Greenwarden of Murasa MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Elemental
Power 5
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants double card retrieval, increasing hand resources when entering or leaving the battlefield.
  2. Restrictive mana cost and trade-offs can limit deck inclusion and strategic use.
  3. Great meta relevance and combo potential make it a resilient addition to collections.

Text of card

When Greenwarden of Murasa enters the battlefield, you may return target card from your graveyard to your hand. When Greenwarden of Murasa dies, you may exile it. If you do, return target card from your graveyard to your hand.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Greenwarden of Murasa allows players to return a card from their graveyard to their hand when it enters the battlefield, providing a valuable edge by reusing powerful spells or creatures. Moreover, when Greenwarden leaves the battlefield, you get another opportunity to retrieve an essential card, further solidifying your hand against opponents.

Resource Acceleration: Although the Greenwarden of Murasa doesn’t directly produce mana or treasure, by returning land cards from the graveyard to your hand, it ensures you have the necessary resources to play high-cost spells sooner, propelling you towards game-altering plays.

Instant Speed: While the Greenwarden itself does not have flash, it synergizes well with cards that allow you to bring creatures into play at instant speed. This enables surprise interactions during your opponent’s turn, setting up unexpected defenses or reclaiming critical spells at the perfect moment.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Greenwarden of Murasa provides the valuable service of card recursion, it doesn’t come into play without a trade-off. To fully leverage its ability, you often find yourself discarding another card. This can be quite cumbersome when your hand is already depleting, and you’re in dire need of sustaining your resources, not diminishing them.

Specific Mana Cost: With an exacting demand of double green mana within its six total mana cost, Greenwarden of Murasa requires a committed investment in green mana sources. This can restrict the card’s inclusion to primarily green or green-heavy multicolor decks, narrowly defining its strategic utility and possibly excluding it from a broader spectrum of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a creature that essentially offers a recursion ability, a six mana cost can feel steep, especially when compared to other options in the pool. In faster-paced games or environments where efficiency is key, the Greenwarden’s cost might outweigh its benefit, as players could opt for lower-cost alternatives to maintain tempo and conserve mana for other pivotal plays.


Reasons to Include Greenwarden of Murasa in Your Collection

Versatility: The Greenwarden of Murasa offers a flexible dynamic in deck-building and gameplay. This card functions effectively in decks that prioritize recurring valuable cards from the graveyard to the hand, extending strategic possibilities and enhancing card advantage.

Combo Potential: Its ability to retrieve any card from the graveyard upon entering or leaving the battlefield opens up multiple combo avenues. It synergizes well with sacrifice mechanics or landfall decks that capitalize on permanent cards cycling in and out of play.

Meta-Relevance: As metagames evolve and graveyard interaction becomes more prominent, Greenwarden of Murasa maintains its significance. It stands as a resilient asset in the face of removal-heavy environments, consistently able to recover key pieces that keep a player’s strategy intact and pressure on their opponents.


How to beat

The Greenwarden of Murasa is a formidable creature card known for its ability to retrieve a valuable card from a player’s graveyard whenever it enters the battlefield or dies. This element of recursion makes the card highly beneficial in midrange and control decks. To counteract the Greenwarden’s advantage, it is essential to manage the graveyard. Utilizing cards that exile from the graveyard, such as Scavenging Ooze or Relic of Progenitus, can prevent the Greenwarden from functioning at full capacity. Furthermore, tackling the Greenwarden with exile effects rather than destruction is a wise strategy. Cards like Path to Exile or Oblivion Ring remove the Greenwarden from play without triggering its death ability, ensuring that your opponent doesn’t benefit from its potential card advantage.

Another angle of approach is to limit the number of meaningful targets in the graveyard. Continuous use of graveyard hate cards or counterspells can prevent your opponent from stockpiling worth in their graveyard to begin with. Lastly, playing with strategies that exploit the opponent’s graveyard, such as reanimation or cloning effects, can turn the tables and use the Greenwarden’s own strength against the opponent’s strategy. Using these tactics, you can effectively dampen the impact of the Greenwarden of Murasa on the game.


BurnMana Recommendations

The Greenwarden of Murasa stands as a beacon of recursion and resourcefulness in the MTG realm. By integrating this elemental warrior into your collection, you unlock a dimension of strategic depth that keeps your plays potent and unpredictable. For those who enjoy engineering a battlefield that thrives on versatility and long-term value, the Greenwarden awaits to bolster your game plan. We encourage you to continue expanding your horizons and harnessing the full potential of your deck with such robust and adaptable cards. Curious about optimizing your deck’s performance and prevailing in your next duel? Join our community and dive deeper into the art of the match with the Greenwarden of Murasa.


Cards like Greenwarden of Murasa

In the world of Magic: The Gathering, Greenwarden of Murasa is a notable figure when it comes to retrieving cards from the graveyard. It mirrors the functionality of Eternal Witness, a much-loved staple in many decks that allows players to recur a card when it enters the battlefield. However, Greenwarden of Murasa takes this a step further by pulling double duty; it can also return a card upon leaving the battlefield. This gives it an edge in terms of value over the single-use Eternal Witness.

Another comparable card is Den Protector. Although it requires a morph cost to trigger its card return ability, it also serves the purpose of recurring useful spells or creatures. Den Protector’s bonus is that it becomes unblockable when turned face up, adding a strategic offensive layer to the card. Both Greenwarden of Murasa and Den Protector share the creature type ‘Human Warrior’, although Greenwarden’s additional elemental subtype and larger body make it a more significant presence on the board.

While these cards all shine in their ability to bring resources back from the graveyard, the sheer volume of value that Greenwarden of Murasa can potentially generate positions it as a potent option in decks that focus on maximizing card advantage and board presence.

Eternal Witness - MTG Card versions
Den Protector - MTG Card versions
Eternal Witness - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Den Protector - Dragons of Tarkir (DTK)

Cards similar to Greenwarden of Murasa by color, type and mana cost

Craw Wurm - MTG Card versions
Gaea's Liege - MTG Card versions
Wiitigo - MTG Card versions
Autumn Willow - MTG Card versions
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Elvish Aberration - MTG Card versions
Seshiro the Anointed - MTG Card versions
Craw Wurm - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Gaea's Liege - Revised Edition (3ED)
Wiitigo - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Autumn Willow - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Ancient Silverback - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Sulam Djinn - Invasion (INV)
Verdeloth the Ancient - Modern Masters (MMA)
Nemata, Grove Guardian - The List (PLST)
Gang of Elk - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Kavu Howler - Apocalypse (APC)
Crashing Centaur - Odyssey (ODY)
Giant Warthog - Judgment (JUD)
Rhox - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Kodama of the East Tree - Commander Legends (CMR)
Terra Stomper - Zendikar (ZEN)
Feral Throwback - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Silvos, Rogue Elemental - Onslaught (ONS)
Brontotherium - Legions (LGN)
Elvish Aberration - Masters 25 (A25)
Seshiro the Anointed - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Greenwarden of Murasa MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar Promos and Battle for Zendikar Promos, 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 Greenwarden of Murasa and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Greenwarden of Murasa Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2022-04-29. Illustrated by Eric Deschamps.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 174s2015normalblackEric Deschamps
22015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 174p2015normalblackEric Deschamps
32015-10-02Battle for ZendikarBFZ 1742015normalblackEric Deschamps
42022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 2942015normalblackEric Deschamps

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Greenwarden of Murasa has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2015-08-25 If the target card becomes illegal before the last ability resolves, it won't resolve. You can't exile Greenwarden of Murasa in that case, even if you want to.
2015-08-25 You decide whether to exile Greenwarden of Murasa as the last ability resolves. Players can respond to this ability triggering, but once it starts resolving and you decide to exile Greenwarden of Murasa, it's too late for anyone to respond.

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