Stitched Drake MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Zombie Drake
Abilities Flying
Power 3
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Stitched Drake offers card advantage by efficiently repurposing graveyard creatures into aerial threats.
  2. Its low casting cost and graveyard synergy accelerate board presence, propelling your game forward.
  3. While not instant speed, Stitched Drake’s setup can outpace removal resources, offering a consequential edge.

Text of card

As an additional cost to cast Stitched Drake, exile a creature card from your graveyard. Flying

"The best skaab are more powerful and more beautiful than the sum of their parts." —Stitcher Geralf


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The resurrection of creatures, like Stitched Drake, from the graveyard plays a key role in gaining card advantage. By sacrificing a creature card in your graveyard, you essentially transform a non-resource into an efficient flying threat, meaning you’re leveraging past resources for current gain. This kind of mechanic can keep your hand free for other essential plays while maintaining a presence on the board.

Resource Acceleration: Although Stitched Drake itself doesn’t directly add resources, its relatively low cost and use of the graveyard as a resource can accelerate your board state. By using the graveyard as an extended hand, you’re more freely able to cast other spells that can impact the board or disrupt your opponent directly. This allows you to apply pressure and keep up the momentum with relatively minimal investment.

Instant Speed: While Stitched Drake does not function at instant speed, its requirement to exile a creature card from the graveyard doesn’t use the stack and can be set up on a previous turn. This means when you’re ready to summon the Drake, you’re doing so with a creature that’s already been dealt with once, potentially giving you an edge as your opponents expend resources to deal with a threat they’ve already seen before.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the most noticeable drawbacks is that the creation of Stitched Drake demands a player to exile a creature card from their graveyard. For decks that strategize around graveyard resources, this can be a considerable cost, as it potentially depletes valuable creature reanimation targets.

Specific Mana Cost: Stitched Drake comes with a blue mana-specific casting requirement, which can pose a constraint for multi-colored decks. This stipulation necessitates a steady source of blue mana, making it less versatile for inclusion in color-diverse strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: A summoning cost of three mana, including two of any color and one blue, might be deemed steep for a 3/4 flyer. Within the same mana range, players could cast creatures with additional abilities or spells with more impactful board presence, potentially making other cards a preferable choice over Stitched Drake in a tightly curated deck.


Reasons to Include Stitched Drake in Your Collection

Versatility: Stitched Drake has a place in a variety of blue-based decks. As a 3/4 flyer for only three mana, it offers an impressive body that can slot into both aggressive and control strategies equally well.

Combo Potential: The requirement to exile a creature card from your graveyard to cast it can synergize with graveyard-centric decks, chaining with other cards that benefit from or enable graveyard strategies.

Meta-Relevance: In metas with an abundance of creature-based strategies, Stitched Drake stands out as a resilient aerial blocker and an efficient threat, capable of swinging the tide of battle in your favor.


How to beat Stitched Drake

In Magic: The Gathering, confronting a card like Stitched Drake can be a true test of tactical skills. This blue creature card distinguishes itself with its undead subtype and a fascinating ability that necessitates a creature card to be exiled from your graveyard as part of its casting cost. Its solid flying body makes it a reliable aerial threat.

To effectively counter this zombie bird, one method is to apply graveyard disruption techniques to limit its summoning potential. With cards such as Tormod’s Crypt or Relic of Progenitus, you’re able to exile cards from the opponent’s graveyard, which can prevent the drake from taking flight. Removal spells that don’t send creatures to the graveyard, like Path to Exile or Imprisoned in the Moon, offer a way to bypass the creature’s recurring capabilities. Moreover, keeping flying blockers or spells that can deal damage to aerial threats will help you maintain control of the board and ultimately guide you to victory over Stitched Drake.

When planning your game strategy, considering these approaches will provide a robust defense against the Drake, exemplifying the importance of always having an answer to your opponent’s threats in your deck.


Cards like Stitched Drake

The world of Magic: The Gathering showcases an array of creatures with varying abilities, and Stitched Drake is a card that has captivated players in formats where resource management and graveyard strategies matter. One might draw comparisons to cards such as Hooting Mandrills, for example, which also leverages the graveyard by allowing you to delve to reduce its casting cost. Unlike Stitched Drake, it doesn’t require a specific creature card to be exiled from your graveyard, offering a bit more flexibility.

Another card that echoes the essence of Stitched Drake is Makeshift Mauler, a creature that also demands a creature card to be exiled from the graveyard for its cheaper casting cost. However, Makeshift Mauler comes into the battlefield with slightly different stats and lacks the flying ability, which gives Stitched Drake an aerial advantage. Then we have Skaab Ruinator, an imposing presence that not only needs creature cards from your graveyard but could potentially be recast from the graveyard itself. However, it carries a heftier mana cost and additional requirements compared to Stitched Drake’s straightforward conditions.

While Stitched Drake might not be the most potent creature in the MTG realm, its combination of thematic flavor and mechanical design provides a solid choice for players looking to capitalize on graveyard synergies within their decks.

Hooting Mandrills - MTG Card versions
Makeshift Mauler - MTG Card versions
Skaab Ruinator - MTG Card versions
Hooting Mandrills - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)
Makeshift Mauler - Innistrad (ISD)
Skaab Ruinator - Innistrad (ISD)

Cards similar to Stitched Drake by color, type and mana cost

Wall of Water - MTG Card versions
Prodigal Sorcerer - MTG Card versions
Apprentice Wizard - MTG Card versions
Homarid - MTG Card versions
Daring Apprentice - MTG Card versions
Time Elemental - MTG Card versions
Rootwater Shaman - MTG Card versions
Wind Drake - MTG Card versions
Volrath's Shapeshifter - MTG Card versions
Stronghold Biologist - MTG Card versions
Quicksilver Wall - MTG Card versions
Wall of Air - MTG Card versions
Phantom Warrior - MTG Card versions
Wormfang Drake - MTG Card versions
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - MTG Card versions
Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - MTG Card versions
Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - MTG Card versions
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - MTG Card versions
Mistform Warchief - MTG Card versions
Horned Turtle - MTG Card versions
Wall of Water - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Prodigal Sorcerer - Unlimited Edition (2ED)
Apprentice Wizard - The Dark (DRK)
Homarid - Fallen Empires (FEM)
Daring Apprentice - Mirage (MIR)
Time Elemental - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Rootwater Shaman - Tempest (TMP)
Wind Drake - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Volrath's Shapeshifter - Stronghold (STH)
Stronghold Biologist - Nemesis (NEM)
Quicksilver Wall - Prophecy (PCY)
Wall of Air - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Phantom Warrior - Duels of the Planeswalkers (DPA)
Wormfang Drake - Judgment (JUD)
Animating Faerie // Bring to Life - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Ghost of Ramirez DePietro - Commander Legends (CMR)
Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Queen of Ice // Rage of Winter - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Mistform Warchief - Scourge (SCG)
Horned Turtle - Eighth Edition (8ED)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stitched Drake MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad and Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed, 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 Stitched Drake and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Stitched Drake Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2011-09-30 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Chris Rahn.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12011-09-30InnistradISD 802003normalblackChris Rahn
22016-02-26Duel Decks: Blessed vs. CursedDDQ 492015normalblackChris Rahn
32018-12-07Ultimate MastersUMA 722015normalblackChris Rahn
42019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 5052015normalblackChris Rahn
52020-09-26The ListPLST DDQ-492015normalblackChris Rahn

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stitched Drake has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2013-04-15 Players can only respond once this spell has been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to otherwise remove the creature card you exiled in order to prevent you from casting this spell.
2013-04-15 You must exile exactly one creature card from your graveyard to cast this spell; you cannot cast it without exiling a creature card, and you cannot exile additional creature cards.

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