Creakwood Ghoul MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Plant Zombie |
| Released | 2008-07-25 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Eventide |
| Set code | EVE |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Number | 34 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Thomas M. Baxa |
Text of card
{BG}{BG}: Remove target card in a graveyard from the game. You gain 1 life.
Some eat the living. Some eat the dead. It eats the past.
Cards like Creakwood Ghoul
In the realm of sacrifice and graveyard interactions within Magic: The Gathering, Creakwood Ghoul finds interesting company. Its closest relatives come with varied abilities that synergize with death and decay. Golgari Thug, for instance, has a self-recursion ability that differs from Creakwood Ghoul. While the Ghoul allows for graveyard-to-hand recycling of other creature cards, Golgari Thug dredges itself back to the hand, proving useful in decks that capitalize on filling the graveyard.
Then there’s Stinkweed Imp, known for its dredge 5 ability, significantly filling the graveyard, a strategic aim that can also benefit Creakwood Ghoul’s ability to retrieve creatures. Compared to Creakwood, the Imp doesn’t directly return creatures but indirectly helps recover them by stocking the graveyard. On another note, Desecrator Hag offers a different angle. This card returns up to two target creature cards from a graveyard to your hand. Unlike Creakwood Ghoul that requires a creature to be sacrificed, Desecrator Hag’s ability comes into play upon entering the battlefield, presenting an alternative for reanimation strategies.
Each of these cards plays a unique role within MTG’s ecosystem of graveyard-utilizing creatures, and Creakwood Ghoul provides a distinct option for those looking to leverage the death of creatures to fuel their hand and gameplay.
Cards similar to Creakwood Ghoul by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Creakwood Ghoul provides consistent card advantage as it enables repeated graveyard milling, which can prove advantageous in graveyard-centric decks. This ability helps to populate your graveyard for various strategies, potentially setting you up for future plays that require a stocked graveyard.
Resource Acceleration: By fueling your graveyard with creatures, Creakwood Ghoul sets the stage for reanimation tactics or other abilities that rely on a high creature count in the graveyard, acting as a form of indirect resource acceleration that can be essential in the later stages of a game.
Instant Speed Interactions: Although Creakwood Ghoul itself is not an instant, it can be synergized with instant speed spells that interact with the graveyard, allowing you to adapt to the flow of the game and surprise your opponents with unexpected plays.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Creakwood Ghoul forces you to discard a creature card to trigger its ability. In situations where your hand is already depleted or you’re unwilling to part with key creatures, this cost can be a significant drawback, hampering your strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: The card’s mana requirement includes both black and green, which may restrict its playability to decks that are able to consistently provide both types of mana. Players running mono-color decks or ones without a strong mana base may find it difficult to cast Creakwood Ghoul.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The casting cost of four mana, particularly in a deck focused on speed or efficiency, can be burdensome. When considering the payoff, this cost places Creakwood Ghoul in competition with other four-mana creatures or spells that may offer immediate or more impactful board presence advantages.
Reasons to Include Creakwood Ghoul in Your Collection
Versatility: Creakwood Ghoul isn’t confined to a single deck archetype. Its card ability to eat away graveyard contents for life gain makes it a flexible addition, especially in formats where graveyard strategies are prominent.
Combo Potential: This creature synergizes well with self-mill or discard tactics, allowing you to gain life while impeding opponents’ graveyard-based plays. It’s a card that can set up or support various combo chains, enriching your strategic depth.
Meta-Relevance: As the metagame evolves, the importance of graveyard interaction fluctuates. Creakwood Ghoul offers insurance against decks that rely on graveyard resources and can adapt as the meta shifts, ensuring it remains a valuable asset.
How to beat
Creakwood Ghoul brings a unique dynamic to the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering with its ability to consume graveyard fodder for player sustenance. Its presence necessitates a strategic approach to ensure it doesn’t overshadow your game plan. Effective measures include leveraging graveyard hate cards such as Tormod’s Crypt or Leyline of the Void, which can hamper the Ghoul’s feeding ability by removing creatures from all graveyards, thus negating any potential life gain or creature growth.
Another efficient tactic is to deploy removal spells swiftly. Cards like Path to Exile or Murderous Rider can exile or destroy Creakwood Ghoul before it accrues too much value. Additionally, playing around its activated ability by minimizing the number of creatures that hit the graveyard can curb its influence on the match. In essence, handling Creakwood Ghoul is about anticipating graveyard interactions and keeping it in check with well-timed removal or graveyard manipulation.
Ultimately, while Creakwood Ghoul can be a formidable foe in MTG, a player who is prepared and understands the mechanics surrounding graveyard synergy can efficiently minimize the threat it poses and maintain control over the game state.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Creakwood Ghoul MTG card by a specific set like Eventide, 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 Creakwood Ghoul and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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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Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Creakwood Ghoul has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Creakwood Ghoul card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-08-01 | If the targeted card is removed from the graveyard before the ability resolves, the entire ability doesn’t resolve. You won’t gain 1 life. |