Gerrard Capashen MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Soldier
Power 3
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Gerrard Capashen shines in life gain decks, drawing cards as you amass health for sustained advantage.
  2. Mana acceleration is enhanced with Gerrard, tapping for any color and fueling diverse spellcasting.
  3. Despite its strengths, Gerrard’s higher mana cost and specific requirements may limit deck compatibility.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, you gain 1 life for each card in target opponent's hand. o3o W: Tap target creature. Play this ability only if Gerrard Capashen is attacking.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gerrard Capashen is a well-rounded asset when it comes to gaining the upper hand through card advantage. Each time you gain life, you draw a card, setting the stage to outpace your opponent in resources over the course of the game. This ability is especially potent in decks built around life gain strategies, where it can consistently provide a stream of new options in your hand.

Resource Acceleration: Gerrard’s ability to tap for mana of any color gives your deck a welcome boost in terms of resource acceleration. This kind of flexibility ensures that you can cast a variety of spells more efficiently, mitigating potential mana problems that could hamper your game progress.

Instant Speed: While Gerrard himself doesn’t operate at instant speed, his enduring presence on the battlefield enables you to utilize instant speed spells more effectively. By impacting the board and threatening card advantage with life gain, your opponents must carefully consider their moves, often leaving them vulnerable to your instant speed interactions.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Gerrard Capashen’s abilities may often require you to have other resources to either activate or maximize their effects, which can reduce your hand count adversely impacting your game tempo if not managed carefully.

Specific Mana Cost: This legendary creature’s casting cost demands a specific combination of white and generic mana, which can put constraints on its inclusion in multi-colored decks that may otherwise struggle with mana consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Gerrard’s initial cost is on the higher side, which poses a risk of delaying your board presence, especially when competing against decks that accelerate more rapidly with lower-cost creatures or spells.


Reasons to Include Gerrard Capashen in Your Collection

Versatility: Gerrard Capashen is a classic MTG card that can adapt to a variety of decks. His ability to gain life often and deal damage proportionate to your hand size makes him valuable in longer, grindy matches where resilience is key.

Combo Potential: Gerrard has synergies with strategies that reward you for gaining life or having a large hand size. As such, he can be paired with effects that let you draw additional cards or cards that benefit from life gain, like Aetherflux Reservoir in a Commander format.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that’s heavy with aggressive strategies, Gerrard Capashen can be a roadblock thanks to his ability to pad your life total while chipping away at your opponent’s health. This makes him a solid inclusion against red-deck wins and other fast-paced aggro decks. His defensive presence can help stabilize games as you mount a comeback.


How to beat

The renowned Gerrard Capashen is a figure that can pose quite the challenge on the battlefield. In Magic: The Gathering, this card is known for his ability to not only act as a persistent source of life gain but also to frustrate opponents with his targeted creature control. To navigate around Gerrard’s strengths, players must think strategically.

Removal spells that bypass Gerrard’s protection abilities, such as ‘Diabolic Edict’ which forces a player to sacrifice a creature, can prove effective. Board wipes like ‘Wrath of God’ can also clear Gerrard off the board regardless of his protective measures. Building up card advantage and using indirect damage via spells or abilities that target players instead of creatures can outpace the life gain and provide routes to victory. Additionally, bringing in faster, more aggressive decks that can win before Gerrard’s influence is felt or focusing on non-creature win conditions can also tilt the game in your favor. Understanding how to adapt your strategy against resilient characters like Gerrard is key in mastering Magic: The Gathering.


Cards like Gerrard Capashen

Gerrard Capashen stands out in MTG as a flexible commander whose abilities resonate well with life gain and creature-focused strategies. He bears resemblance to cards like Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice, which also emphasizes life gain but leverages the mechanic to create and bolster a creature army. Gerrard, unlike Trostani, provides card advantage by potentially drawing you a card each turn while influencing the battlefield by deterring attacks with his life-linking ability.

Another card that shares Gerrard’s creature-supportive theme is Captain Sisay. She allows for the tapping ability to search your library for legendary cards, fueling a deck with powerful options. Though not a direct life gain enabler like Gerrard, Sisay’s utility in a legendary deck is substantial. On a comparable note, there is also the famed Ajani Goldmane, whose lifelink-imparting ability and creature boosting synergizes well with Gerrard’s life-focused strategy, though Ajani, as a planeswalker, brings a different set of tactical advantages.

Evaluating Gerrard Capashen in the context of similar MTG cards, it becomes clear that while there are alternatives with overlapping themes, Gerrard’s unique blend of life gain, card draw, and combat deterrence secures his place as a distinctive choice for players crafting decks around life and creatures.

Trostani, Selesnya's Voice - MTG Card versions
Captain Sisay - MTG Card versions
Ajani Goldmane - MTG Card versions
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Captain Sisay - Invasion (INV)
Ajani Goldmane - Lorwyn (LRW)

Cards similar to Gerrard Capashen by color, type and mana cost

Veteran Bodyguard - MTG Card versions
Rashida Scalebane - MTG Card versions
Avenging Angel - MTG Card versions
Lancers en-Kor - MTG Card versions
Radiant, Archangel - MTG Card versions
Karmic Guide - MTG Card versions
Master Healer - MTG Card versions
Angel of Mercy - MTG Card versions
Serra Angel - MTG Card versions
Border Patrol - MTG Card versions
Enduring Angel // Angelic Enforcer - MTG Card versions
Sigardian Savior - MTG Card versions
Glory - MTG Card versions
Celestial Gatekeeper - MTG Card versions
Collector Protector - MTG Card versions
Kiyomaro, First to Stand - MTG Card versions
Belfry Spirit - MTG Card versions
Petra Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Barrenton Medic - MTG Card versions
Ivory Gargoyle - MTG Card versions
Veteran Bodyguard - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Rashida Scalebane - Mirage (MIR)
Avenging Angel - Tempest (TMP)
Lancers en-Kor - Stronghold (STH)
Radiant, Archangel - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Karmic Guide - Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC)
Master Healer - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Angel of Mercy - The List (PLST)
Serra Angel - Dominaria Promos (PDOM)
Border Patrol - Judgment (JUD)
Enduring Angel // Angelic Enforcer - Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID)
Sigardian Savior - Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID)
Glory - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
Celestial Gatekeeper - Legions (LGN)
Collector Protector - Unhinged (UNH)
Kiyomaro, First to Stand - Saviors of Kamigawa Promos (PSOK)
Belfry Spirit - Guildpact (GPT)
Petra Sphinx - Masters Edition (ME1)
Barrenton Medic - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Ivory Gargoyle - Masters Edition II (ME2)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gerrard Capashen MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse and Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the Coalition, 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 Gerrard Capashen and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Gerrard Capashen Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2001-06-04 and 2010-03-19. Illustrated by Brom.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12001-06-04ApocalypseAPC 111997normalblackBrom
22010-03-19Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the CoalitionDDE 462003normalblackBrom

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gerrard Capashen has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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