Sylvan Primordial MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 7 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Avatar |
| Abilities | Reach |
| Released | 2013-02-01 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Gatecrash |
| Set code | GTC |
| Power | 6 |
| Toughness | 8 |
| Number | 136 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Stephan Martiniere |
Key Takeaways
- It’s a high-impact green creature offering both removal and pivotal land ramp abilities, perfect for Commander decks.
- Sylvan Primordial remains relevant, outshining similar cards with its ability to hinder several opponents at once.
- Effective counterplay involves preemptive actions and swift removal to mitigate this green behemoth’s board impact.
Text of card
Reach When Sylvan Primordial enters the battlefield, for each opponent, destroy target noncreature permanent that player controls. For each permanent destroyed this way, search your library for a Forest card and put that card onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Sylvan Primordial offers a significant edge by allowing you to not just bring an additional land into play, but also by potentially destroying a noncreature permanent of your opponents for each opponent in a multiplayer format. This could translate into removing threats and gaining multiple lands, tipping the scales of card advantage in your favor.
Resource Acceleration: By fetching a Forest card from your library and putting it onto the battlefield for each opponent whose noncreature permanent is destroyed, Sylvan Primordial functions as an effective resource acceleration tool. This ramps up your mana availability, enabling more substantial plays earlier in the game.
Instant Speed: Although Sylvan Primordial does not operate at instant speed, its impact during the phase it enters the battlefield can be likened to a preemptive strike, setting up your board state and disrupting opponents on your turn. It’s a play that sets the pace of the game, much like a powerful instant might dictate the flow of play on an opponent’s turn.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Unlike cards that may offer a beneficial effect without a significant drawback, Sylvan Primordial requires a sacrifice in the form of discarding cards when combined with certain strategies or in decks utilizing reanimation tactics. This can be particularly cumbersome if your hand size is already diminished.
Specific Mana Cost: Sylvan Primordial necessitates a precise blend of mana, including three green sources, which could be challenging for multi-colored or color-scarce decks to generate consistently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a seven mana value total to summon Sylvan Primordial, it can be argued that the cost is steep, especially when it’s compared with other green creatures or ramp spells that might be able to provide a sizeable impact earlier in the game.
Reasons to Include Sylvan Primordial in Your Collection
Versatility: Sylvan Primordial serves dual functions by providing both creature removal and land ramp, offering significant board impact when it enters the battlefield. This card fits well in a variety of green-centered decks, particularly in Commander format where its effect can be maximized.
Combo Potential: In combination with cards that can repeatedly flicker or reanimate creatures, Sylvan Primordial can lead to multiple land searches and removal spells. It becomes a linchpin in engines aiming to lock out opponents or amass considerable advantage.
Meta-Relevance: Given that land acceleration and targeted non-creature removal are perpetually valuable in the shifting tides of MTG’s meta, Sylvan Primordial finds relevance. Particularly in multiplayer formats, the card holds a significant stance, capable of disrupting multiple opponents in a single move.
How to beat
Sylvan Primordial makes a significant impact on the board when it enters play in Magic: The Gathering. Known for its formidable ability to destroy target noncreature permanents while ramping up your land resources, it can be challenging to tackle. To get ahead of this arboreal threat, counterplay strategies are important. Cards like Negate or Essence Scatter can prevent Sylvan Primordial from hitting the battlefield in the first place, nullifying its potent enter the battlefield (ETB) effect.
Alternatively, if the creature is already in play, instant speed removals like Path to Exile or Rapid Hybridization can swiftly remove it from the board before its controller benefits from the land search ability. Cards like Grafdigger’s Cage can also hinder such ETB triggers, effectively keeping the game in your favor.
Ultimately, understanding and anticipating your opponent’s play, maintaining control elements, and choosing the right moment to act, all contribute to a successful strategy against Sylvan Primordial. This preemptive approach along with immediate removal tactics ensure that you stay one step ahead, mitigating the card’s impact and keeping the scales tipped to your advantage.
Cards like Sylvan Primordial
Sylvan Primordial stands out as a powerful green creature in Magic: The Gathering. It shares a semblance of function with Terastodon, another behemoth that also removes noncreature permanents upon entering the battlefield. However, Sylvan Primordial has the added benefit of fetching a Forest card for each permanent destroyed, ramping your mana and thinning your deck.
Acidic Slime provides a comparable service at a lower cost but lacks the raw power and reach of Sylvan Primordial. While Acidic Slime offers deathtouch and destroys a singular target, Primordial’s ability to hit multiple targets and ramp up significantly outweigh its heftier mana investment. Woodfall Primus further expands this category with its persist ability; though it destroys fewer targets upon entry, its resilience provides continued removal potential.
In the spectrum of green creature cards with removal capabilities, Sylvan Primordial finds balance with its substantial board impact and added land acceleration. Its ability to dramatically shift the game’s momentum with land ramp while hindering opponents fortifies its position as a card worth considering for green-heavy decks in Magic: The Gathering.
Cards similar to Sylvan Primordial by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Sylvan Primordial MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash, 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 Sylvan Primordial 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 MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Sylvan Primordial has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Banned |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Banned |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Sylvan Primordial card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2013-01-24 | You search and shuffle your library only once. |
| 2013-07-01 | If Sylvan Primordial’s enters-the-battlefield ability resolves but one of the target noncreature permanents isn’t destroyed (perhaps because it has indestructible or it regenerated), it won’t count toward the number of Forest cards you can put onto the battlefield. |
| 2014-02-01 | If an opponent has any legal permanents to target, you must target one of them. |
