Giant Dustwasp MTG Card

Suspend offers late-game surprises and frees up early resources for a smooth mana curve. Its green mana dependence and high casting cost are potential drawbacks in some strategies. Versatility and meta-relevance make Giant Dustwasp a compelling choice for green decks.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Insect
Abilities Flying,Suspend
Power 3
Toughness 3

Text of card

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

Cards like Giant Dustwasp

The Giant Dustwasp is a unique creature in the world of Magic: The Gathering, presenting a blend of flying ability and an intriguing suspend mechanic. It stands in comparison to other creatures such as the Skyreach Manta, which also has flying but gains its strength from the number of colors spent to cast it. Giant Dustwasp boasts a 3/3 body, which can often prove advantageous in aerial combat scenarios, especially when compared with other creatures in a similar mana bracket.

Another card to consider alongside Giant Dustwasp is Spire Monitor. While the Monitor can be played at instant speed thanks to its flash ability, it does not have the potential long-term value that suspending Giant Dustwasp early in the game might grant. A less direct, but similarly costed comparison might be with Aven Riftwatcher, which brings immediate value with its life gain ability upon entering the battlefield and exiting it, but ultimately offers a smaller 2/3 body.

These comparisons show that while the Giant Dustwasp might not have the immediate board impact of some alternatives, its potential to deliver a considerable threat from above combined with the strategic depth of suspend can make it a strong contender in the right deck context.

Skyreach Manta - MTG Card versions
Spire Monitor - MTG Card versions
Aven Riftwatcher - MTG Card versions
Skyreach Manta - MTG Card versions
Spire Monitor - MTG Card versions
Aven Riftwatcher - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Giant Dustwasp can provide a strategic benefit in the late game. Its suspend mechanic allows it to be cast earlier and drawn later, effectively acting as a delayed card advantage. This can surprise an opponent who has not accounted for an emerging airborne threat.

Resource Acceleration: The suspend ability of Giant Dustwasp can offer a subtle form of resource acceleration. By suspending it for just two green mana, you free up resources on early turns to develop your board with other spells or creatures. This can lead to a more effective mana curve and better utilization of your resources throughout the match.

Instant Speed: While Giant Dustwasp itself is not an instant, the nature of the suspend mechanic provides a pseudo-instant speed advantage. You can initiate its casting during your upkeep, placing it outside the reach of sorcery-speed removals until it’s ready to make an impact. This forces your opponent to hold back instant speed removal in anticipation, potentially disrupting their tempo.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Giant Dustwasp doesn’t demand a discard, it does have a suspend mechanic which can be seen as a temporary card setback as you wait for the wasp to hit the field.

Specific Mana Cost: This insect card has a green color dependency, needing two green mana to cast normally, which may not blend seamlessly into every player’s deck strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The Giant Dustwasp requires a significant five mana (two of which are green) to cast conventionally. In a game where tempo is key, there are other creatures that can be played sooner or offer greater impact upon arrival for the same or lesser cost.

Reasons to Include Giant Dustwasp in Your Collection

Versatility: Giant Dustwasp offers a flexible playstyle due to its flying ability, which allows it to be a formidable threat in the air. It can slip into green-focused decks that capitalize on creature size or evolve mechanics.

Combo Potential: Boasting suspend, Giant Dustwasp can be a sneaky addition to decks utilizing time counters. It synergizes with cards that manipulate or remove these counters for a faster deployment or bonuses upon casting.

Meta-Relevance: Against decks that may not be prepared for aerial defense, Giant Dustwasp serves as an excellent tool for applying pressure. Its relevance shifts with the meta, more effective when air-based strategies and big creatures have a place in the competitive scene.

How to beat

Giant Dustwasp can be a challenging card to play against in a Magic: The Gathering match, particularly in formats where its suspend mechanic is allowed to shine. This green creature card uses time counters to delay its entrance onto the battlefield, often catching opponents off-guard with a strong flying presence.

However, there are strategies to mitigate the impact of Giant Dustwasp. Removal spells that can target creatures regardless of if they have entered the battlefield are key. Cards such as Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares can handle the wasp before it even poses a threat. Additionally, using counterspells like Cancel or Negate when your opponent casts Giant Dustwasp, or on the turn it’s set to come into play, can nip the problem in the bud.

Remember to keep an eye on the suspend counters and plan ahead. Having a good aerial blocker or spells like Spiderweb or Wing Shards can help control creatures with flying like the Giant Dustwasp. Keeping these strategies in mind should help you maintain control over a game even when facing the deceptive delay of a suspend creature.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Giant Dustwasp MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos and Modern Masters, 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 Giant Dustwasp and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Giant Dustwasp Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2007-02-02 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-02-02Planar ChaosPLC 1292003NormalBlackGreg Hildebrandt
22013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1452003NormalBlackGreg Hildebrandt
32021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 2062015NormalBlackGreg Hildebrandt

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Giant Dustwasp has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Giant Dustwasp 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.