Hollow One MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeArtifact Creature — Golem
Abilities Cycling
Power 4
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Cycling and discard abilities of Hollow One ensure efficient deck filtering and unexpected battlefield presence.
  2. It demands strategic discarding, risking card advantage for potential resource acceleration and powerful plays.
  3. Adapting to graveyard-centric metas, it offers great synergy in combo decks and variable board strategies.

Text of card

Hollow One costs less to cast for each card you've cycled or discarded this turn. Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

The embodiment of yearning, forever drifting the deserts to find what had once made it whole.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The cycling ability of Hollow One can be a potent way to filter through your deck, ensuring you’re not holding onto dead cards and potentially bringing you closer to the pieces you need for victory.

Resource Acceleration: Hollow One’s cost reduction for each card you’ve cycled or discarded this turn can lead to an efficient use of resources, enabling you to deploy a significant threat much earlier than usual, thus accelerating your board presence.

Instant Speed: While Hollow One itself isn’t an instant, its synergy with instant speed cycling cards means you can effectively reduce its casting cost on your opponent’s turn, springing a surprise blocker or aggressor when least expected.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Hollow One demands players to discard cards to fully capitalize on its potential. In environments where hand resources are vital, this can setback your game plan significantly, especially if you’re unable to draw or retrieve the discarded cards later.

Specific Mana Cost: Even though Hollow One can cost less with each card you discard, its initial {5} mana cost demands a red mana, potentially making it a challenging fit in multicolored decks not heavily invested in red resources.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With an initial mana value of five, Hollow One’s cost is on the higher side for creatures without an immediate board impact. This cost must be mitigated by other cards to make it worthwhile, and without the right setup, it can be a costly addition with minimal early benefit.


Reasons to Include Hollow One in Your Collection

Versatility: Hollow One presents a flexible role in different deck archetypes due to its unique cost reduction mechanic. Whether running a discard-heavy setup or a cycling-based strategy, this creature can be deployed at a minimal cost or sometimes completely free—for a substantial board presence.

Combo Potential: With its ability to have its mana cost reduced by the number of cards you’ve discarded this turn, it seamlessly integrates into combo decks that aim to cast multiple spells in a single turn. It rewards high-engagement playstyles that revolve around card churn.

Meta-Relevance: Especially in metas where graveyard synergy and fast-paced gameplay predominate, Hollow One can become a recurring threat. It can consistently provide value and quickly adapt to the shifting landscape of competitive play, often catching opponents off guard and forcing them to adjust their strategy.


How to beat Hollow One

Overcoming Hollow One in an MTG match requires strategic deck building and timely play. This artifact creature boasts a significant discount to its casting cost for each card you’ve discarded in the turn, which can lead to incredibly early and high-impact plays. To counteract this, graveyard disruption is key. Tools like Scavenging Ooze or Leyline of the Void can interrupt the synergies Hollow One relies on to enter the battlefield quickly and cheaply.

Control decks that run counter spells can also keep Hollow One at bay, as countering the spells that enable discarding, such as Burning Inquiry or Goblin Lore, disrupts the Hollow One’s strategy. Artifact removal like Abrade or Shatterstorm can remove Hollow One after it has been cast, ensuring that the board stays clear of this mechanical threat. Nonetheless, timing is crucial; removing Hollow One after your opponent has achieved a cost reduction can result in card disadvantage. Therefore, focusing on proactive disruption and swift removal can pave the way to victory against Hollow One’s swift and heavy assaults.


Cards like Hollow One

The unique aspect of Hollow One makes it a card of interest for players who favor graveyard strategies. This artifact creature stands out because its cost is reduced for each card you’ve cycled or discarded this turn, potentially enabling you to cast it for free. When examining similar cards, we can draw parallels to Gurmag Angler, which also benefits from cards in the graveyard by allowing you to delve – essentially, casting it for a single black mana by exiling cards from your graveyard.

Another card that resonates with the themes of discard and cycle is Avaricious Dragon. Although it does not offer a cost reduction, it upholds the concept of discarding cards to gain extra draw, providing a steady flow of new options each turn. Flameblade Adept merits a mention; it doesn’t offer cost reduction, but it does get stronger for each card you’ve cycled or discarded, synergizing well with the mechanic found in Hollow One.

Overall, while Hollow One encourages a strategy focused on converting discards into a powerful board presence, cards like Gurmag Angler, Avaricious Dragon, and Flameblade Adept each offer their unique twist on leveraging the graveyard and discard mechanics to enhance gameplay in MTG.

Gurmag Angler - MTG Card versions
Avaricious Dragon - MTG Card versions
Flameblade Adept - MTG Card versions
Gurmag Angler - Fate Reforged (FRF)
Avaricious Dragon - Magic Origins (ORI)
Flameblade Adept - Amonkhet (AKH)

Cards similar to Hollow One by color, type and mana cost

Ring of Renewal - MTG Card versions
Clockwork Avian - MTG Card versions
Gauntlets of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Soldevi Steam Beast - MTG Card versions
Sand Golem - MTG Card versions
Pandora's Box - MTG Card versions
Belbe's Portal - MTG Card versions
Crumbling Sanctuary - MTG Card versions
Mind's Eye - MTG Card versions
Horizon Stone - MTG Card versions
The Deck of Many Things - MTG Card versions
Clockwork Vorrac - MTG Card versions
Timesifter - MTG Card versions
Leveler - MTG Card versions
Myr Matrix - MTG Card versions
Dross Golem - MTG Card versions
Razormane Masticore - MTG Card versions
Thran Golem - MTG Card versions
Coat of Arms - MTG Card versions
Clockwork Hydra - MTG Card versions
Ring of Renewal - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Clockwork Avian - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Gauntlets of Chaos - Chronicles (CHR)
Soldevi Steam Beast - Alliances (ALL)
Sand Golem - Mirage (MIR)
Pandora's Box - Astral Cards (PAST)
Belbe's Portal - Nemesis (NEM)
Crumbling Sanctuary - World Championship Decks 2000 (WC00)
Mind's Eye - The Brothers' War Retro Artifacts (BRR)
Horizon Stone - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
The Deck of Many Things - Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Promos (PAFR)
Clockwork Vorrac - Mirrodin (MRD)
Timesifter - Mirrodin (MRD)
Leveler - Mystery Booster Retail Edition Foils (FMB1)
Myr Matrix - Darksteel (DST)
Dross Golem - Darksteel (DST)
Razormane Masticore - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Thran Golem - The List (PLST)
Coat of Arms - The List (PLST)
Clockwork Hydra - Time Spiral (TSP)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Hollow One MTG card by a specific set like Hour of Devastation and Hour of Devastation Promos, 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 Hollow One and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Hollow One Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-07-14 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Anthony Palumbo.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-07-14Hour of DevastationHOU 1632015normalblackAnthony Palumbo
22017-07-15Hour of Devastation PromosPHOU 163s2015normalblackAnthony Palumbo
32020-08-13Amonkhet RemasteredAKR 2742015normalblackAnthony Palumbo
42021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 3961997normalblackAnthony Palumbo

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Hollow One has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-03-19 Hollow One’s cost is reduced even if the cards you’ve cycled or discarded aren’t in your graveyard.
2021-03-19 Hollow One’s first ability doesn’t give you permission to discard cards. You’ll need another effect that instructs or allows you to discard them, such as a cycling ability.
2021-03-19 Once you’ve discarded three cards during one turn, Hollow One costs to cast. It won’t stop at or cost negative amounts of mana.
2021-03-19 To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you’re paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions (such as that of Hollow One). The mana value of the spell is determined by only its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast that spell was.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks