Stronghold Rats MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Rat
Abilities Shadow
Power 2
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Stronghold Rats induce a steady discard, skewing the hand balance favorably on every attack.
  2. The card’s shadow ability ensures higher attack success, reinforcing its discard potency.
  3. While powerful, the rats can be overcome with non-blocking tactics and graveyard recovery.

Text of card

Shadow (This creature can block or be blocked by only creatures with shadow.) Whenever Stronghold Rats deals combat damage to a player, each player discards a card.

In the stronghold's dungeons, the shadows hide in the vermin.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Stronghold Rats grants you recurring card advantage each time it deals combat damage to a player, forcing them to discard a card while you maintain hand presence.

Resource Acceleration: Through its ability to make opponents discard, Stronghold Rats indirectly accelerates your resources by depleting your opponents’, thereby tilting the resource balance in your favor.

Instant Speed: While Stronghold Rats itself is not an instant, it synergizes well with cards that can be played at instant speed allowing you to react to your opponent’s actions while steadily applying pressure with discard mechanics.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Stronghold Rats obligates opponents to discard a card whenever it deals combat damage, which can be less effective against decks that utilize the graveyard or have discard synergies.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires black mana, which can restrict deck-building options and isn’t as flexible for players not running a black-themed deck or a mana base that can reliably produce black mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing three mana may seem moderate, but considering Stronghold Rats only has a 2/1 body, some players might find that there are more impactful cards to play at this cost point.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Stronghold Rats brings a unique edge to decks built around discard mechanics. It can adapt to various strategies, fitting comfortably into aggressive, control, or midrange black decks, giving players a persistent source of opponent disruption.

Combo Potential: With its shadow ability, this card can consistently deal damage and force discards, making it a linchpin in decks that capitalize on discard synergies. It pairs well with cards that benefit from or trigger upon discard or card destruction, such as Waste Not or Megrim.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame often sees shifts in deck types, having Stronghold Rats in your arsenal means you are well-prepared to face decks that rely heavily on hand resources. Against control decks, it can be a relentless thorn, whittling away key pieces of your opponent’s hand over time.


How to beat

Stronghold Rats have carved a niche within the MTG universe. Sporting the shadow ability, these critters can be elusive pests for your opponents as they sneak past defenses that aren’t similarly equipped. Each successful blow by these rats forces discards, slowly gnawing away at an adversary’s hand.

To combat these pesky rodents, consider tactics that don’t rely on blocking. Board wipes effectively clear these shadowed creatures, sidestepping their evasion skills. Direct removal spells that target regardless of blocking status also serve as a strong countermeasure. Graveyard recovery can also mitigate the discard effect, turning a potential loss into strategic retrieval. Additionally, leveraging cards with static abilities to prevent damage or negating attack abilities neutralizes the threat these rats pose, preserving your hand while dealing with the menace directly.

Tackling Stronghold Rats means adapting your strategies, focusing on removing threats directly from the board and reshaping your own battle plans to account for untraditional forms of combat, ensuring these shadow dwellers don’t lead to your downfall.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the subtle nuances of card dynamics in MTG is crucial, especially when cards like Stronghold Rats can shape the flow of a match. Capitalizing on the benefits of such a card requires insight and finesse. Whether you’re building around discard themes, seeking to disrupt opponent strategies, or integrating evasion tactics, including cards like Stronghold Rats can be pivotal. For those intrigued by the strategic depth this card offers, we encourage you to explore further with us. Discover more synergies, refine your deck-building skills, and stay ahead of the meta. Delve into the world of MTG with BurnMana and let’s push your gameplay to new boundaries.


Cards like Stronghold Rats

Stronghold Rats hold their own distinctive place in the roster of MTG discard-focused creatures. With similarities to cards like Ravenous Rats, which forces an opponent to discard when it enters the battlefield, Stronghold Rats take it up a notch by creating discard opportunities with every swing. Unlike its cousin, it doesn’t offer a one-time effect but can repeatedly nibble away at an opponent’s hand size during the combat phase.

Another card to consider is Rotting Rats, which shares the same repeating discard ability each turn. However, Stronghold Rats boast shadow, ensuring they are harder to block and thus more likely to consistently trigger their discard. While both create pressure, the evasion that shadow provides sets Stronghold Rats apart and allows for more reliable disruption.

In examining discard-focused creatures, we see that Stronghold Rats presents a unique combination of relentless discard with combat evasion. This blend marks it as a particularly persistent nuisance in games of MTG, where players value their hand and board presence. It captures a niche that offers both offense and tactical advantage.

Ravenous Rats - MTG Card versions
Rotting Rats - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Rats - Portal Second Age (P02)
Rotting Rats - Conflux (CON)

Cards similar to Stronghold Rats by color, type and mana cost

Nettling Imp - MTG Card versions
Royal Assassin - MTG Card versions
El-Hajjâj - MTG Card versions
Frozen Shade - MTG Card versions
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Sorceress Queen - MTG Card versions
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Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions
Strongarm Thug - MTG Card versions
Razortooth Rats - MTG Card versions
Ghastly Remains - MTG Card versions
Lord of the Undead - MTG Card versions
Deepwood Ghoul - MTG Card versions
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Nim Abomination - MTG Card versions
Vesper Ghoul - MTG Card versions
Hypnotic Specter - MTG Card versions
Dusk Imp - MTG Card versions
Severed Legion - MTG Card versions
Nettling Imp - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Royal Assassin - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
El-Hajjâj - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Frozen Shade - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Scathe Zombies - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Sorceress Queen - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)
Lost Soul - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Mindstab Thrull - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Mischievous Poltergeist - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Strongarm Thug - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Razortooth Rats - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Ghastly Remains - Legions (LGN)
Lord of the Undead - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Deepwood Ghoul - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Dross Prowler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Nim Abomination - Darksteel (DST)
Vesper Ghoul - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Hypnotic Specter - Magic Player Rewards 2006 (P06)
Dusk Imp - Tenth Edition (10E)
Severed Legion - Tenth Edition (10E)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stronghold Rats MTG card by a specific set like Future Sight and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Stronghold Rats and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Stronghold Rats Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2007-05-04 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Brandon Kitkouski.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-05-04Future SightFUT 792003normalblackBrandon Kitkouski
22021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 1422015normalblackBrandon Kitkouski

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stronghold Rats has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Stronghold Rats card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2021-03-19 If an attacking creature has multiple evasion abilities, such as shadow and flying, a creature can block it only if that creature satisfies all of the appropriate evasion abilities.
2021-03-19 Multiple instances of shadow on the same creature are redundant.
2021-03-19 Once a creature has been blocked, that creature remains blocked and will deal and be dealt combat damage even if it gains or loses shadow or if the blocking creature gains or loses shadow.
2021-03-19 While resolving the triggered ability of Stronghold Rats, each player chooses a card in hand without revealing it, then all of the cards are discarded at the same time.

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