Elvish Herder MTG Card

Protects and enhances creatures, turning elves into significant threats on the board. Empowers mana dorks, enabling faster deployment of high-impact cards. Offers surprise combat tactics by granting trample at instant speed.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elf
Released	1998-10-12
Set symbol
Set name	Urza's Saga
Set code	USG
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	247
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Tom Fleming

Text of card

oo G Target creature gains trample until end of turn.

Before Urza and Mishra came to Argoth, the herders prevented their creatures from stampeding. During the war, they encouraged it.

Cards like Elvish Herder

Elvish Herder holds a unique position within the range of green creature buffs in MTG. When pitted against other similar cards, like Timberwatch Elf, a distinct difference emerges based on utility and strategy. Timberwatch Elf has the potential to grant a much larger power boost to another creature, which escalates with the number of Elves in play. However, the Herder offers a more controlled benefit – the ability to grant trample to a creature, ensuring its damage potential isn’t hampered by blockers with smaller stature.

Exploring cards with comparable abilities, Elvish Champion stands out with its aura of empowerment for all Elves, boosting not only their attack but their toughness as well. While this enhances an entire tribe, the Herder’s trample provision is an asset that can be focused on any one creature, elf or not, to press an advantage during combat. Additionally, the Herder’s lower mana cost can make it a more accessible option early in the game.

Among the collection of Elf synergistic cards, Elvish Herder offers a mix of tactical flexibility and early-game presence that can be a pivotal advantage in many MTG decks, emphasizing the importance of strategic creature enhancements over broader tribal support.

Cards similar to Elvish Herder by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Though the Elvish Herder may not directly draw you cards, it serves to protect and enhance your valuable creature resources. Boosting your elves can effectively turn each of them into bigger threats, forcing opponents to deal with multiple formidable creatures instead of just one.

Resource Acceleration: As this creature synergizes well with elf-centric decks, it accelerates resource availability by empowering your mana-generating elves. This results in them providing significantly more mana, thus enabling you to deploy threats more quickly and efficiently than your opponent.

Instant Speed: Elvish Herder’s ability to grant trample at instant speed provides substantial flexibility. This advantage enables you to surprise your opponent during combat, turning what appears to be a harmless attack or block into a sizable damage push or a favorable trade on the battlefield.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Elvish Herder does not have a discard requirement itself, but its usefulness can be reduced if your hand is depleted and you’re unable to capitalize on its ability to give creatures trample.

Specific Mana Cost: While Elvish Herder’s mana cost isn’t overly restrictive, it does require green mana, aligning it specifically with green or multicolor decks that can generate this type of mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a creature ability with a relatively niche use, the mana required to cast Elvish Herder and potentially use its ability multiple times can be higher compared to other utility creatures that offer more flexibility or immediate board presence.

Reasons to Include Elvish Herder in Your Collection

Versatility: Elvish Herder serves as an essential piece in green-based decks, especially those that capitalize on the strength of creature strategies. Its ability to give trample to another creature for a single green mana provides tactical advantages in combat.

Combo Potential: With its low mana cost and the ability to affect the battlefield instantly, Elvish Herder can complement various combos. It can synergize with cards that benefit from creature abilities being activated multiple times.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where smaller creatures can be common, equipping your larger threats with trample through Elvish Herder can be a game-changer, allowing you to push through the final points of damage against an opponent’s defensive line.

How to beat

Elvish Herder brings a subtle yet impactful dynamic to the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. This creature card, often recognized for its low-cost mana advantage, has the unique ability to grant forestwalk to target creature until end of turn. While inconspicuous at first glance, in a deck dense with forests or against one that is scant on removal options, Elvish Herder can carve a path for creatures to hit an opponent unblocked.

Defeating an Elvish Herder requires strategic handling. One way is to ensure you have creature removals like Fatal Push or Lightning Bolt on hand to disrupt the synergy before it can be activated. Another potent counter is maintaining versatile board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation which reset the playing field, regardless of the Herder’s grant of forestwalk. Additionally, control decks equipped with counter spells can preemptively negate the Herder’s summoning or its activation. It’s crucial to address the card swiftly, especially in the early game, to hinder an elf-centric strategy from gaining momentum.

Overall, while Elvish Herder can augment an elf-based deck’s ability to slip past defenses, a prepared player with the right removal tools or weighted counters can efficiently neutralize its tactical advantage.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Elvish Herder MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Saga, 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 Elvish Herder and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Elvish Herder has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal