Crawling Infestation MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment
Abilities Mill

Key Takeaways

  1. Filling your graveyard enables powerful strategies like delve and threshold through consistent self-milling.
  2. Creating comeback opportunities with indirect resource acceleration by repurposing graveyard creatures.
  3. Instant speed synergy grants surprise tactics, making the best use of your graveyard as a resource.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may mill two cards. (You may put the top two cards of your library into your graveyard.) Whenever one or more creature cards are put into your graveyard from anywhere during your turn, create a 1/1 green Insect creature token. This ability triggers only once each turn.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Crawling Infestation offers a consistent method of filling your graveyard, which in turn fuels strategies that capitalize on having a substantial number of card types or creatures in the graveyard for effects such as delve, threshold, or other graveyard-centric tactics.

Resource Acceleration: This enchantment may indirectly accelerate your resources. By filling the graveyard with creatures, it sets the stage for abilities and spells that bring creatures back to the battlefield or hand, effectively giving you more plays than what is just in your hand.

Instant Speed: Although Crawling Infestation itself is not an instant, it facilitates the use of cards with flashback or other abilities you can activate at instant speed from the graveyard. This can provide unexpected turns and strategies mid-game that take opponents by surprise.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Crawling Infestation necessitates discarding a card, which can prove to be a downside when your hand is already depleted, or you’re short on valuable cards.

Specific Mana Cost: This card demands a precise mana composition, including both green and black, to cast. This requirement can restrict its inclusion to decks that run these colors and may result in mana issues in more color-diverse decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that is on the higher side for its effects, Crawling Infestation may be less appealing compared to lower-cost alternatives that provide graveyard interaction or creature generation.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Crawling Infestation offers a unique angle of play by facilitating graveyard strategies. It’s a great addition to decks that thrive on creature recycling, enabling you to consistently mill creatures into your graveyard for various synergistic effects.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations that capitalize on fodder in the graveyard. Paired with effects that bring creatures back to the battlefield or cards that benefit from high creature counts in the graveyard, Crawling Infestation can be a linchpin in a powerful engine.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where games are likely to reach the mid to late stages, Crawling Infestation can become increasingly advantageous. It quietly amasses resources in the graveyard, which can be used to turn the tide in grueling matches.


How to beat Crawling Infestation

Crawling Infestation is a unique enchantment card that presents a special kind of challenge in Magic: The Gathering. It chips away at the opponent’s library, gradually transforming their cards into insect creature tokens under the owner’s control. To tackle this gradual threat, emphasize on enchantment removal cards. Naturalize or Disenchant, both of which are low-cost spells that can eliminate Crawling Infestation before too many insect tokens accumulate.

Additionally, maintaining a steady board presence with creatures that can block or manage multiple tokens is vital. Cards like Golden Demise or other sweeper spells that clear out numerous small creatures can effectively counteract the onslaught of insect tokens. Furthermore, graveyard hate cards like Relic of Progenitus hinders Crawling Infestation’s power by removing targeted cards in the graveyard that would turn into insect tokens.

Ultimately, staying ahead requires swift action and strategic resource management. Managing your spells and creatures effectively against Crawling Infestation will ensure your opponent’s creeping strategy does not overrun your game. Thinking ahead and utilizing your deck’s tools to mitigate the infestation can turn the tide in your favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving deeper into the MTG realm with Crawling Infestation unlocks a world of graveyard dynamics that broadens your strategic horizons. Perfect for lovers of multilayered gameplay, this card promises to elevate decks by churning out potential with each upkeep. If your passion lies in intricate play that keeps opponents guessing or if synergy and combo potential fuel your MTG pursuits, mastering Crawling Infestation can be a game-changer. Curious to learn more and exploit this card to its fullest? Enhance your deck and expand your tactics with insights from our detailed guides. Navigate your way to triumph with us.


Cards like Crawling Infestation

Crawling Infestation is a unique enchantment that breathes life into graveyard strategies in Magic: The Gathering. When eyed alongside cards like The Mending of Dominaria, we notice that Crawling Infestation continuously fuels the graveyard with creature cards, albeit at the expense of the player’s library. The Mending of Dominaria, however, takes a slower approach by dredging up lands in its earlier stages and eventually resurrecting creatures from the graveyard.

Exploring further, Golgari Grave-Troll stands out for its dredge mechanic that replaces a single draw with a substantial number of cards moved from the library to the graveyard. But Crawling Infestation’s ability can be repeated each upkeep, offering a consistent stream for graveyard use. Worm Harvest is another graveyard-synergistic card, creating tokens based on the number of land cards in the graveyard, which can synergize well with the creatures discarded by Crawling Infestation.

Evaluating these different approaches to graveyard-feeding mechanics, Crawling Infestation carves its niche. It’s particularly potent in self-mill decks where maximizing the number of creature cards in the graveyard is key to victory. So while each card has its own merits, Crawling Infestation holds a special appeal for relentless graveyard strategists in Magic: The Gathering.

The Mending of Dominaria - MTG Card versions
Golgari Grave-Troll - MTG Card versions
Worm Harvest - MTG Card versions
The Mending of Dominaria - Dominaria Promos (PDOM)
Golgari Grave-Troll - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)
Worm Harvest - Eventide (EVE)

Cards similar to Crawling Infestation by color, type and mana cost

Kudzu - MTG Card versions
Wanderlust - MTG Card versions
Maddening Wind - MTG Card versions
Cycle of Life - MTG Card versions
Hall of Gemstone - MTG Card versions
Dense Foliage - MTG Card versions
Momentum - MTG Card versions
Ancestral Mask - MTG Card versions
Broken Fall - MTG Card versions
Lure - MTG Card versions
Food Chain - MTG Card versions
Howling Moon - MTG Card versions
The Dragon-Kami Reborn // Dragon-Kami's Egg - MTG Card versions
Squirrel Nest - MTG Card versions
Alpha Status - MTG Card versions
Lifegift - MTG Card versions
Blanchwood Armor - MTG Card versions
Rites of Flourishing - MTG Card versions
Fyndhorn Pollen - MTG Card versions
Arachnus Web - MTG Card versions
Kudzu - Limited Edition Beta (LEB)
Wanderlust - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Maddening Wind - Ice Age (ICE)
Cycle of Life - Mirage (MIR)
Hall of Gemstone - World Championship Decks 1998 (WC98)
Dense Foliage - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Momentum - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Ancestral Mask - Eternal Masters (EMA)
Broken Fall - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Lure - Tenth Edition (10E)
Food Chain - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Howling Moon - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
The Dragon-Kami Reborn // Dragon-Kami's Egg - Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
Squirrel Nest - World Championship Decks 2002 (WC02)
Alpha Status - Scourge (SCG)
Lifegift - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Blanchwood Armor - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Rites of Flourishing - Future Sight (FUT)
Fyndhorn Pollen - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Arachnus Web - Mystery Booster (MB1)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Crawling Infestation MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Crimson Vow and Innistrad: Double Feature, 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 Crawling Infestation and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Crawling Infestation Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-11-19 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by Khurrum.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-11-19Innistrad: Crimson VowVOW 1932015normalblackKhurrum
22022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 4602015normalblackKhurrum
32023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 2812015normalblackKhurrum

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Crawling Infestation has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2021-11-19 Crawling Infestation must be on the battlefield for its ability to trigger. If it's destroyed at the same time as one or more creatures you own, its ability won't trigger.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks