Thrummingbird MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 11 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Phyrexian Bird Horror
Abilities Flying,Proliferate
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Card advantage is gained via Thrummingbird’s unique proliferate ability, enhancing permanents and ships.
  2. Resource acceleration without extra mana; Thrummingbird ramps up creature and artifact counters efficiently.
  3. Demands attention with instant-speed threats, making opponents use removals quickly to minimize advantage.

Text of card

Flying Whenever Thrummingbird deals combat damage to a player, proliferate. (You choose any number of permanents and/or players with counters on them, then give each another counter of a kind already there.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Thrummingbird contributes to card advantage through its proliferate ability. This can enhance planeswalkers’ loyalty counts or increase the number of counters on your permanents, indirectly granting you more resources and overwhelming board presence.

Resource Acceleration: The ability to proliferate also serves as resource acceleration. By increasing the number of +1/+1 counters on your creatures or even charge counters on artifacts like Everflowing Chalice, Thrummingbird helps you ramp up your resources efficiently without requiring extra mana investment.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, Thrummingbird often prompts opponents to react at instant speed. This can shift the pace of the game, as opponents might be forced to use removal on it swiftly to prevent you from accumulating too much advantage, effectively serving as a threat that demands an immediate answer.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Thrummingbird boasts the ability to proliferate counters on your permanents, it requires a strategic setup on the board to harness its full potential. Without other cards in play that use counters, its prowess is significantly diminished.

Specific Mana Cost: The hybrid mana cost of blue and/or colorless adds flexibility to deck building but still necessitates a commitment to blue mana sources. This requirement might restrict its integration into multicolor decks not focused on blue or proliferate strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Thrummingbird costs two mana, which may appear low, it competes for early game plays with other impactful two-drops. Additionally, its 1/1 body can be relatively easy for opponents to remove before it can begin to propagate its proliferate effect.


Reasons to Include Thrummingbird in Your Collection

Versatility: The appeal of Thrummingbird lies in its ability to adapt to various strategies. Its unique proliferate ability is a fantastic tool for decks focused on counters, be they +1/+1, loyalty, or otherwise, making it a multi-use card for numerous deck builds.

Combo Potential: In the right setup, Thrummingbird can become a powerhouse. Combining it with cards that add counters to any permanent or player can lead to exponential growth and game-swinging combos, from increasing energy reserves to bolstering infect counters.

Meta-Relevance: Its relevance in the current meta cannot be understated. In a game state where evolving threats and flexible responses are crucial, Thrummingbird provides a persistent mechanism for enhancing your board position against a wide array of decks.


How to beat

Thrummingbird is a unique creature card in Magic: The Gathering known for its capability to proliferate, which means it can amplify the number of counters on players’ permanents. Its synergy with cards that benefit from additional counters, such as those with charge, +1/+1, or loyalty abilities, makes it a card that can escalate threats rapidly if left unchecked.

To effectively counteract Thrummingbird’s influence, removal spells are the easiest solution. Any instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Doom Blade can dispatch the bird before it has a chance to spread those extra counters. Playing creatures with reach or flying can also provide a defensive blockade against the Thrummingbird by matching it in the aerial battlefield where it operates.

Additionally, strategic players will negate the benefit Thrummingbird brings to the table by focusing on removing key cards that depend on counters. This approach minimizes the impact even if the Thrummingbird manages to proliferate. Moreover, dampening proliferation’s effectiveness through cards that prevent placing counters or abilities from activating keeps the flying threat at bay.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the mechanics of Thrummingbird and master the art of the proliferate ability. Whether working to increase your planeswalkers’ loyalty, doubling up on +1/+1 counters, or simply outmaneuvering opponents with strategic plays, Thrummingbird is a small creature with big potential for your deck. Learn to maximize this card’s synergy with other counter-dependent cards and outpace your opposition. If you’re looking to amplify your MTG gameplay with nuanced strategies and build dynamic decks around proliferate mechanics, unlock the full potential of Thrummingbird. Join us for in-depth insights and rise to the challenge in your upcoming matches.


Cards like Thrummingbird

Thrummingbird serves as a keystone in proliferate strategies within Magic: The Gathering, similar to other cards that enhance counters on your permanents. Flight of Fancy, for instance, is also a blue card that empowers the board but takes a different route by granting card draw upon entering the battlefield. While Thrummingbird can repeatedly bolster the number of counters, Flight of Fancy provides a one-time advantage.

Analogous capabilities can be found in Viral Drake, another card that proliferates. However, Viral Drake distinguishes itself with its Infect ability, transforming the distribution of counters into a potential win condition. Still, it demands a higher mana investment in comparison to Thrummingbird’s cost-efficient profile. Grateful Apparition is another creature with a recurring proliferate trigger, echoing the Thrummingbird’s intent, albeit without flying over blockers.

In analyzing these cards, Thrummingbird’s blend of low cost and efficient proliferate mechanic provides it with a unique standing. It’s a useful creature that can steadily tip the battlefield in your favor, a testament to its enduring popularity in decks that rely on counter manipulation.

Flight of Fancy - MTG Card versions
Viral Drake - MTG Card versions
Grateful Apparition - MTG Card versions
Flight of Fancy - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Viral Drake - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Grateful Apparition - War of the Spark (WAR)

Cards similar to Thrummingbird by color, type and mana cost

Vodalian Soldiers - MTG Card versions
Zephyr Falcon - MTG Card versions
Giant Albatross - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Sphere - MTG Card versions
Skyshroud Condor - MTG Card versions
School of Piranha - MTG Card versions
Coral Merfolk - MTG Card versions
Wu Light Cavalry - MTG Card versions
Sea Eagle - MTG Card versions
Overtaker - MTG Card versions
Hazy Homunculus - MTG Card versions
Darting Merfolk - MTG Card versions
Thought Eater - MTG Card versions
Spellstutter Sprite - MTG Card versions
Sneaky Homunculus - MTG Card versions
Coral Eel - MTG Card versions
Storm Crow - MTG Card versions
Aquamoeba - MTG Card versions
Soratami Cloudskater - MTG Card versions
Minamo Sightbender - MTG Card versions
Vodalian Soldiers - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Zephyr Falcon - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Giant Albatross - Homelands (HML)
Phantasmal Sphere - Alliances (ALL)
Skyshroud Condor - Tempest (TMP)
School of Piranha - Exodus (EXO)
Coral Merfolk - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Wu Light Cavalry - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Sea Eagle - Starter 1999 (S99)
Overtaker - Mercadian Masques Promos (PMMQ)
Hazy Homunculus - Prophecy (PCY)
Darting Merfolk - World Championship Decks 2001 (WC01)
Thought Eater - Odyssey (ODY)
Spellstutter Sprite - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Sneaky Homunculus - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Coral Eel - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Storm Crow - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Aquamoeba - World Championship Decks 2003 (WC03)
Soratami Cloudskater - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Minamo Sightbender - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Thrummingbird MTG card by a specific set like Scars of Mirrodin and Modern Masters 2015, 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 Thrummingbird and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Thrummingbird Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2010-10-01 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12010-10-01Scars of MirrodinSOM 472003normalblackEfrem Palacios
22015-05-22Modern Masters 2015MM2 652015normalblackEfrem Palacios
32016-11-11Commander 2016C16 1002015normalblackEfrem Palacios
42018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 522015normalblackEfrem Palacios
52019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 5232015normalblackEfrem Palacios
62020-09-26The ListPLST CM2-522015normalblackEfrem Palacios
72022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 2362015normalblackEfrem Palacios
82023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be OneONE 4322015normalblackFlavio Girón
92023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be OneONE 2882015normalblackFlavio Girón
102023-02-03Phyrexia: All Will Be OneONE 722015normalblackJosé Parodi
112023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 8582015normalblackEfrem Palacios

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Thrummingbird has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
AlchemyLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2023-02-04 An ability that triggers "Whenever you proliferate" triggers even if you chose no permanents or players while doing so.
2023-02-04 If a permanent ever has both +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters on it at the same time, they're removed in pairs as a state-based action so that the permanent has only one of those kinds of counters on it.
2023-02-04 If a player or permanent has more than one kind of counter on it, and you choose for it to get additional counters, it must get one of each kind of counter it already has. You can't have it get just one kind of counter it already has and not the others.
2023-02-04 Players can respond to a spell or ability whose effect includes proliferating. Once that spell or ability starts to resolve, however, and its controller chooses which permanents and players will get new counters, it's too late for anyone to respond.
2023-02-04 To proliferate, you can choose any permanent that has a counter, including ones controlled by opponents. You can choose any player who has a counter, including opponents. You can't choose cards in any zone other than the battlefield, even if they have counters on them.
2023-02-04 You don't have to choose every permanent or player that has a counter, only the ones you want to add another counter to. Since "any number" includes zero, you don't have to choose any permanents at all, and you don't have to choose any players at all.

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