Heart-Piercer Manticore MTG Card
2017-04-28 - Number 138
2017-04-28 - Number 6
2017-04-29 - Number 138s
2019-08-23 - Number 7
2019-08-23 - Number 146
| Card sets | Released in 5 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Manticore |
| Abilities | Embalm |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Text of card
When Heart-Piercer Manticore enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice another creature. When you do, Heart-Piercer Manticore deals damage equal to that creature's power to target creature or player. Embalm (, Exile this card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a white Zombie Manticore with no mana cost. Embalm only as a sorcery.)
Cards like Heart-Piercer Manticore
Heart-Piercer Manticore is a unique creature card within the Magic: The Gathering arsenal, noted for its ability to fling other creatures at opponents to deal direct damage equal to the thrown creature’s power. This ability aligns it with cards like Fling, which shares the concept of sacrificing creatures for direct damage, however, Fling is an instant, offering more flexibility in timing.
There’s also Brion Stoutarm, a giant warrior offering a similar tactic. He gives the added advantage of lifelink, gaining you life equivalent to the damage dealt. While Brion requires mana each time you want to utilize his ability, Heart-Piercer Manticore’s effect is a one-time etb (enter the battlefield) trigger which can be reused with mechanics like reanimation or flicker effects.
To round out the comparison, we have Thud, another sorcery card analogous to Fling. It’s more mana-efficient than Heart-Piercer Manticore, yet lacks the additional 4/3 body that comes with the Manticore. This can make the Manticore a more versatile choice, serving as both a threat and a removal tool on the battlefield.
Cards similar to Heart-Piercer Manticore by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Heart-Piercer Manticore offers a generous strategy in card utility. With its Evoke ability, it ensures that even when you’re trading in the creature for a singular effect, you remain ahead by effectively removing an opponent’s threat or dealing direct damage, potentially swinging the board state in your favor.
Resource Acceleration: While not a direct source of resource acceleration, this powerful beast enables clever interactions with sacrifice mechanics. This can bridge into advantageous plays like reusing enter-the-battlefield abilities or transforming the sacrifice into new resources under the right deck conditions.
Instant Speed: The Manticore’s activated ability can capitalize during your turn, offering strategic depth and surprise tactics against unsuspecting opponents. Contrary to instant speed, the timing restriction ensures you carefully plan the sacrifice and direct damage for maximum impact, often at key moments like an end-of-turn or in response to an opponent’s action.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Heart-Piercer Manticore requires you to sacrifice another creature when it enters the battlefield to take advantage of its damage-dealing ability. This condition can be problematic when your board presence is sparse or when sacrificing a creature does not align with your overall strategy.
Specific Mana Cost: This creature’s casting cost demands a specific commitment to red mana, necessitating two red sources. This can complicate deck-building for players seeking to incorporate the manticore into multi-colored decks and may not always be feasible in mana-limited situations.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of four mana, including two red, Heart-Piercer Manticore finds itself competing with other four-drop creatures and spells that may provide more immediate or flexible benefits. This cost evaluation suggests that the manticore might not always be the most mana-efficient option available, especially considering the depth of creatures with similar or lower mana requirements offering comparable or superior effects.
Reasons to Include Heart-Piercer Manticore in Your Collection
Versatility: Heart-Piercer Manticore serves a dual role in a multitude of red-centric or aggressive strategies. Its ability to deal damage equal to another creature’s power upon entering the battlefield or when it dies makes it a flexible threat and removal option.
Combo Potential: This card can be a key piece in combos that revolve around sacrificing creatures for value. It pairs well with effects that duplicate enter-the-battlefield triggers or in decks that can recur creatures from the graveyard to maximize its ability.
Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based strategies are prevalent, Heart-Piercer Manticore can shift the tide of battle by removing key opposing threats while also advancing your board state. As such, it is a strong consideration for reactive red decks that aim to maintain presence and tempo.
How to beat
Overcoming the Heart-Piercer Manticore in Magic: The Gathering requires strategic play and understanding its capabilities. As a creature with the potential to deal significant direct damage upon entering the battlefield or exerting, it’s vital to mitigate this threat early on. Consider utilizing removal spells to dispatch the Manticore before its ability triggers, such as “Fatal Push” or “Path to Exile” which are efficient methods to prevent it from gaining value.
Counterspells are also an effective tool, countering the Manticore itself or the creature it may target with its ability. Should the Manticore already be on the field, employ tactics that limit its options, like enchantments that prevent it from attacking or using activated abilities. Finally, life gain strategies could offset the impact of its direct damage, giving you more time to address this formidable foe and tilt the scales in your favor.
Thorough knowledge and anticipation of when the Heart-Piercer Manticore might make its appearance are key to nullifying its effects and maintaining control over the game. With these approaches, you stand a good chance of weathering the onslaught and securing victory against adversaries who rely on this powerful card.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Heart-Piercer Manticore MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Amonkhet, 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 Heart-Piercer Manticore and other MTG cards:
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Printings
The Heart-Piercer Manticore Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2019-08-23. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-04-28 | Amonkhet | AKH | 138 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy | |
| 2 | 2017-04-28 | Amonkhet | AKH | 6 | 2015 | Token | Black | Scott Murphy | |
| 3 | 2017-04-29 | Amonkhet Promos | PAKH | 138s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy | |
| 4 | 2019-08-23 | Commander 2019 | C19 | 7 | 2015 | Token | Black | Cristi Balanescu | |
| 5 | 2019-08-23 | Commander 2019 | C19 | 146 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Scott Murphy |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Heart-Piercer Manticore has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Heart-Piercer Manticore card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | For each card with embalm, a corresponding game play supplement token can be found in some Amonkhet booster packs. These supplements are not required to play with cards with embalm; you can use the same items to represent an embalmed token as you would any other token. |
| 2017-04-18 | Heart-Piercer Manticore features a new style of triggered ability. When it enters the battlefield, its triggered ability goes on the stack without a target. While that ability is resolving, you may sacrifice a creature. If you do, a second ability triggers and you pick a target that will be dealt damage. This is different from other abilities that say “If you do . . .” in that players may cast spells and activate abilities before a creature is sacrificed and then again after the creature is sacrificed but before damage is dealt. |
| 2017-04-18 | Heart-Piercer Manticore’s damage-dealing ability triggers only when you sacrifice a creature as a result of the instruction of its triggered ability. It won’t trigger if you sacrifice a creature for any other reason. |
| 2017-04-18 | If the card copied by the token had any “when -his permanent] enters the battlefield” abilities, then the token also has those abilities and will trigger them when it’s created. Similarly, any “as -his permanent] enters the battlefield” or “ -his permanent] enters the battlefield with” abilities that the token has copied will also work. |
| 2017-04-18 | The sacrificed creature’s last known existence on the battlefield is checked to determine its power. |
| 2017-04-18 | The token copies exactly what was printed on the original card and nothing else. It doesn’t copy any information about the object the card was before it was put into your graveyard. |
| 2017-04-18 | The token is a Zombie in addition to its other types and is white instead of its other colors. It has no mana cost, and thus its converted mana cost is 0. These are copiable values of the token that other effects may copy. |
| 2017-04-18 | You can’t sacrifice multiple creatures to deal damage multiple times. |
| 2017-07-14 | If a spell or ability puts a creature card with embalm into your graveyard during your main phase, you’ll have priority immediately after that spell or ability resolves. You can activate the creature card’s embalm ability before any player can exile it with an effect, such as that of Crook of Condemnation, if it’s legal for you to do so. |
| 2017-07-14 | Once you’ve activated an embalm ability, the card is immediately exiled. Opponents can’t try to stop the ability by exiling the card with an effect such as that of Crook of Condemnatnion. |