Disciple of Griselbrand MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Human Cleric
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Disciple’s instant speed sacrifice can turn the tide in gameplay, offering life gain and strategic flexibility.
  2. Its specific mana needs may limit versatility, but in the right deck, it accelerates your strategy.
  3. While demanding a creature sacrifice, its unique lifegain mechanic is valuable in lifegain-focused decks.

Text of card

, Sacrifice a creature: You gain life equal to the sacrificed creature's toughness.

The demon Griselbrand dared to stand against Avacyn, earning him the loathing of thousands and the admiration of a few.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Disciple of Griselbrand’s sacrifice ability allows you to leverage expendable creatures for life gain, effectively turning each creature into a potential resource. This can tip the scales in drawing out your late-game threats or synergizing with cards that benefit from life gain.

Resource Acceleration: This card can be a key enabler in decks that focus on utilizing the graveyard. By converting creatures into life points, you set the stage for powerful reanimation spells or mechanics that feed off the life you’ve gained, potentially accelerating your strategy ahead of your opponent’s curve.

Instant Speed: The sacrifice ability of Disciple of Griselbrand can be activated at instant speed, providing flexibility during game play. Whether it’s in response to removal, to surprise an opponent during combat, or simply to utilize your mana in the most efficient way at the end of your opponent’s turn, this capability provides strategic depth that can be pivotal in tight matches.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must face a trade-off with Disciple of Griselbrand. To activate its ability, you’re required to sacrifice another creature, which can be harmful if you’re already behind on the board or running low on creatures to use as fodder.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature card demands a very particular type of mana investment. Tapping for one black mana can restrict its integration into multi-color or non-black decks, potentially limiting its versatility in various play styles.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although its mana cost is moderate, it is important to consider efficiency. With a casting cost of two mana, including one black, and its ability also requiring one black mana each time, it’s vital to evaluate if the lifegain trade-off justifies the slot in your deck. There may be other cards offering similar lifegain effects for less mana investment and without the need for constant creature sacrifices.


Reasons to Include Disciple of Griselbrand in Your Collection

Versatility: Disciple of Griselbrand offers a unique lifegain mechanic that can be a boon in decks that thrive on life manipulation. Its one-mana activation cost allows for it to be used multiple times in a turn, making it a flexible option for various stages of the game.

Combo Potential: This creature can be a key piece in combos that capitalize on sacrificing creatures for value. Paired with cards that generate tokens or have undying/persist abilities, it can become a repeatable source of life, essential for outlasting opponents or fueling life-dependent win conditions.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where aggressive strategies dominate, having a consistent source of life gain can be crucial. Disciple of Griselbrand can deter attackers and help stabilize your life total while setting up your board for the late game.


How to beat

The Disciple of Griselbrand presents an interesting challenge on the battlefield, offering a strategic life-gain mechanic that can bolster a player’s staying power in MTG. Understanding this card’s role is crucial for devising effective countermeasures. The card’s ability to convert creature sacrifice into life points can be a continuous source of frustration if not addressed directly.

Key to overcoming the Disciple is interrupting this sacrifice synergy. Targeted removal spells are your prime weapons, letting you dispatch the Disciple before it can be utilized to its full potential. Playing cards that restrict or penalize creature sacrifice can disrupt your opponent’s plans, while graveyard manipulation can prevent them from capitalizing on creatures that are meant to be sacrificed.

In essence, maintaining control over the board and denying your adversary the opportunity to execute their strategies with Disciple of Griselbrand is a solid approach. With a careful selection of disrupting spells and tactics, the card’s impact can be significantly diminished, weaving the path for your victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

Disciple of Griselbrand is a nuanced card that can be a linchpin in life-centric MTG decks. Understanding its strengths and limitations can greatly inform your deck construction and in-game tactics. If your play style leans towards utilizing the graveyard or if you’re looking to include a lifegain mechanic, consider how this card could bolster your strategy. Are you intrigued by the potential synergies or curious about alternative cards that can fulfill a similar role in your deck? Dive deeper with us as we analyze, compare, and provide insights to help you refine your collection and gameplay. Embrace the intricacies of MTG and discover how Disciple of Griselbrand can contribute to your deck’s resiliency and adaptability.


Cards like Disciple of Griselbrand

Disciple of Griselbrand presents itself as a unique creature among the pantheon of sacrificial outlets in Magic: The Gathering. At its core, it shares a kinship with cards like Bloodthrone Vampire, which also thrives on the mechanic of sacrificing other creatures to gain benefits. While Bloodthrone Vampire provides a temporary power boost to itself, Disciple of Griselbrand offers a distinct advantage – life gain equal to the sacrificed creature’s toughness. This adds a layer of resilience to games, particularly for decks that capitalize on life as a resource.

Diving deeper into the realm of sacrificial synergies, one can’t overlook Viscera Seer, a card revered for its ability to scry rather than gain life. This subtle difference can offer a more tactical edge in controlling the next draws. Altar’s Reap is another standout, offering card draw at the cost of a creature sacrifice. The card advantage gained here might be more immediate and impactful in certain strategies compared to the incremental life gain from Disciple of Griselbrand.

Examining the strategic nuances of these cards, Disciple of Griselbrand secures a position in decks where sustaining life totals is crucial. The elegant synergy with lifelink strategies and the potential for enduring late-game scenarios underscore its role within the vast realm of creature sacrifice mechanisms in Magic: The Gathering.

Bloodthrone Vampire - MTG Card versions
Viscera Seer - MTG Card versions
Altar's Reap - MTG Card versions
Bloodthrone Vampire - URL/Convention Promos (PURL)
Viscera Seer - Magic 2011 (M11)
Altar's Reap - Innistrad (ISD)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Disciple of Griselbrand MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad and Commander 2013, 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 Disciple of Griselbrand and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Disciple of Griselbrand Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2011-09-30 and 2013-11-01. Illustrated by Clint Cearley.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-09-30InnistradISD 982003normalblackClint Cearley
22013-11-01Commander 2013C13 742003normalblackClint Cearley

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Disciple of Griselbrand has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2011-09-22 The amount of life you gain is equal to the toughness of the creature as it last existed on the battlefield, not its toughness in the graveyard.

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