Skylasher MTG Card


Skylasher - Dragon's Maze
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Insect
Abilities Protection,Reach, Flash
Released2013-05-03
Set symbol
Set nameDragon's Maze
Set codeDGM
Power 2
Toughness 2
Number49
Frame2003
Layoutnormal
Borderblack
Illustred byDan Scott

Key Takeaways

  1. Skylasher disrupts blue-centric strategies by being uncounterable and rendering blue spells less effective.
  2. Its flash ability offers strategic flexibility, allowing for surprise plays and efficient resource management.
  3. Despite its strengths, Skylasher requires savvy hand and mana base decisions to maximize its potential.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash Skylasher can't be countered. Reach, protection from blue

"It preys on those who would spy on our lands, so we never prey on it." —Kroshkar, Gruul shaman


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Skylasher presents a nuanced form of card advantage. It’s not about drawing cards but rather rendering opponents’ blue instants and creatures less effective. This can lead to an indirect card advantage as opponents may find their cards less useful against Skylasher, potentially leaving them with dead cards in hand while you apply pressure with an uncounterable threat.

Resource Acceleration: While Skylasher doesn’t ramp your mana in the traditional sense, its low cost provides a resource advantage. For only two mana – one green, one generic – you get a creature that can immediately impact the board. This efficient cost-to-effect ratio allows you to deploy other threats or hold mana for interaction, maximizing your resource efficiency each turn.

Instant Speed: Skylasher’s flash ability bestows it with the versatility of being played at instant speed, catching opponents off-guard. This can disrupt their strategy, especially when they play a blue creature that Skylasher can block due to its reach ability. The potential to surprise an opponent with a flash creature can lead to favorable combat exchanges or disrupt their end-of-turn plans, giving you a strategic edge.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Skylasher compels players to carefully consider hand management, as it necessitates the retention of specific cards to counteract flying threats, potentially leading to a challenging discard decision in tight scenarios.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both green mana can constrict the card’s adaptability, predominantly tethering it to green-centric or two-color decks that can reliably meet the mana prerequisites.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While Skylasher’s unique abilities justify its cost to some extent, in the fast-paced environment of competitive play, the two-mana investment might be seen as less efficient, particularly when mana could be allocated to broader impacting spells or creatures.


Reasons to Include Skylasher in Your Collection

Versatility: Skylasher is an adaptable card that fits snugly into green decks aiming to counter blue-heavy strategies. Its ability to be uncounterable and have reach allows it to stand up against flying creatures while remaining safely on the board.

Combo Potential: When paired with cards that benefit from creatures with hexproof or those that need to bolster the number of insects or beasts in play, Skylasher shines. Its flash ability also enables surprise defenses and unexpected combat tricks during your opponent’s turn.

Meta-Relevance: In environments dominated by blue spells or flying creatures, Skylasher is a strong meta choice. Its swift versatility offers a substantial edge, especially in sideboarded games, making it an essential consideration for players looking to strengthen their green decks against common blue threats.


How to beat

Skylasher is a nifty creature card in Magic: The Gathering that can pose quite a challenge due to its reach ability, letting it block flying creatures, and its protection from blue, making it invulnerable to blue spells and effects. This particular set of skills makes Skylasher a formidable foe against decks with a heavy blue component, especially those relying on flying creatures for defense or offense.

To effectively counter Skylasher, it’s wise to consider using cards or strategies that don’t rely on targeting or that can bypass its protective characteristics. Area of effect removal like Wrath of God, which doesn’t target individual creatures or depend on color, can be particularly effective. Moreover, creature abilities that don’t target, such as those granted by Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, can reduce Skylasher’s toughness to zero, effectively removing it from play without engaging in direct confrontation.

Ultimately, the key to surpassing the challenge of Skylasher lies in adapting your strategy to include versatile removal options or strategies that can circumvent its defenses. This planning not only prepares you for a single card like Skylasher but also enhances your deck’s resilience against a broader range of threats.


Cards like Skylasher

The Skylasher card offers a unique place in Magic: The Gathering’s array of creature cards. Known for its ability to stand against blue-flyers, this creature garners comparison with the likes of Deadly Recluse. Both share reach capabilities, allowing them to block creatures with flying. However, Skylasher’s inherent protection from blue and the capacity to be uncounterable specifically tailors it as a strong defense in matches against blue-centric decks.

Gutter Skulk is another creature that often comes up in discussions about two-mana creature slots. While it doesn’t have Skylasher’s specialized skills against blue, it provides a reliable early game presence with no color restrictions. The value of each card is nuanced and dependent on the deck’s strategy. Another parallel is drawn with Scryb Ranger. This card offers protection from blue as well and has flash like Skylasher, but it also boasts versatility with its return a forest ability, granting additional utility.

Analyzing these options reveals Skylasher as a specialized tool for certain encounters, making it an important consideration for players crafting sideboards or main decks with a plan against blue-focused opponents in Magic: The Gathering.

Deadly Recluse - MTG Card versions
Gutter Skulk - MTG Card versions
Scryb Ranger - MTG Card versions
Deadly Recluse - Magic 2010 (M10)
Gutter Skulk - Gatecrash (GTC)
Scryb Ranger - Time Spiral (TSP)

Cards similar to Skylasher by color, type and mana cost

Wyluli Wolf - MTG Card versions
Whirling Dervish - MTG Card versions
Grizzly Bears - MTG Card versions
River Boa - MTG Card versions
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves - MTG Card versions
Albino Troll - MTG Card versions
Silverglade Pathfinder - MTG Card versions
Priest of Titania - MTG Card versions
Quirion Elves - MTG Card versions
Blurred Mongoose - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Loamspeaker - MTG Card versions
Genesis Hydra - MTG Card versions
Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse - MTG Card versions
Scavenging Ooze - MTG Card versions
Heir of the Wilds - MTG Card versions
Mayor of Avabruck // Howlpack Alpha - MTG Card versions
Wren's Run Vanquisher - MTG Card versions
Muscle Sliver - MTG Card versions
Utopia Tree - MTG Card versions
Bloodline Shaman - MTG Card versions
Wyluli Wolf - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Whirling Dervish - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
Grizzly Bears - Seventh Edition (7ED)
River Boa - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves - Tempest (TMP)
Albino Troll - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Silverglade Pathfinder - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Priest of Titania - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Quirion Elves - Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the Coalition (DDE)
Blurred Mongoose - Invasion (INV)
Llanowar Loamspeaker - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Genesis Hydra - Iconic Masters (IMA)
Jolrael, Mwonvuli Recluse - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Scavenging Ooze - Modern Masters 2017 (MM3)
Heir of the Wilds - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Mayor of Avabruck // Howlpack Alpha - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Wren's Run Vanquisher - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Muscle Sliver - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Utopia Tree - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Bloodline Shaman - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Skylasher MTG card by a specific set like Dragon's Maze, 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 Skylasher and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Skylasher has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

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