Baloth Null MTG Card

Recovers two creatures from the graveyard, majorly boosting your hand and strategic options. Demands creatures in graveyard and specific mana, which can affect deck flexibility. While costly, its unique recursion ability can be critical in the right meta.
Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Zombie Beast
Power 4
Toughness 5

Text of card

When Baloth Null enters the battlefield, return up to two target creature cards from your graveyard to your hand.

"Humans use pigs to hunt for mushrooms, don't they? It's like that." —Harak, Malakir bloodwitch

Cards like Baloth Null

Baloth Null serves as a robust creature choice in MTG, standing tall as a 4/5 beast. It bears resemblance to creatures like Gravedigger, which also grants card advantage through its ability to return a creature from your graveyard to your hand upon entering the battlefield. However, Baloth Null steps it up by not just returning one, but two creatures to your hand, providing a significant boost in card advantage.

Den Protector follows in a similar path, offering flexibility with its morph feature. It returns a card from the graveyard when it is turned face up, but Baloth Null surpasses this with its ability to retrieve two creatures without needing to flip or meet additional conditions. Eternal Witness is another creature that retrieves a card upon entering the battlefield. However, Baloth Null’s dual creature return capacity makes it uniquely beneficial in decks aiming for maximizing graveyard interactions.

In summary, Baloth Null presents as a strong competitor among graveyard-utilizing creatures in MTG. Its simplistic yet powerful ability to recover creatures makes it a valuable asset, forging paths to victory for players by amplifying their return-on-investment when it comes to creature cards.

Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Den Protector - MTG Card versions
Eternal Witness - MTG Card versions
Gravedigger - MTG Card versions
Den Protector - MTG Card versions
Eternal Witness - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Baloth Null shines in its ability to return not one, but two creature cards from your graveyard to your hand upon entering the battlefield. This significant recovery is a game-changer, allowing you to reclaim powerful creatures and bolster your hand for future turns.

Resource Acceleration: Although Baloth Null doesn’t directly accelerate resources in terms of mana, its recursion effect is a form of indirect resource acceleration. By efficiently reusing your creatures, you can potentially skip casting costs or circumvent situations where you’d need to invest in summoning fresh threats from your deck.

Instant Speed: Baloth Null itself may not be an instant, but its impact on instant-speed strategies is noteworthy. After refilling your hand with creatures, you can better respond to your opponent’s moves by having a variety of creatures at the ready, some of which may have flash or other abilities that can be activated at instant speed, shifting the game’s momentum in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Baloth Null allows you to return two creature cards from your graveyard to your hand, it does not do so without an initial investment. To effectively leverage this card, you must already have creatures in the graveyard, which means you’re potentially facing an upfront loss of those creatures before you can capitalize on Baloth Null’s ability.

Specific Mana Cost: Baloth Null demands a diverse mana base, specifically one black and one green mana in its total cost of six mana. This can prove restrictive for decks that aren’t built to accommodate such a specific mana spread, which could interfere with your overall mana curve and game plan.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, Baloth Null sits at a higher point on the mana curve. This cost is often considered steep for the effect of retrieving two creature cards from the graveyard. When evaluating card efficiency and game tempo, there are other creatures or spells in MTG that may offer similar or better graveyard recovery effects for a lower mana investment, often with additional benefits or lower casting costs.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Baloth Null offers a powerful utility for decks that aim to maximize creature returns from the graveyard to hand. Its ability to select and retrieve two creatures from the graveyard provides strategic flexibility in various game situations.

Combo Potential: This card is adept at enabling combo strategies, as it can help assemble crucial creature combinations by recovering key pieces from the graveyard. It pairs well with tactics that sacrifice or otherwise utilize creatures in the graveyard for greater effects.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where longer, grindier games are common, Baloth Null shines by offering sustained value and card advantage. It’s particularly effective in metas with a high number of creature-based strategies or where graveyard recursion is a prevalent theme.

How to beat

Baloth Null is a creature card that offers players a significant edge in resource recovery in MTG. Its primary function is to retrieve creatures from your graveyard when it enters the battlefield, which can shift the momentum of the game. This return-to-hand feature makes it a card worth discussing when considering battlefield strategy.

To effectively counter this imposing beast, it’s critical to manage graveyard interactions. Employing graveyard hate cards like Relic of Progenitus or leveraging Scarab God’s exile ability can neutralize the advantage that Baloth Null provides. Alternatively, removing it before the ability triggers with instant-speed removal, such as Path to Exile, ensures the graveyard retrieval never comes into play. Additionally, countermagic like Counterspell ensures Baloth Null doesn’t resolve, completely avoiding its effect.

Ultimately, playing around Baloth Null requires a preemptive approach to either stop it from hitting the battlefield or mitigating its impact once it does. This calls for strategic deck building and sharp gameplay to sustain control over the graveyard, keeping the upper hand against opponents utilizing this powerful recursion entity.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Baloth Null MTG card by a specific set like Oath of the Gatewatch and Masters 25, 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 Baloth Null and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Baloth Null Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2016-01-22 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Jakub Kasper.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-01-22Oath of the GatewatchOGW 1522015NormalBlackJakub Kasper
22018-03-16Masters 25A25 1972015NormalBlackJakub Kasper
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 13962015NormalBlackJakub Kasper
42020-09-26The ListPLST A25-1972015NormalBlackJakub Kasper

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Baloth Null has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal