Ingenious Skaab MTG Card
2016-07-22 - Number 66
2022-07-08 - Number 52
2023-03-21 - Number 75
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Zombie Horror |
| Abilities | Prowess |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Its prowess triggers with spell casts, providing scalability and enhanced board control in game.
- Potent in instant-speed interactions, it offers surprise combat boosts and maintains pressure.
- While versatile, the card’s mana specificity and potential hand depletion are notable drawbacks.
Text of card
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.) : Ingenious Skaab gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
Heads and shoulders above the rest.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Ingenious Skaab offers strategic flexibility, presenting an opportunity for players to maintain momentum. As a three-mana blue creature with prowess, each instant or sorcery you cast not only strengthens it but also has the potential to significantly alter the state of the board, ensuring you stay ahead in resources.
Resource Acceleration: This creature encourages a cost-effective playstyle. Its prowess ability synergizes well with low-cost spells, enabling careful resource management while accelerating your game plan. Efficiently casting spells can mean the difference between winning and falling behind, making Ingenious Skaab a handy accelerator in spell-focused decks.
Instant Speed: Ingenious Skaab thrives in environments rich with instant-speed interactions. Casting spells at instant speed will boost its power unexpectedly during combat, creating advantageous trades or pushing through additional damage. Its ability to grow with each spell cast can catch opponents off guard, turning the tide in crucial moments.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Ingenious Skaab may require discarding as part of its abilities or synergistic needs, potentially leading to a depleted hand.
Specific Mana Cost: This creature demands blue mana for casting and ability activation, which could restrict it to blue-centric or multicolor decks with ample mana fixing.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although offering utility, Ingenious Skaab’s cost may be on the higher side when compared to other creatures or spells with similar or more impactful abilities at a lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include Ingenious Skaab in Your Collection
Versatility: Ingenious Skaab offers flexibility in deck-building, allowing for a seamless fit in various blue-centric strategies. Its prowess ability rewards you for playing noncreature spells, making it an asset in spell-heavy decks.
Combo Potential: With every instant or sorcery cast, Ingenious Skaab becomes more formidable thanks to its prowess. It works particularly well in synergistic builds focused on casting numerous spells in a single turn to create powerful chains of interactions.
Meta-Relevance: As the game continually evolves, cards that can adapt to different playstyles are invaluable. Ingenious Skaab’s ability to scale its power and toughness based on spell casting can make it a relevant threat in dynamic and spell-driven metagames.
How to beat
Ingenious Skaab is a versatile creature in MTG that can pose a threat with its prowess ability, enabling it to grow stronger whenever you cast a noncreature spell. To effectively counter this advantage, players should consider utilizing instant-speed removal spells before the Skaab’s controller can pump it up with spells. Cards like Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt are efficient means to this end, able to take the creature out before it becomes a larger problem.
Another strategy involves preemptively weakening the opponent’s spell casting opportunities, thereby reducing the number of instances Ingenious Skaab can trigger prowess. This can be achieved through counterspells or by employing disruption spells like Thoughtseize to remove key noncreature spells from the opponent’s hand before they can be played. Wildlife management tools also come in handy, where spells like Declaration in Stone can address Ingenious Skaab irrespective of how large it has grown.
Ultimately, respect for the Skaab’s potential growth and proactive control of the game’s flow are crucial to ensure that this clever creature doesn’t outsmart your defenses and lead your opponent to victory.
Cards like Ingenious Skaab
The Ingenious Skaab shines in the realm of flexible creature cards within Magic: The Gathering. Its kinship is seen with spells such as Watercourser, which also grants the player the ability to adjust its power until the end of turn. Ingenious Skaab takes it a notch higher with its intellect, allowing for both power and toughness alterations, making it a more unpredictable adversary.
Exploring further into comparable alternatives, Frostwind Invoker also offers versatility on the battlefield. Although it boasts a significant effect to give creatures flying, the Ingenious Skaab still holds an advantage with its lower casting cost and instant ability activation that can catch opponents off guard during combat.
Lastly, comparison to Merfolk Thaumaturgist reveals a creature card with a similar theme of modifying creature stats. However, the Thaumaturgist’s influence is limited to switching power and toughness until end of turn, lacking the consistent threat provided by the self-buffing nature of Ingenious Skaab.
In assessing their utility and combat maneuverability, Ingenious Skaab offers a superb balance of dynamic offense and defense on the fly, marking its place within the card ecosystem as a remarkably adaptable combatant.
Cards similar to Ingenious Skaab by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ingenious Skaab MTG card by a specific set like Eldritch Moon and Double Masters 2022, 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 Ingenious Skaab 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 Ingenious Skaab Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2016-07-22 and 2023-03-21. Illustrated by Jesper Ejsing.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016-07-22 | Eldritch Moon | EMN | 66 | 2015 | normal | black | Jesper Ejsing | |
| 2 | 2022-07-08 | Double Masters 2022 | 2X2 | 52 | 2015 | normal | black | Jesper Ejsing | |
| 3 | 2023-03-21 | Shadows over Innistrad Remastered | SIR | 75 | 2015 | normal | black | Jesper Ejsing |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ingenious Skaab has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
