Ebon Dragon MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Ebon Dragon enters the battlefield, you compel your opponent to discard a card, tipping the balance of card quantity in your favor. This effect not only potentially disrupts their strategy but also ensures you’re a step ahead when it comes to available resources in hand.

Resource Acceleration: Ebon Dragon doesn’t directly accelerate your resources, but by providing a significant flying threat, it can apply pressure that may force opponents to use up valuable resources to handle it. This, in turn, can put you in a more favorable position as the game progresses.

Instant Speed: Though Ebon Dragon itself isn’t an instant, its intimidating presence on the board means opponents must constantly be wary of what you could have available at instant speed. The dragon enables you to dictate the pace, potentially deterring opponents from committing to the board and allowing you to capitalize on their hesitation with instant speed spells from your hand.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Ebon Dragon’s enter the battlefield ability forces an opponent to discard a card, however, this can sometimes backfire. In situations where an adversary benefits from having cards in their graveyard or possesses a minimal hand size, the effect might not be as crippling as intended.

Specific Mana Cost: Summoning the Ebon Dragon demands a precise blend of mana – two black and five others. This can be challenging for decks that aren’t mono-black or those not focused on a solid mana base. Consequently, deploying it can become complicated or delayed in a multi-colored deck.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total mana value of seven, the Ebon Dragon’s cost is on the steeper end. For such a significant mana investment, there are other creatures and spells available in MTG that could deliver more instant impact or versatility on the battlefield.

Reasons to Include Ebon Dragon in Your Collection

Versatility: Ebon Dragon offers flexibility in gameplay, due to its dual role as a flying threat and a means of disrupting the opponent’s hand. This allows it to be a valuable addition to dragon-themed decks and control strategies alike, as it impacts the board and the opponent’s options.

Combo Potential: This card has synergy with decks that capitalize on discard mechanics or reanimation strategies. Its entrance trigger can be repeatedly leveraged in the right deck, providing consistent value each time it’s brought back from the graveyard to the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors creature-based combat, Ebon Dragon stands out with its sizable body and flight, able to evade many common defenders. Moreover, its hand disruption ability is particularly useful against decks that rely heavily on specific cards to win.

How to beat

The Ebon Dragon is an intriguing creature card, bringing a unique challenge to the table in a game of Magic: The Gathering. This formidable dragon’s entrance into the battlefield with an ability forcing an opponent to discard a card can disrupt even the best-laid plans. However, its five black mana cost makes it a late-game player, which means you have an opportunity to prepare a strategy to counter it. To effectively tackle the Ebon Dragon, consider cards that exile or transform creatures before the dragon’s effect triggers, such as Path to Exile or Pongify.

Mana ramping to swift board-clearing spells like Damnation or Wrath of God can also be crucial, as removing the Ebon Dragon once it’s landed can reset the game in your favor. Moreover, countering the dragon with cards like Counterspell or Mana Leak is a direct and efficient way to ensure it never poses a threat. Lastly, having instant-speed removal options in your deck can give you the flexibility to target the Ebon Dragon immediately after it hits the battlefield, circumventing its discard ability. With the right mix of foresight and timely reactions, the Ebon Dragon’s imposing presence can be thoroughly neutralized.