Gargadon MTG Card

Suspend Gargadon for future board impact without losing hand cards that turn. Transform surplus permanents into an early, menacing board presence. Instant-speed plays disrupt opponents with unexpected Gargadon drops.

Modern Horizons 2 (MH2)
2021-06-18 - Number 351

Modern Horizons 2 (MH2)
2021-06-18 - Number 128

Commander Masters (CMM)
2023-08-04 - Number 226

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	7
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Beast
Abilities	Suspend,Trample
Power	7
Toughness	5

Text of card

Trample Suspend 4— (Rather than cast this card from your hand, you may pay and exile it with four time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter. When the last is removed, cast it without paying its mana cost. It has haste.)

Intent: Magic has made a Grater Gargadon and a Lesser Gargadon (see ref). We want you to design the "average" Gargadon.

Cards like Gargadon

Gargadon holds its own within the vast array of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. It echoes mechanics found in cards like Greater Gargadon, valued for its massive size and suspended entry onto the battlefield. However, unlike its larger counterpart that can significantly impact a game later on, Gargadon can be played earlier, allowing for a quicker presence on the field.

Another card that comes to mind is Epochrasite, which showcases rebounding potential with its return to play after being destroyed. Although it doesn’t share the same immediate board presence as Gargadon, its resilience and lower casting cost make it a comparable alternative. Moreover, there’s the strategic potential of Avalanche Riders, offering a similar mana cost as Gargadon. It provides an enter the battlefield effect, disrupting opponents by destroying land, albeit it lacks Gargadon’s larger stat line and staying power.

Assessing Gargadon against these similar MTG cards, it’s evident that it presents a unique blend of early game relevance with its sizable creature status, lending it an interesting niche in creature-based strategies.

Cards similar to Gargadon by color, type and mana cost

Yidaro, Wandering Monster - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Gargadon card contributes to card advantage with its suspend ability. By being able to delay its casting, you effectively set the stage for a future turn where you’ll have a significant presence added to the board without consuming resources from your hand that turn.

Resource Acceleration: This behemoth grants resource acceleration in a diversified way. It can devour excess or disposable permanents, transforming them into a route to its early arrival. In the right build, this effectively becomes an acceleration of your game plan, bringing a devastating threat into play sooner than expected.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, the Gargadon’s suspend ability offers a unique form of instant-speed interaction. By sacrificing lands or other permanents at instant speed, this gargantuan creature can be brought out unexpectedly, disrupting your opponent’s strategies and timing during their turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable hurdle in harnessing the power of Gargadon is its demand for you to discard cards. This aspect can become a potential setback, particularly when your hand is already running low and every card’s value is amplified.

Specific Mana Cost: Gargadon comes with a specific mana cost that might not slide seamlessly into every deck build. The mana requirements could pose a challenge, causing players to reconsider its inclusion based on their mana curve and color availability.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The mana investment to summon Gargadon is considerable when weighed against other options on the battlefield. This higher expenditure can affect its playability, especially when you’re aiming for an optimum balance between cost and impact within your deck’s strategy.

Reasons to Include Gargadon in Your Collection

Versatility: Gargadon cards serve a dual purpose as a formidable threat and an emergency outlet to protect your valuable permanents from removal or board wipes. Their ability to suspend from the game allows for strategic timing, making them adaptable to various situations.

Combo Potential: Whether it’s Greater Gargadon for sacrificing permanents to hasten its arrival, or the synergy with cards that capitalize on creatures entering the battlefield or being sacrificed, Gargadon has the potential to be a key piece in powerful combos. It encourages creative deck building that can lead to explosive plays.

Meta-Relevance: Gargadon remains relevant in certain MTG formats where the meta-game shifts to prioritize speed and efficiency. Its cost-to-impact ratio can be a game-changer, fitting well into strategies that demand quick adaptation and can swing the tide of battle in your favor.

How to beat

Gargadon is a card that, at first glance, can pose quite a challenge to Magic: The Gathering players. Its aggressive capabilities make it a valuable card for those who manage to harness its potential. To effectively counter Gargadon, players should consider tactics like removal spells, which are essential when dealing with influential creatures. Specifically, spells that can exile creatures prevent Gargadon from exploiting its strength and coming back to the battlefield.

Another strategy involves manipulating the number of permanents on the board. Gargadon\`s abilities often rely on sacrificing nonland permanents. Therefore, minimizing the number of cards your opponent can sacrifice to trigger its effects can be an effective method of mitigation. Additionally, including instant-speed interaction cards in your arsenal allows you to respond to creature spells or abilities, potentially thwarting your opponent’s strategy and leaving them at a disadvantage.

Ultimately, familiarizing yourself with and preparing for Gargadon’s threats can shift the balance in your favor. By employing pinpoint removal and strategic board control, you can neutralize the threat of Gargadon, paving the way to victory in your Magic: The Gathering matches.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gargadon MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons 2 and Modern Horizons 2, 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 Gargadon and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Gargadon Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-06-18 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Chris Seaman.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2021-06-18	Modern Horizons 2	MH2	351	2015	Normal	Black	Chris Seaman
2	2021-06-18	Modern Horizons 2	MH2	128	2015	Normal	Black	Chris Seaman
3	2023-08-04	Commander Masters	CMM	226	2015	Normal	Black	Chris Seaman

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gargadon has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2021-06-18	A creature cast using suspend will enter the battlefield with haste. It will have haste until another player gains control of it. (In some rare cases, another player may gain control of the creature spell itself. If this happens, the creature won't enter the battlefield with haste.)
2021-06-18	As the second triggered ability resolves, you must cast the card if able. You must do so even if it requires targets and the only legal targets are ones that you really don't want to target. Timing permissions based on the card's type are ignored.
2021-06-18	Cards exiled with suspend are exiled face up.
2021-06-18	Exiling a card with suspend isn't casting that card. This action doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to.
2021-06-18	If an effect refers to a “suspended card,” that means a card that (1) has suspend, (2) is in exile, and (3) has one or more time counters on it.
2021-06-18	If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2021-06-18	If the first triggered ability of suspend (the one that removes time counters) is countered, no time counter is removed. The ability will trigger again at the beginning of the card's owner's next upkeep.
2021-06-18	If the second triggered ability is countered, the card can't be cast. It remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it's no longer suspended.
2021-06-18	If the spell requires any targets, those targets are chosen when the spell is finally cast, not when it's exiled.
2021-06-18	If you can't cast the card, perhaps because there are no legal targets available, it remains exiled with no time counters on it, and it's no longer suspended.
2021-06-18	If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” such as with suspend, you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, you must pay those if you want to cast the card.
2021-06-18	Suspend is a keyword that represents three abilities. The first is a static ability that allows you to exile the card from your hand with the specified number of time counters (the number before the dash) on it by paying its suspend cost (listed after the dash). The second is a triggered ability that removes a time counter from the suspended card at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. The third is a triggered ability that causes you to cast the card when the last time counter is removed. If you cast a creature spell this way, it gains haste until you lose control of that creature (or, in rare cases, you lose control of the creature spell while it's on the stack).
2021-06-18	The mana value of a spell cast without paying its mana cost is determined by its mana cost, even though that cost wasn't paid.
2021-06-18	When the last time counter is removed, the second triggered ability of suspend (the one that lets you cast the card) triggers. It doesn't matter why the last time counter was removed or what effect removed it.
2021-06-18	You are never forced to activate mana abilities to pay costs, so if there is a mandatory additional mana cost (such as from Thalia, Guardian of Thraben), you can decline to activate mana abilities to pay for it and hence fail to cast the suspended card, leaving it in exile.
2021-06-18	You can exile a card in your hand using suspend any time you could cast that card. Consider its card type, any effects that modify when you could cast it (such as flash) and any other effects that stop you from casting it (such as from Meddling Mage's ability) to determine if and when you can do this. Whether you could actually complete all steps in casting the card is irrelevant. For example, you can exile a card with suspend that has no mana cost or that requires a target even if no legal targets are available at that time.