Gnarlback Rhino MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Gnarlback Rhino offers a repeating mechanism to draw a card whenever you target it with a spell. This feature can bolster your hand and ensure a steady flow of resources, turning it into a persistent threat that can also feed you additional options each turn it’s targeted.

Resource Acceleration: While the card itself does not produce mana or tokens, it encourages a deckbuilding strategy focused on spells that boost your resources. Pairing Gnarlback Rhino with mana-generating or cost-reducing spells leads to faster plays and the rapid deployment of your game plan.

Instant Speed: The Rhino’s ability to draw a card is not limited to sorcery speed, allowing it to synergize with instant-speed spells. This flexibility gives you the potential to respond to your opponent’s moves while refilling your hand, making it a tricky card to play against.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One drawback of the Gnarlback Rhino is the necessity for a player to discard another card to unlock certain abilities or features. This can prove to be a significant setback if your hand is already running low on cards, and discarding could mean losing a potentially game-changing play later on.

Specific Mana Cost: Gnarlback Rhino comes with a restrictive mana cost that demands both green mana and additional generic mana. This particular requirement can be a hurdle in multicolored decks that may not consistently generate the required type of mana, thereby limiting the card’s versatility across different deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, Gnarlback Rhino sits on the higher end of the mana curve for creatures with its abilities. In fast-paced games, the mana investment could slow you down, especially when there are other creatures in the same mana range that could provide more immediate board presence or have lower summoning costs.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Gnarlback Rhino thrives in decks focused on +1/+1 counters or those that leverage the power of creature spells. Its ability to draw a card every time it’s targeted by a spell makes it a resilient threat in various game scenarios.

Combo Potential: Combining Gnarlback Rhino with spells like Giant Growth or with auras that target creatures can create powerful synergies, turning it into a card draw engine while beefing it up for a substantial attack.

Meta-Relevance: As strategies evolve with each MTG set, Gnarlback Rhino holds its relevance in environments where creatures dominate and drawing cards is key to maintaining a competitive edge. In such a context, this rhino could be the cornerstone of a formidable deck.

How to beat

Gnarlback Rhino can be an imposing obstacle in MTG due to its ability to draw cards whenever you cast a spell that targets it. This not only makes it a resilient threat but also provides ongoing value to your opponent. To navigate around this sturdy beast, you may want to consider using spells that don’t target it directly. Board sweepers like Wrath of God or Damnation are effective tools as they remove all creatures without targeting and nullify the card draw advantage that Gnarlback Rhino provides. Counterspells are also a reliable form of disruption. If your opponent is investing multiple spells to beef up their Gnarlback Rhino, a well-timed counterspell can ensure those spells go to waste along with their hopes for an augmented card draw. Lastly, if sweepers or counters aren’t in your deck, consider using spot removal that exiles or causes the player to sacrifice a creature. This bypasses the Rhino’s ability while removing it from the battlefield efficiently.