Gray Merchant of Alphabet MTG Card
Text of card
When Gray Merchant of Alphabet enters the battlefield, choose a letter. For each creature you control that has the chosen letter in its name, you gain 1 life and each opponent loses 1 life.
Like any young zombie, Gary dreamed of escaping the underworld to join the circus.
Cards like Gray Merchant of Alphabet
The Gray Merchant of Asphodel, fondly known in the MTG community as Gary, shines as a standout star in black devotion strategies. Its closest kin in the world of MTG is the likes of Disciple of Phenax. While both cards exploit the devotion to black mechanic, Gary edges ahead with its ability to affect each opponent and offers a significant swing in life totals.
Another comparable card is Kokusho, the Evening Star. When Kokusho leaves the battlefield, it not only drains life from opponents but also gives that life to its controller, similar to Gray Merchant of Asphodel. However, Gary boasts a lower mana cost and the advantage of impacting the board immediately upon entering the battlefield without needing to leave it first.
In the grander scheme of MTG’s power plays, Gary’s impact in formats like Commander can often eclipse that of other similar creatures. Its ability to scale with the number of black symbols in play means it has the potential for monumental life point swings, setting it apart as an exceptional card for players who capitalize on black devotion themes in their decks.
Cards similar to Gray Merchant of Alphabet by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Gray Merchant of Alphabet shines when it comes to providing card advantage in the right deck build. Its ability to drain life from each opponent based on your devotion to black can equate to a significant card’s worth of life point swing, effectively neutralizing several of an opponent’s turns.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly offering resource acceleration in terms of mana, the “Gary” can act as a resource accelerator by giving you a decisive life lead. This life gain can be the equivalent to extra turns, allowing you to utilize your mana more aggressively in subsequent rounds.
Instant Speed: Though the Gray Merchant of Alphabet operates at sorcery speed, its impact on the board is instantaneously felt. The life swing can immediately turn the tides of a game, forcing opponents to react as if facing a critical spell cast at instant speed, which can disrupt their tempo and strategy.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Despite its potential for swinging life totals, Gray Merchant of Asphodel demands a significant board presence to be effective. Without enough devotion to black, its impact is minimal, turning it into a high-cost creature with little return.
Specific Mana Cost: This card’s mana cost demands heavy commitment to black mana. For multicolored decks, consistently meeting the double black mana requirement can be challenging, thereby restricting it to mono-black or decks with a considerable black mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of five mana, Gray Merchant of Asphodel occupies the slot of a mid-to-late-game card. In faster, more aggressive metas, this cost can be a liability, giving opponents time to establish control or deplete your life total before it can be cast.
Reasons to Include Gray Merchant of Asphodel in Your Collection
Versatility: Gray Merchant of Asphodel, affectionately known in the community as ‘Gary,’ is a staple in black-centric decks, especially in the Commander and Pauper formats. Its ability to affect each opponent makes it a powerful card in multiplayer games and valuable for its consistency across various matchups.
Combo Potential: ‘Gary’ synergizes well with reanimation tactics and cards that manipulate the number of devotion to black, setting the stage for potentially game-ending life swings. His ability works beautifully with flicker or bounce effects, allowing you to repeatedly exploit his enter-the-battlefield trigger.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment teeming with creature-based strategies, Gray Merchant of Asphodel thrives. It serves both as a form of life gain to stabilize against aggressive decks and as a clock to pressure control or combo opponents. Its relevance in the meta is enduring, thanks to its unique role in aggressive and midrange black decks.
How to beat
Gray Merchant of Asphodel is a potent force in MTG, renowned for its ability to shift a game’s balance with its formidable enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effect. This valuable creature can often be the linchpin for Mono-Black Devotion decks, capable of delivering a significant life-point swing. To effectively counter this card, it’s crucial to have a strategy that disrupts devotion to black or removes the Gray Merchant from play before its ETB trigger resolves.
One approach is to limit the black mana symbols on the battlefield. Cards that exile or transform creatures can significantly reduce the opponent’s devotion to black, thereby weakening the impact of Gray Merchant’s ability. Alternatively, efficient removal spells that can target this creature either in response to the ETB trigger or prior to it hitting the board are vital. Watch out for spells that can counter creatures or provide instant-speed interaction to ensure the Merchant’s demise. Always try to maintain control of the board state and keep your opponent’s devotion low to mitigate the effectiveness of the Gray Merchant of Asphodel.
By remaining vigilant and prepared to counteract the Gray Merchant’s ETB ability, you can negate the advantage it provides and keep the balance of the game in your favor. Careful planning and strategic gameplay are key to overcoming this formidable adversary.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Gray Merchant of Alphabet MTG card by a specific set like Unfinity and Unfinity, 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 Gray Merchant of Alphabet and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
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- MTG Mint Card
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Printings
The Gray Merchant of Alphabet Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2022-10-07 and 2022-10-07. Illustrated by Yangtian Li.
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Gray Merchant of Alphabet card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-10-07 | It doesn’t matter how many times the chosen letter appears in the creature’s name as long as it appears at least once. It’s 1 life per creature, not per letter. |
| 2022-10-07 | The chosen letter needn’t be in the English alphabet. |