Scourge Devil MTG Card
2008-10-03 - Number 113
2013-03-15 - Number 55
2014-09-05 - Number 18
2017-03-17 - Number 111
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Devil |
| Abilities | Unearth |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Provides a combat boost across the board, significantly swinging the power balance in your favor.
- Unearth triggers unexpected plays, adding flexibility and surprise to your offensive strategy.
- Demands thoughtful play, as misuse can deplete resources or misalign with some deck strategies.
Text of card
When Scourge Devil comes into play, creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn. Unearth (: Return this card from your graveyard to play. It gains haste. Remove it from the game at end of turn or if it would leave play. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When unleashed, Scourge Devil provides the valuable benefit of bolstering your entire squad, potentially leading to a devastating attack that can overwhelm your opponent. This surge in combat strength might even translate into multiple card removal if your boosted creatures dispose of several of the opponent’s blockers or overwhelm their defenses.
Resource Acceleration: While Scourge Devil doesn’t directly generate mana or treasure, the tempo it creates by powering up your creatures can catalyze a faster-paced game. Its impact may force an opponent to use their resources inefficiently to handle the new threat, indirectly benefiting your resource management and board presence.
Instant Speed: Scourge Devil’s unearth ability is a game-changer, offering a surprise offensive boost at instant speed. This allows for strategic flexibility, catching an adversary off guard during the combat phase or potentially turning the tides in a close match when the timing is just right.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: A considerable drawback of Scourge Devil is its Unearth ability, which forces you to discard a card, posing a risk of depleting your hand too quickly. This can be particularly detrimental in the late game where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: Scourge Devil’s casting cost includes both generic and red mana, which means it requires a dedicated red mana source. Players not running a red or multicolored mana base will find it challenging to integrate this card into their decks.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Scourge Devil competes with other significant game-changers in the four-mana slot. Given its limited impact on the board state outside of aggressive strategies, it might not be the most mana-efficient choice for your deck, especially considering other creatures or spells that offer more versatile or powerful effects at the same cost.
Reasons to Include Scourge Devil in Your Collection
Versatility: Scourge Devil is a flexible card that can provide an unexpected power boost. It can be slotted into various decks that capitalize on its ability to grant creatures a timely bump in power, making it particularly useful during decisive combat phases.
Combo Potential: The devil’s unearth ability allows for synergies with graveyard mechanics, offering a surprise play from the graveyard that can complement strategies focused on temporary buffs or sacrificing creatures for greater effects.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where games are won by quick shifts in the battlefield’s power dynamics, Scourge Devil can be an ace up your sleeve. It can give aggro decks the edge needed to close a game or help midrange decks overtake control-focused opponents with a well-timed push.
How to beat
Scourge Devil is a unique creature card that packs a punch in the Red deck compilation of Magic: The Gathering. Known for its unearth ability, it can surge from the graveyard to give all your creatures a temporary power boost during a crucial turn. To effectively beat a Scourge Devil, it’s essential to implement a strategy that mitigates this surprise attack.
One effective tactic is to maintain a deck with ample removal to prevent the Scourge Devil from enhancing their field, especially when it re-enters from the graveyard. Instant speed removal such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push can disrupt this strategy by eliminating the Scourge Devil before the buff affects the outcome of combat. Additionally, graveyard disruption tools like Rest in Peace or Scavenging Ooze can prevent the use of the unearth ability entirely by exiling the card or diminishing the graveyard resources.
Beating Scourge Devil requires foresight and the inclusion of counters that specifically target its strengths. Control decks that can manage the graveyard and respond to creature threats at instant speed can effectively neutralize the impact of Scourge Devil, keeping your opponent’s creatures at bay and maintaining the balance of power on the battlefield.
Cards like Scourge Devil
The Scourge Devil card offers an intriguing twist to creature abilities in Magic: The Gathering. It bears resemblance to cards like Goblin Bushwhacker which also grants other creatures a temporary power boost. Where the Scourge Devil carves its niche is through its unearth ability, allowing it to return from the graveyard to the battlefield for a surprise offensive. On the flip side, Goblin Bushwhacker doesn’t provide this kind of post-mortem resurgence but is cheaper to cast originally.
Mad Auntie, another similar card, buffs fellow Goblins and protects them with a +1/+1 bonus and offers regeneration. While it lacks the immediate, across-the-board power surge of Scourge Devil, its ongoing support can be pivotal for a more sustained Goblin tribal strategy. In comparison, Embermage Goblin requires mana for each activation to deal damage but is more focused on controlling the board than boosting the power of its allies.
In essence, the Scourge Devil’s unearthing for a timely power-up can catch opponents off-guard, offering a unique advantage in aggressive red decks. While there are other options for enhancing your creatures’ strength, the Scourge Devil’s surprise factor and graveyard use distinctly set it apart.
Cards similar to Scourge Devil by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Scourge Devil MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt, 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 Scourge Devil 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 Magic products
Printings
The Scourge Devil Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2017-03-17. Illustrated by Dave Kendall.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008-10-03 | Shards of Alara | ALA | 113 | 2003 | normal | black | Dave Kendall | |
| 2 | 2013-03-15 | Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt | DDK | 55 | 2003 | normal | black | Dave Kendall | |
| 3 | 2014-09-05 | Duel Decks: Speed vs. Cunning | DDN | 18 | 2015 | normal | black | Dave Kendall | |
| 4 | 2017-03-17 | Modern Masters 2017 | MM3 | 111 | 2015 | normal | black | Dave Kendall |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Scourge Devil has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Scourge Devil card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-10-01 | Activating a creature card’s unearth ability isn’t the same as casting the creature card. The unearth ability is put on the stack, but the creature card is not. Spells and abilities that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle) will interact with unearth, but spells and abilities that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul) will not. |
| 2008-10-01 | At the beginning of the end step, a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth is exiled. This is a delayed triggered ability, and it can be countered by effects such as Stifle or Voidslime that counter triggered abilities. If the ability is countered, the creature will stay on the battlefield and the delayed trigger won’t trigger again. However, the replacement effect will still exile the creature when it eventually leaves the battlefield. |
| 2008-10-01 | If a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth would leave the battlefield for any reason, it’s exiled instead — unless the spell or ability that’s causing the creature to leave the battlefield is actually trying to exile it! In that case, it succeeds at exiling it. If it later returns the creature card to the battlefield (as Oblivion Ring or Flickerwisp might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The unearth effect will no longer apply to it. |
| 2008-10-01 | If you activate a card’s unearth ability but that card is removed from your graveyard before the ability resolves, that unearth ability will resolve and do nothing. |
| 2008-10-01 | Unearth grants haste to the creature that’s returned to the battlefield. However, neither of the “exile” abilities is granted to that creature. If that creature loses all its abilities, it will still be exiled at the beginning of the end step, and if it would leave the battlefield, it is still exiled instead. |
| 2017-03-14 | Scourge Devil’s triggered ability affects only creatures you control at the time it resolves, including Scourge Devil itself. Creatures you begin to control later in the turn won’t get +1/+0. |
