threats. Exploring spot removal options like Path to Exile offers a more focused strategy to remove the beast outright, ensuring no tokens are created. Timing is crucial; it’s best to target the War Beast before attackers are declared, therefore preempting the token generation. Furthermore, the use of enchantment-based control tools like Pacifism or the edict effects from Liliana of the Veil can incapacitate or sacrifice the War Beast without engaging it directly.
Ultimately, understanding the importance of carefully chosen removal spells and controlling the pace of the game can turn the tide against Arashin War Beast and similar high-impact cards.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Arashin War Beast MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Fate Reforged, 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 Arashin War Beast and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Arashin War Beast Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-01-23 and 2015-01-23. Illustrated by Eric Deschamps.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 55741 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps | ||
| 2 | 2015-01-23 | Fate Reforged | FRF | 123 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Eric Deschamps |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Arashin War Beast has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Arashin War Beast card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2014-11-24 | A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren’t affected. |
| 2014-11-24 | Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested creature face up by revealing that it’s a creature card (ignoring any copy effects or type-changing effects that might be applying to it) and paying its mana cost. This is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to. |
| 2014-11-24 | Arashin War Beast’s ability will trigger only once per combat damage step, no matter how many creatures are blocking it. |
| 2014-11-24 | At any time, you can look at a face-down permanent you control. You can’t look at face-down permanents you don’t control unless an effect allows you to or instructs you to. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because face-down creatures don’t have names, they can’t have the same name as any other creature, even another face-down creature. |
| 2014-11-24 | Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it’s turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn’t cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a face-down permanent you control leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends. |
| 2014-11-24 | If a manifested creature would have morph if it were face up, you may also turn it face up by paying its morph cost. |
| 2014-11-24 | Some older Magic sets feature double-faced cards, which have a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. The rules for double-faced cards are changing slightly to account for the possibility that they are manifested. If a double-faced card is manifested, it will be put onto the battlefield face down. While face down, it can’t transform. If the front face of the card is a creature card, you can turn it face up by paying its mana cost. If you do, its front face will be up. A double-faced permanent on the battlefield still can’t be turned face down. |
| 2014-11-24 | The face-down permanent is a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It’s colorless and has a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the permanent can still grant or change any of these characteristics. |
| 2014-11-24 | There are no cards in the Fate Reforged set that would turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, but some older cards can try to do this. If something tries to turn a face-down instant or sorcery card on the battlefield face up, reveal that card to show all players it’s an instant or sorcery card. The permanent remains on the battlefield face down. Abilities that trigger when a permanent turns face up won’t trigger, because even though you revealed the card, it never turned face up. |
| 2014-11-24 | Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn’t change whether that permanent is tapped or untapped. |
| 2014-11-24 | Unlike a face-down creature that was cast using the morph ability, a manifested creature may still be turned face up after it loses its abilities if it’s a creature card. |
| 2014-11-24 | You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You’re not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for indicating this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield. You must also track how each became face down (manifested, cast face down using the morph ability, and so on). |