Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant MTG Card
2023-06-23 - Number 131
2023-06-23 - Number 48
2023-06-23 - Number 451
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — Halfling Rogue |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Card draw and additional Treasure tokens offer dual benefits of resource boost and strategic depth.
- Instant speed enables dynamic play, allowing for better planning and surprise moves.
- Despite its advantages, the required discard and specific mana cost may limit versatility.
Text of card
If you would gain life, you gain that much life plus 1 instead. , , Exile Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant: Search your library for any number of creature cards, put them onto the battlefield, then shuffle. Activate only if you have 111 or more life.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Bilbo Birthday Celebrant is a versatile addition to any deck looking to amplify its draw capabilities. This card shines by presenting you with an additional draw, bolstering your hand and giving you better options during your turns, which is critical for outmaneuvering opponents in MTG.
Resource Acceleration: Not only does this unique card provide instant value in terms of card advantage, but it also excels in boosting your resource pool. Upon celebrating another year, Bilbo Birthday Celebrant can generate valuable Treasure tokens, crucial for ramping up your mana resources and enabling a wider range of spells to be cast earlier than usual—a game-changer in many matches.
Instant Speed: The capability to act at instant speed raises the strategic value of Bilbo Birthday Celebrant considerably. This flexibility allows you to optimize your mana usage by keeping options open until just the right moment, whether it’s for deploying defensive maneuvers or springing a surprise attack. Acting at instant speed aligns perfectly with any strategy that requires a keen sense of timing and adaptability on the battlefield.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Bilbo Birthday Celebrant requires a card to be discarded upon casting, which could deplete valuable hand resources and be detrimental in games where maintaining card advantage is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise combination of mana, including red. This could restrict its integration into multicolored decks or those that do not support red mana as efficiently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana cost to cast Bilbo Birthday Celebrant is somewhat steep when weighed against other creatures or spells of similar abilities. This might make it a less favorable choice when constructing a lean and efficient deck strategy.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Bilbo Birthday Celebrant is a worthwhile addition to decks looking to exploit party mechanics or simply seeking a reliable life-gain creature. It easily slots into white-based aggro or midrange decks.
Combo Potential: With Bilbo Birthday Celebrant, players can craft combos around gaining life and triggering effects that benefit from each instance of life gain. It can also serve as a key piece in cleric-themed builds that often revolve around health manipulation.
Meta-Relevance: In a landscape where aggressive red decks or burn strategies are prevalent, having a creature that can consistently bolster your life total is crucial. Bilbo Birthday Celebrant provides just that, aiding in stabilizing the board and keeping your health out of critical range.
How to Beat
Bilbo Birthday Celebrant introduces a unique twist to creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. With abilities that enable you to draw cards and gain life when presenting your opponents with gifts in the form of tokens, it certainly can shift the momentum in a match. Yet, every card has its counters, and Bilbo Birthday Celebrant is no exception.
When facing this jovial card, consider utilizing removal spells that bypass the gifting mechanic. Direct damage spells, such as Shock or Murderous Rider’s Swift End ability, can efficiently remove Bilbo from play without the downside of its triggered ability. Additionally, exile-focused cards like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares can effectively avoid token generation, stripping away the advantage Bilbo could provide to an opponent.
Control strategies also play a crucial role in overcoming Bilbo Birthday Celebrant. Counterspells, while in your hand, serve as an effective deterrent, dissuading opponents from casting Bilbo in the first place. By staying vigilant and keeping mana available for such spells, you can prevent Bilbo from ever entering the battlefield and altering the game state.
BurnMana Recommendations
Bilbo Birthday Celebrant offers a multi-faceted edge to MTG enthusiasts, serving as a catalyst for both card advantage and mana acceleration. Yet, every MTG player knows the importance of balancing a deck’s strengths with its potential weaknesses. Discard requirements and specific mana costs mean strategic deck construction is key. Understanding these dynamics is essential in seizing victory. Embracing Bilbo Birthday Celebrant’s unique abilities could set the stage for your next celebratory win. Curious about integrating this card into your arsenal? Dive deeper with us and unlock strategies to optimize your MTG experience.
Cards like Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant
Bilbo Birthday Celebrant introduces unique dynamics to creature cards within Magic: The Gathering. Comparable to cards like Solemn Simulacrum, which is recognized for its ability to ramp and draw a card upon leaving the battlefield. Bilbo Birthday Celebrant, while not inherently ramping up mana, offers a valuable card draw capability with the potential for setting up plays ahead.
In the same class, we find Runic Armasaur, which delivers card advantage through its ability to draw cards under specific conditions that involve opponents’ actions. Unlike the passive nature of Bilbo Birthday Celebrant’s card draw, which works off an established condition, Runic Armasaur’s ability leans on interactivity and strategic foresight. Then there’s Tireless Tracker, an esteemed card for its investigation mechanic, creating clues that translate to card draw and simultaneous power growth. Bilbo Birthday Celebrant doesn’t offer permanent growth but provides consistent card advantage and a celebratory theme that resonates throughout the game.
Evaluating their capabilities, Bilbo Birthday Celebrant performs admirably among creatures designed to net cards, complementing strategies by enriching your hand while setting a festive tone on the tabletop.
Cards similar to Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant MTG card by a specific set like Tales of Middle-earth Commander and Tales of Middle-earth Commander, 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 Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant 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
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Printings
The Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-06-23 and 2023-06-23. Illustrated by Billy Christian.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023-06-23 | Tales of Middle-earth Commander | LTC | 131 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Billy Christian | |
| 2 | 2023-06-23 | Tales of Middle-earth Commander | LTC | 48 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Billy Christian | |
| 3 | 2023-06-23 | Tales of Middle-earth Commander | LTC | 451 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Billy Christian |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2023-06-16 | Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant's first ability applies just once to each life-gaining event, no matter how much life is gained. If you gain an amount of life "for each" of something or "equal to the number" of something, that life is gained as one event and the ability of Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant applies only once. |
| 2023-06-16 | Each creature with lifelink dealing combat damage causes a separate life-gaining event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant's first ability will apply to those two events separately. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will apply only once. |
| 2023-06-16 | If you somehow control two Bilbo, Birthday Celebrants and you would gain life, you gain that much life plus 2. A third Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant has you gain that much life plus 3, and so on. |
| 2023-06-16 | In a Two-Headed Giant game, life gained by your teammate won't cause Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant's first ability to apply, even though it will cause your team's life total to increase. |