Flayer of the Hatebound MTG Card

Flayer of the Hatebound - Dark Ascension (DKA)

Dark Ascension (DKA)
2012-02-03 - Number 89

Flayer of the Hatebound - Commander 2019 (C19)

Commander 2019 (C19)
2019-08-23 - Number 144

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Devil
Abilities	Undying
Power	4
Toughness	2

Key Takeaways

Its undying ability provides repeated use and board impact, maintaining pressure on opponents through recursion.
Combos with instant-speed reanimation spells can surprise opponents, effectively exploiting its triggered damage ability.
Despite its power, challenges include requiring a stocked graveyard and a specific mana cost for optimal play.

Text of card

Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.) Whenever Flayer of the Hatebound or another creature enters the battlefield from your graveyard, that creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature or player.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: With its undying ability, Flayer of the Hatebound gains a significant edge by returning to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter after death. This essentially gives you two uses of the same card, enabling you to maintain card presence and apply pressure on your opponent.

Resource Acceleration: Although this card isn’t directly a source of resource acceleration, it can indirectly speed up your victory. The triggered ability to deal damage equal to its power to any target when it or another creature enters the battlefield from your graveyard can be a form of finishing acceleration, closing games quickly when combined with other graveyard synergistic strategies.

Instant Speed: Flayer of the Hatebound may not operate at instant speed itself, but its triggered ability works whenever creatures return from your graveyard to the battlefield. This means it has synergy with instant-speed reanimation spells, making it a potential surprise factor during either player’s turn and creating advantageous situations that can disrupt your opponent’s strategies.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Flayer of the Hatebound requires creatures to be discarded from the graveyard to unleash its potential. This can be challenging when the graveyard is not well-stocked or if the strategy does not consistently fill the graveyard with creatures.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature demands an exact mana combination to cast—three generic and three red—which could restrict its integration in multicolored decks that do not heavily favor red mana sources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, Flayer of the Hatebound comes into play rather late in the game. Other cards with a lower mana cost may provide more immediate board presence or effects that influence the game state earlier on.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Flayer of the Hatebound offers a unique dynamic to decks revolving around graveyard strategies. Its ability can be harnessed in various archetypes, including re-animator or Rakdos aggro builds, allowing it to serve multiple roles.

Combo Potential: With its undying mechanic, the card has intrinsic synergy with sacrifice and recursion combos. This enables repeated use of its damage-dealing ability, making it a formidable piece in any combo-centered strategy.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta with frequent creature exchanges and graveyard interaction, Flayer of the Hatebound becomes increasingly valuable. Its ability to inflict damage upon re-entry to the battlefield keeps it relevant and threatening in diverse game situations.

How to Beat Flayer of the Hatebound

Flayer of the Hatebound is a card that turns death into a tool of destruction in Magic: The Gathering. It taps into the graveyard, making each creature’s return a painful event for your opponent due to its ability to deal damage equal to the returned creature’s power.

Navigating around Flayer of the Hatebound requires patience and strategy. Keeping it out of play is essential. Counter spells are your friend here, preventing this potent creature from hitting the board in the first place. Graveyard hate cards such as Relic of Progenitus or Scavenging Ooze can disrupt the recursion synergy that Flayer thrives on by either exiling it or pruning the graveyard it relies upon.

Spot removal also shines in this matchup, allowing you to deal with it the moment it becomes a threat. Cards like Murder or Go for the Throat are efficient ways to remove Flayer from the battlefield. In essence, maintaining graveyard control and being responsive with removals defuses the explosive impact that Flayer of the Hatebound can have in a game.

BurnMana Recommendations

Exploring the intricate world of MTG is a continuous quest for powerful interactions and deck optimization. Flayer of the Hatebound exemplifies a card with robust synergies in graveyard-centric decks. Whether you’re seeking to enhance an existing strategy or build a new deck around its undying potential, incorporating Flayer of the Hatebound could lead to an exhilarating level of gameplay. To harness such dynamic abilities to their fullest, understanding the card’s strengths, limitations, and how it interacts with others in the MTG landscape is crucial. Deepen your knowledge and expand your collection by considering the impact that Flayer of the Hatebound could have on your MTG battles.

Cards like Flayer of the Hatebound

Flayer of the Hatebound is a unique creature in the MTG realm, casting an ominous shadow over the battlefield with its undying ability. Much like the renowned Rekindling Phoenix, it boasts a way to return from the graveyard, albeit with a twist. While the Phoenix rises anew with only its own might, the Flayer returns and exacts revenge by dealing damage to any target proportional to its power.

Another peer in the undying corner is Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, which also allows creatures to return once from the graveyard, and even grants them an extra toughness. However, unlike the Flayer, Mikaeus doesn’t deal direct damage but rather gives a global boost and Intimidate to other non-Human creatures. Geralf’s Messenger and Pyreheart Wolf are other cards that share the undying ability. Messenger presents as a recurring threat that chips away at an opponent’s life total directly, while Pyreheart Wolf’s undying ensures a lasting presence that makes blocking a challenge for the opposition.

Each card offers its own strategy, yet Flayer of the Hatebound still stands out among its peers for its damage-dealing prowess upon reanimation, making it a fearsome card for opponents to face in any MTG match-up.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Flayer of the Hatebound MTG card by a specific set like Dark Ascension and Commander 2019, 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 Flayer of the Hatebound and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Flayer of the Hatebound Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2012-02-03 and 2019-08-23. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2012-02-03	Dark Ascension	DKA		89	2003	Normal	Black	Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss
2	2019-08-23	Commander 2019	C19		144	2015	Normal	Black	Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Flayer of the Hatebound has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Flayer of the Hatebound 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	Flayer of the Hatebound is the source of the ability, but it may be another creature that is the source of the damage. If a black creature enters the battlefield from your graveyard, the ability could target a creature with protection from black, although the damage will be prevented. It couldn’t target a creature with protection from red.
2011-01-22	Flayer of the Hatebound’s last ability will trigger even if a creature enters the battlefield from your graveyard under another player’s control.
2011-01-22	If you cast a creature card from your graveyard, that card will be put on the stack before entering the battlefield. Flayer of the Hatebound won’t trigger.
2011-01-22	Since damage is dealt by the creature, abilities like lifelink and deathtouch are taken into account, even if the creature has left the battlefield by the time it deals damage.
2011-01-22	The creature that entered the battlefield from your graveyard deals damage equal to its current power (including any +1/+1 counters it entered the battlefield with) to the target permanent or player. If it’s no longer on the battlefield when the ability resolves, its last known existence on the battlefield is checked to determine its power.