Thunderfoot Baloth MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Beast
Abilities Lieutenant,Trample
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Thunderfoot Baloth provides game-changing card advantage by simultaneously empowering your battlefield creatures.
  2. The Baloth accelerates your win condition, using its stats to hasten victories and save time.
  3. Instantly affecting board states, it compels opponents to stay prepared for quick power shifts.

Text of card

Trample Lieutenant — As long as you control your commander, Thunderfoot Baloth gets +2/+2 and other creatures you control get +2/+2 and have trample.

If you hear it, it's too late.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Thunderfoot Baloth joins the battlefield, its formidable presence can tip the scales in your favor. Its ability to boost your entire team provides a substantial card advantage by negating the need for multiple enhancements—every creature you control benefits simultaneously, paving the way for a more consolidated and powerful strategy.

Resource Acceleration: Alongside a lieutenant you can trust, Thunderfoot Baloth accelerates your resources through sheer board presence. The boost in power and toughness to your creatures can lead to quicker victories, effectively granting you the most valuable resource in MTG: time. By hastening your game plan, the Baloth ensures that every turn your creatures remain on the field, they contribute to a faster, more forceful offense.

Instant Speed: While not at instant speed itself, Thunderfoot Baloth earns its place in many decks for its ability to instantly change the board state upon landing. In multi-player formats or games where you can flash creatures in, the impact of its arrival is immediate and can catch opponents off guard if they’re unprepared for the sudden shift in power dynamics. The Baloth’s mere existence encourages strategic plays that might involve surprising opponents at a moment’s notice.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Thunderfoot Baloth doesn’t outright ask you to discard cards, its synergies might push you towards deck variants where discarding becomes part of the strategy, potentially draining your hand when you least expect it.

Specific Mana Cost: With its commitment to green mana in its casting cost, Thunderfoot Baloth demands a heavily green-oriented mana base. This can be restrictive and may not align well with multicolor decks seeking to minimize mana inconsistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing a total of six mana to deploy, Thunderfoot Baloth is on the higher end of the mana curve. In environments where speed is crucial, its late-game arrival could be an issue as faster-paced adversaries might have already established a dominant position on the battlefield.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Thunderfoot Baloth is a solid addition to decks that leverage powerful creatures. With its Trample ability and the bonus it gives to other creatures when you have a commander, it can find a home in various Commander decks, especially those built around big creatures and attack strategies.

Combo Potential: This card synergizes well with effects that care about creature size or combat damage. In a board state with multiple creatures, Thunderfoot Baloth elevates your whole team, making it easier to overwhelm your opponents with potent attacks each turn.

Meta-Relevance: With creature-based strategies often prominent in many local game shops and Commander metas, the Thunderfoot Baloth can significantly impact games. It’s most valuable in formats where buffing your entire lineup of creatures can turn the tides, establishing a strong presence on the battlefield.


How to beat

Crafting a strategy to overcome Thunderfoot Baloth can be quite the intriguing challenge for many MTG players. This formidable beast makes its presence felt with an ability that provides a significant boost to creatures you control as long as you have a creature with power 4 or greater. The key to countering this lies within timing and the right removal spells. Direct damage spells like Lightning Strike or Doom Blade can be highly effective before your opponent reaches the threshold to activate Thunderfoot Baloth’s formidable trigger.

Board control is another critical factor to consider. Wraths like Supreme Verdict or Damnation can reset the board, eliminating the Baloth and its lieutenants in one fell swoop, regardless of any power boosts they might have accumulated. Enchantment-based removals, such as Pacifism or the broader Detention Sphere, provide alternative solutions to neutralize it without triggering any possible death effects it might have.

Ultimately, your aim is to prevent the Thunderfoot Baloth from leveraging its potential. Whether it’s swaying the battlefield in your favor with clever removals or stalling until you can turn the tide, understanding the Baloth’s strengths and weaknesses will no doubt pave your way to victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

If Thunderfoot Baloth piques your interest, delving deeper into its strategic potential could markedly enhance your gameplay. This green behemoth offers a powerful edge in creature-based strategies, particularly within the Commander format. As you adjust your deck to accommodate its ability to empower your creatures, consider the synergy with other card abilities and the need for a commander presence. Exploring similar cards provides insights into crafting a formidable deck. Allow us to guide your journey through the MTG landscape as you harness the raw power of the Thunderfoot Baloth to reign supreme on the battlefield. Discover more tips and strategies with us.


Cards like Thunderfoot Baloth

Thunderfoot Baloth stands tall among the heavy hitters in MTG’s creature card pool. It finds company with behemoths like Craterhoof Behemoth, a titan that not only boosts your creatures but can also be a game-ending threat due to its trample and power increase based on the number of creatures you control. Thunderfoot Baloth similarly grants trample, but its Lieutenant ability to bolster your creatures’ strength is dependent on having your commander on the field.

Another card that players might stack against Thunderfoot Baloth is End-Raze Forerunners. This creature spells trouble for opponents by providing an immediate surge to your board with vigor, trample, and haste, imposing an undeniable presence. Despite being formidable, End-Raze Forerunners doesn’t offer the continued boost to your creatures’ stats that Thunderfoot Baloth ensures as long as your commander is in play.

Navigating through these Goliaths of the game, Thunderfoot Baloth carves out its niche. With its static ability to empower your team turn after turn under the right conditions, it’s a commanding presence that can often sway the battlefield in your favor, especially in formats where your commander is a cornerstone of your strategy.

Craterhoof Behemoth - MTG Card versions
End-Raze Forerunners - MTG Card versions
Craterhoof Behemoth - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
End-Raze Forerunners - Resale Promos (PRES)

Cards similar to Thunderfoot Baloth 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
Ancient Silverback - MTG Card versions
Sulam Djinn - MTG Card versions
Verdeloth the Ancient - MTG Card versions
Nemata, Grove Guardian - MTG Card versions
Gang of Elk - MTG Card versions
Kavu Howler - MTG Card versions
Crashing Centaur - MTG Card versions
Giant Warthog - MTG Card versions
Rhox - MTG Card versions
Kodama of the East Tree - MTG Card versions
Terra Stomper - MTG Card versions
Feral Throwback - MTG Card versions
Brontotherium - MTG Card versions
Elvish Aberration - MTG Card versions
Force of Nature - MTG Card versions
Fangren Pathcutter - 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)
Brontotherium - Legions (LGN)
Elvish Aberration - Masters 25 (A25)
Force of Nature - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Fangren Pathcutter - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Thunderfoot Baloth MTG card by a specific set like Commander 2014 and Commander 2016, 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 Thunderfoot Baloth and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Thunderfoot Baloth Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2014-11-07 and 2022-04-29. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12014-11-07Commander 2014C14 492015normalblackMarco Nelor
22016-11-11Commander 2016C16 1722015normalblackMarco Nelor
32017-06-09Commander AnthologyCMA 1552015normalblackMarco Nelor
42022-04-29New Capenna CommanderNCC 3172015normalblackNicholas Gregory

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Thunderfoot Baloth has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2014-11-07 If a triggered ability granted by a lieutenant ability triggers, and in response to that trigger you lose control of your commander (causing the lieutenant to lose that ability), that triggered ability will still resolve.
2014-11-07 If you gain control of a creature with a lieutenant ability owned by another player, that ability will check to see if you control your commander and will apply if you do. It won't check whether its owner controls their commander.
2014-11-07 If you lose control of your commander, lieutenant abilities of creatures you control will immediately stop applying. If this causes a creature's toughness to become less than or equal to the amount of damage marked on it, the creature will be destroyed.
2014-11-07 Lieutenant abilities apply only if your commander is on the battlefield and under your control.
2014-11-07 Lieutenant abilities refer only to whether you control your commander, not any other player's commander.

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