Hexbane Tortoise MTG Card

Hexbane Tortoise enhances your board control and can indirectly lead to card advantage during combat. Its low-cost for toughness accelerates board presence, efficiently allotting mana to other strategies. Syncs well with instant-speed spells, fostering a flexible and unpredictable gameplay style.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Turtle
Abilities	Enlist,Ward
Released	2022-09-09
Set symbol
Set name	Dominaria United
Set code	DMU
Power	3
Toughness	2
Number	166
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Joshua Raphael

Text of card

Ward (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays .) Enlist (As this creature attacks, you may tap a nonattacking creature you control without summoning sickness. When you do, add its power to this creature's until end of turn.)

Cards like Hexbane Tortoise

Hexbane Tortoise is a unique creature card with characteristics that make it a solid defender in Magic: The Gathering. Drawing comparisons, it’s reminiscent of cards like Wall of Blossoms. Although Wall of Blossoms doesn’t have hexproof, it offers players a card upon entering the battlefield, an advantage Hexbane Tortoise does not have. Yet the Tortoise is endowed with hexproof, shielding it from targeted spells or abilities—an attribute the wall lacks.

Looking at other similar cards, there’s the formidable Carapace Forger, a creature with a potentially higher power, albeit without the protective shell of hexproof. It also requires specific deck-building around metalcraft to achieve its full potential, a requirement Hexbane Tortoise is free from. However, with Carapace Forger, you gain a stronger offensive presence, trading the security offered by hexproof for the chance at a more aggressive playstyle.

With its steadfast defensive capabilities and resilience against removal spells, Hexbane Tortoise holds its ground within Magic: The Gathering. If you’re seeking a durable and evasive defensive card for your deck, this could be the tortoise to help you win the race.

Cards similar to Hexbane Tortoise by color, type and mana cost

Hungry Hungry Heifer - MTG Card versions

Territorial Scythecat - MTG Card versions

Reki, the History of Kamigawa - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Hexbane Tortoise might not directly allow you to draw cards, but its sturdy presence on the battlefield can lead to advantageous exchanges with your opponents’ creatures. This often results in maintaining board control and indirectly contributes to card advantage as you dictate the pace of creature combat.

Resource Acceleration: While Hexbane Tortoise doesn’t produce mana or treasure tokens, its relatively low cost for a durable body can accelerate your board presence. This solidifies your resources in creatures rather quickly compared to other options at the same mana value, allowing you to allocate mana toward other spells and strategies efficiently.

Instant Speed: Although the Hexbane Tortoise itself isn’t an instant, its inherent synergy with instant-speed spells cannot be understated. The presence of a threatening blocker like the Tortoise can dissuade attackers, leaving your mana open for instant-speed interaction during your opponent’s turn. This dynamic invites a play style that maximizes flexibility and keeps opponents guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Hexbane Tortoise demands a card to be discarded from your hand, presenting a potential drawback when your hand size is dwindling and each card’s value is at a premium.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both green and blue mana, the Hexbane Tortoise is tailored for a Simic deck, potentially restricting its playability only to players who have incorporated both colors in their deck architecture.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its mana cost on the steeper side, Hexbane Tortoise positions itself as a more substantial investment when pitted against other options, granting an opening for opponents to capitalize on the tempo loss.

Reasons to Include Hexbane Tortoise in Your Collection

Versatility: Hexbane Tortoise boasts adaptability across a variety of deck strategies with its solid defensive stats and the ability to be an effective blocker. This characteristic allows it to fit seamlessly into defensive and control-oriented decks that value resilience on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card’s unique interactions open up opportunities for synergy with abilities or effects that trigger on either blocking or having high toughness creatures. This can significantly enhance strategies that capitalize on defensive postures or that require robust creatures to activate key combos.

Meta-Relevance: The current gameplay environment often sees aggressive creature strategies, making a sturdy defender like Hexbane Tortoise a valuable addition. Its capacity to hold off early onslaughts and maintain board presence can be crucial in keeping pace with prevalent aggro decks, giving you the time needed to stabilize and execute your game plan.

How to beat

The Hexbane Tortoise presents a unique challenge in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, being a creature with formidable staying power on the battlefield. Its key feature that demands attention is the hexproof ability, which shields it from targeted spells or abilities your opponents may control. Crucially, this attribute makes it resilient against direct removal spells that typically handle creatures with ease.

When facing Hexbane Tortoise, there are effective strategies to consider. Board wipes act as the great equalizer, eliminating all creatures on the field irrespective of protection—Wrath of God or Damnation are poignant examples. Alternatively, negative effects that don’t target, such as those from Cry of the Carnarium or Languish, can reduce a creature’s toughness or provide debuffs that lead to its demise, bypassing hexproof entirely. Lastly, combat tricks and abilities that provoke unfavorable blocks or bypass the creature altogether, such as trample or evasion abilities like flying, can help navigate past the sturdiness of Hexbane Tortoise and press the advantage to your side.

Acknowledging the Hexbane Tortoise’s strengths while arming yourself with the right counters ensures a balanced confrontation. Playing smartly around its hexproof ability can swiftly turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hexbane Tortoise MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria United, 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 Hexbane Tortoise and other MTG cards:

BUY NOW
BurnMana is an official partner of TCGPlayer

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hexbane Tortoise has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Hexbane Tortoise card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2022-09-09	The attacking player chooses whether to tap a creature for an enlist ability immediately after they tap the creatures that they have chosen to attack with. You can’t choose to enlist a creature later.
2022-09-09	To enlist a creature, that creature must be untapped, it must not be attacking (even if it has vigilance), and it must have haste or have been under that attacking player’s control since the beginning of their current turn.
2022-09-09	When a player taps a creature for an attacking creature’s enlist ability, that attacking creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the tapped creature’s power. This is a triggered ability that goes on the stack immediately after attackers have been declared in the declare attackers step.
2022-09-09	You may tap only one creature for an enlist ability of an attacking creature, and a single creature can’t be tapped for more than one enlist ability.