Horobi's Whisper MTG Card

Horobi’s Whisper allows card advantage through potential two-for-one trades, influencing game dynamics. Its interaction with the graveyard for resource acceleration can provide repeated card utilization. Instant speed execution gives players a strategic advantage by disrupting opponent plays.

Horobi's Whisper - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)

Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
2005-02-04 - Number 70

Modern Masters (MMA)
2013-06-07 - Number 88

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Instant — Arcane
Abilities	Splice

Text of card

If you control a Swamp, destroy target nonblack creature. Splice onto Arcane— Remove four cards in your graveyard from the game. (As you play an Arcane spell, you may reveal this card from your hand and pay its splice cost. If you do, add this card's effects to that spell.)

Cards like Horobi's Whisper

Horobi’s Whisper offers a unique approach to removal within Magic: The Gathering, standing in comparison to spells like Doom Blade and Murder. These black spells are staples in the realm of creature control, known for their straightforward elimination of threats on the board. However, Horobi’s Whisper brings its own flair to the strategy with the spirit-craft mechanic, allowing repeated use if you’ve cast a Spirit or Arcane spell.

Delve into the dynamics of Terminate and Go for the Throat, which also serve the purpose of dispatching creatures. The former offers no escape for multicolored creatures, while the latter excels at sniping non-artifact creatures, both at the cost of just two mana. Horobi’s Whisper’s potential for recurrence, though, provides a tactical advantage over these single-use counterparts.

To sum up, Horobi’s Whisper has its own niche, especially in decks that synergize with Spirits and Arcane spells. When assessing the flexibility and repeatability of removal spells in MTG, Horobi’s Whisper presents an intriguing choice for players looking to maximize their control over the battlefield with every cast.

Cards similar to Horobi's Whisper by color, type and mana cost

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Horobi’s Whisper offers the potential for a two-for-one trade. Removing a threat from the board while keeping cards in hand can tip the scales in your favor, giving you an edge over opponents in terms of available resources.

Resource Acceleration: This MTG card interacts smartly with your graveyard, leveraging any soulshift or arcane spells you have to potentially recur Horobi’s Whisper back to hand. This effectively accelerates your resource usage by reusing the same card multiple times.

Instant Speed: Horobi’s Whisper’s instant speed means that it can be a versatile tool in your arsenal, allowing you to disrupt your opponent’s strategy at critical moments or even during their turn, providing a strategic advantage and keeping your opponents on their toes.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable downside of Horobi’s Whisper is the requirement to discard a card to activate its splice onto arcane ability. This can be a significant setback, especially when your hand is already depleted, and each card holds considerable value for your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Horobi’s Whisper requires black mana for casting and its splice ability, which can be restrictive. Players running multicolor decks may find this mana specificity a hurdle, especially in situations where their mana base is not perfectly aligned to accommodate such costs.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two black, Horobi’s Whisper is considered costly when compared to other instant removal options. Its additional splice cost also requires another three mana including two black, which could potentially tie up a player’s resources, hindering them from executing other plays within the same turn.

Reasons to Include Horobi’s Whisper in Your Collection

Versatility: Horobi’s Whisper, while being a niche card, can be an asset in decks that focus on controlling the board. Its ability to destroy a creature when you have threshold adds a dimension of strategy to gameplay, making it a potential fit for black-focused decks that manipulate their graveyard for value.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations with cards that allow multiple instances of targeting. By pairing it with cards that can target multiple creatures, you create a powerful machinery to clear the field of opponent’s threats, thus providing a pathway to victory in creature-heavy metas.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creatures play a significant role, Horobi’s Whisper steps up as a scalable removal option. Particularly in metagames where graveyard interactions are prevalent, achieving threshold becomes more accessible, thereby elevating the card’s removal potential and making it a strategic addition for tailored deck builds.

How to beat

Horobi’s Whisper brings a unique dynamic to Magic: The Gathering, challenging players with its spell removal capabilities. This card forces opponents to think twice about the creatures they deploy and the actions they take. Unlike a straightforward removal spell, Horobi’s Whisper has the potential to disrupt strategy when combined with arcane spells, which can position it as a recurring threat on the battlefield.

To effectively counter Horobi’s Whisper, ensuring a versatile deck with a mix of instant-speed spells and abilities that can neutralize threats outside of combat is key. One method is leveraging cards that can regenerate or grant indestructibility to your creatures, circumventing the destruction Horobi’s Whisper can cause. Alternatively, playing creatures with hexproof can protect them from being targeted by removal spells in the first place, putting you at an advantage.

Understanding the nuances of Horobi’s Whisper and preparing your deck to handle not just it, but a variety of removal threats, is crucial in Magic: The Gathering. Having the right balance of defensive maneuvers and targeted counters can turn the tide of battle, diminishing the impact that such cards can have on the outcome of a game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Horobi's Whisper MTG card by a specific set like Betrayers of Kamigawa 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 Horobi's Whisper and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Horobi's Whisper Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2005-02-04 and 2013-06-07. Illustrated by Aleksi Briclot.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2005-02-04	Betrayers of Kamigawa	BOK		70	2003	Normal	Black	Aleksi Briclot
2	2013-06-07	Modern Masters	MMA		88	2003	Normal	Black	Aleksi Briclot

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Horobi's Whisper has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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

Date	Text
2005-02-01	Horobi’s Whisper can target a creature even if you don’t control a Swamp, but the spell does nothing.
2013-06-07	A card with a splice ability can’t be spliced onto itself because the spell is on the stack (and not in your hand) when you reveal the cards you want to splice onto it.
2013-06-07	If all of the spell’s targets are illegal when the spell tries to resolve, it won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen.
2013-06-07	You choose all targets for the spell after revealing cards you want to splice, including any targets required by the text of any of those cards. You may choose a different target for each instance of the word “target” on the resulting spell.
2013-06-07	You reveal all cards you intend to splice at the same time. Each individual card can be spliced only once onto any one spell.