Grimdancer MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Nightmare
Released	2020-04-24
Set symbol
Set name	Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Set code	IKO
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	90
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Randy Vargas

Key Takeaways

Offers immediate battlefield adaptability with choices of lifelink, menace, or deathtouch upon entry.
Can influence resource management by maintaining life totals, aiding aggressive plays.
Requires strategic deck support due to specific mana cost and discard synergies.

Text of card

Grimdancer enters the battlefield with your choice of two different counters on it from among menace, deathtouch, and lifelink.

Most monsters are more frightening when they skitter unseen in the dark. Most.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Grimdancer arrives on the battlefield as a versatile creature, capable of giving you immediate advantage with its choice of abilities. Its ability to adapt to various game states ensures that you’re not just playing a creature; you’re enhancing your strategy with a tailor-fit asset that thrives in complex board situations.

Resource Acceleration: Although it doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, Grimdancer’s flexibility in its modal abilities can indirectly accelerate your resources. By choosing lifelink, the creature helps maintain your life total, effectively giving you more room to utilize aggressive or high-cost strategies. In a sense, a healthier life total can be treated as a resource in MTG.

Instant Speed: Grimdancer doesn’t have instant speed, but its menacing presence affects how opponents will have to plan their attacks and defenses. Being able to choose deathtouch or menace when Grimdancer enters the battlefield puts immediate pressure on your opponent, forcing them to react. This instant pressure can alter their course of action, playing into your hands.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Grimdancer doesn’t have a discard requirement itself, using it in a deck often necessitates support from discard mechanics or enablers, which can strain your hand if not managed properly.

Specific Mana Cost: Grimdancer’s mana cost is strictly black, which constrains it to black-centered or heavy black decks, potentially limiting its versatility across the wider range of MTG decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including two black, Grimdancer sits at a point on the mana curve where players could cast other creatures with potentially greater immediate impact, making it a more intensive investment in the early game.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Grimdancer’s ability to adapt to the battlefield with its choice of two out of three possible abilities—lifelink, menace, or deathtouch—allows it to become the ideal creature for a variety of situations, fitting smoothly into many deck archetypes.

Combo Potential: Boasting multiple abilities, this creature pairs well with cards that exploit those traits, enabling synergies particularly in decks that benefit from life gain, creature removal, or evasion tactics.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature interaction is crucial, Grimdancer can become an essential asset, either by surviving combat with deathtouch, slipping through defenses with menace, or stabilizing your life total with lifelink.

How to beat

Grimdancer is a versatile creature from Magic: The Gathering that can be a nuisance to handle due to its multiple abilities. Upon entering the battlefield, it gains your choice of two different abilities from menace, deathtouch, and lifelink. This flexibility makes it a formidable card in combat and can sway the tide of the game.

To effectively deal with Grimdancer, one of the most reliable strategies is to use removal spells that don’t involve direct combat. Spells like “Murder” or “Path to Exile” can take the creature off the board without having to engage its combat abilities. Additionally, sweepers or board-clear effects like “Wrath of God” can eliminate Grimdancer regardless of the abilities it has acquired. Ensuring you have these types of spells in your deck will greatly increase your chances of neutralizing threats like Grimdancer.

Another method is to limit the usefulness of its chosen abilities. For instance, if Grimdancer has menace and deathtouch, creating a wide board presence with numerous creatures can make it difficult for your opponent to capitalize on menaces’ attacking benefit. Overall, precision removal and strategic planning are key to overcoming the hurdles Grimdancer poses during gameplay.

Cards like Grimdancer

Grimdancer is a versatile creature card in the realm of Magic: The Gathering, offering unique customization in abilities each time it enters the battlefield. Looking at comparable cards, we have Vampire Nighthawk, which shares the deathtouch and lifelink abilities—a staple for board superiority. Yet, Grimdancer edges forward with the potential to also choose menace, allowing it to evade blockers and pressuring the opponent more directly.

Nightshade Peddler stands as another peer, bestowing creatures with deathtouch. The difference is that Nightshade Peddler requires pairing with another creature to share its ability. Grimdancer, alternatively, enters the fray self-sufficient, fully armed with its chosen abilities. The flexibility of Grimdancer makes it a formidable card in decks that aim to adapt to various threats on the battlefield efficiently.

When analyzing these creatures and their impact on the game, Grimdancer showcases an adaptability that can be fine-tuned to the strategy needed at the moment of play, making it a distinct and valuable asset in creature-based strategies in Magic: The Gathering.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Grimdancer MTG card by a specific set like Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, 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 Grimdancer and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Grimdancer has restrictions

Format	Legality
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Penny	Legal
Timeless	Legal