Heckling Fiends MTG Card
2012-02-03 - Number 92
2014-06-06 - Number 145
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Devil |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- It can indirectly lead to card advantage by disrupting opponent strategies during combat.
- The ability to use Heckling Fiends at instant speed provides significant tactical flexibility.
- Despite its potential, the card’s requirement to discard for activation could be a setback.
Text of card
: Target creature attacks this turn if able.
Their language may be a cacophonous agglomeration of chittering snorts and mad barking, but the message they send is all too clear.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Heckling Fiends may not directly allow you to draw cards, it can disrupt your opponent’s strategy by forcing less advantageous attacks, which indirectly could lead to gaining card advantage as your opponent loses valuable creatures or is compelled to use up their hand to deal with the unexpected aggression.
Resource Acceleration: Heckling Fiends does not provide traditional mana acceleration, but its ability to potentially clear the board of blockers by forcing enemy creatures to attack may accelerate your resource advantage by allowing your own creatures to press attacks more effectively and safely.
Instant Speed: The ability to activate Heckling Fiends at instant speed gives it strategic flexibility, enabling you to wait until the most opportune moment during combat or your opponent’s turn to disrupt blocking or attack plans, effectively making it a handy tool for controlling the pace of the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of Heckling Fiends is the necessity to discard a card to activate its ability. This can be particularly challenging when hand size is an issue, and you’re tasked with choosing between maintaining card advantage or utilizing the creature’s ability.
Specific Mana Cost: Heckling Fiends comes with a mana cost that’s exclusively red. This specificity can be restrictive, making it difficult to squeeze into multi-color decks that may not have the mana consistency to reliably cast it.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two red, Heckling Fiends can feel expensive for its power level and effect. In a competitive environment where efficiency is key, there are options for creature control at a lower cost, making Heckling Fiends less favorable in optimized decks.
Reasons to Include Heckling Fiends in Your Collection
Versatility: Heckling Fiends finds its place in aggressive strategies, enabling players to force unfavorable blocks or disrupt opponent’s defenses by engaging potential blockers. This level of control can swing games in your favor.
Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with effects that punish tapping or destroying creatures your opponents control. Combine it with cards that deal damage when a creature becomes tapped for a board-control and damage-dealing synergy.
Meta-Relevance: Heckling Fiends may offer a strategic edge in a meta filled with creature heavy decks. In such environments, the ability to dictate combat can shift the tides, breaking stalemates and pressuring life totals.
How to beat
Heckling Fiends is a lesser known but tricky card that can force opponent’s creatures to attack each turn if able. Facing this red card requires a strategy different from dealing with direct damage or large creatures. To effectively counter this tactic, players can focus on summoning creatures with defensive abilities such as vigilance or hexproof. Having creatures that don’t suffer from attacking or benefit from it, like those with the renowned or battalion abilities, can minimize the downside of Heckling Fiends’ effect.
It’s also useful to consider removal spells that can take Heckling Fiends off the board without having to engage in combat. Direct creature removal spells or those that temporarily neutralize opponents’ creatures become your assets. Additionally, playing with instant-speed spells that can respond to the Fiends’ activation adds an element of surprise that can disrupt the opponent’s plan. By having a responsive deck, you turn the tables, using the Fiends’ coercion ability to your advantage.
Overall, while Heckling Fiends brings a level of nuisance, incorporating flexible defense and removal options helps ensure that it doesn’t derail your winning strategy. Keeping a cool head and maintaining cards that offer both aggression and protection are the keys to outperforming the chaos Heckling Fiends attempts to create.
Cards like Heckling Fiends
Exploring the unique mechanics of creatures in Magic: The Gathering invariably leads us to a curious comparison when examining Heckling Fiends. This card, evocative of mischievous disruption, echoes the functionality found in other threat-forcing cards. Notably, cards like Goblin Diplomats and Nettling Imp present a similar ability to force opponents’ creatures to attack. While Goblin Diplomats requires no mana investment to activate its ability each turn, it does not offer the same direct control aspect that Heckling Fiends provides with its targeted activation.
Additionally, Courtly Provocateur stands as a sophisticated alternative, offering not only the ability to incite creatures to attack but even dictate their targets. However, Heckling Fiends demands less strategic positioning, granting it an edge in straightforward, aggressive strategies.
While creatures like Goblin Diplomats and Courtly Provocateur have their advantages, Heckling Fiends embodies a more controlled form of chaos, enabling strategic players to dictate the course of combat and force unfavorable attacks. This level of influence, harnessed with care, can prove to be incredibly potent, making Heckling Fiends a standout in its niche.
Cards similar to Heckling Fiends by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Heckling Fiends MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension and Conspiracy, 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 Heckling Fiends 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
See MTG Products
Printings
The Heckling Fiends Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2012-02-03 and 2014-06-06. Illustrated by Clint Cearley.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012-02-03 | Dark Ascension | DKA | 92 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Clint Cearley | |
| 2 | 2014-06-06 | Conspiracy | CNS | 145 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Clint Cearley |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Heckling Fiends has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Heckling Fiends card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2011-01-22 | If, during a player’s declare attackers step, a creature is tapped, is affected by a spell or ability that says it can’t attack, or hasn’t been under that player’s control continuously since the turn began (and doesn’t have haste), then it doesn’t attack. If there’s a cost associated with having a creature attack, the player isn’t forced to pay that cost, so it doesn’t have to attack in that case either. |
| 2011-01-22 | The creature’s controller still decides which player or planeswalker the creature attacks. |
