Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher MTG Card
2021-09-24 - Number 299
2021-09-24 - Number 174
2022-01-28 - Number 174
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Werewolf |
| Abilities | Daybound,Ward |
| Power | 6 |
| Toughness | 5 |
Key Takeaways
- Transforms swiftly under specific conditions, offering significant mana efficiency and board presence.
- Flip ability disrupts opponents and can maintain card advantage when nonland permanents are destroyed.
- Despite needing a discarded card to transform, it brings versatile power and meta relevance.
Text of card
Ward (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays .) Daybound (If a player casts no spells during their own turn, it becomes night next turn.)
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The flip side, Dire-Strain Demolisher, when transformed from Burly Breaker, provides an excellent means to cycle through your deck. Destroying an artifact or enchantment each turn can significantly disrupt an opponent’s strategy while replenishing your hand if it’s a nonland permanent.
Resource Acceleration: Burly Breaker’s werewolf nature allows the card to take full advantage of turns where players opt not to cast spells. This can lead to a swift transformation into Dire-Strain Demolisher, making it a formidable force that embodies the concept of mana efficiency and board presence – a threat that must be addressed, potentially drawing resource commitment from your opponent.
Instant Speed: As a flip card from the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt set, the card itself may not be an instant, but its werewolf transformation is triggered by the passage of a turn where no spells were cast. This unique mechanic capitalizes on the inherent unpredictability of instant speed interactions, creating an environment where opponents must carefully consider their spell timing or risk facing a much more powerful threat.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of the Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher is the necessity to discard another card to transform it. This can set you back in card advantage, especially in tight games where every card counts.
Specific Mana Cost: The card’s strict mana requirements can restrict its inclusion in decks. The need for green mana to play Burly Breaker and red mana for its transformed form, Dire-Strain Demolisher, means that it’s not as flexible for deckbuilding as more color-friendly options.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of five mana for Burly Breaker and seven for Dire-Strain Demolisher’s side, it competes with other substantial game-changing cards. In fast-paced games, this cost can impede your momentum compared to other creatures or spells that offer immediate impact at a lower mana value.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher offers flexibility as both a formidable creature early in the game and a powerful transformed werewolf afterwards. Its daybound and nightbound abilities allow it to adapt to the changing pace of the match, making it a reliable addition to deck types that thrive on such dynamics.
Combo Potential: Utilize the card’s transformation to your advantage by pairing it with mechanisms that manipulate the day and night cycle. The Dire-Strain Demolisher side also synergizes with land destruction and direct damage strategies, enabling creative and devastating combos.
Meta-Relevance: In an environment where creature-heavy decks are prevalent, the raw power and size of Burly Breaker can dominate the board, and its evolved nighttime counterpart, Dire-Strain Demolisher, is perfect for closing games against slower, control-centric decks.
How to beat
Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher is a formidable dual-faced card that can impact the board with its sheer power in Magic: The Gathering. On its front, Burly Breaker is a potent force with a sizeable body, while the flip side, Dire-Strain Demolisher, provides even greater muscle and the trample ability. Overcoming this threat requires strategic planning and the right counter moves.
To effectively manage this werewolf’s rampage, instant removal spells are highly efficient, such as Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile which can exile it before it transforms. Cards like Frost Bite or Abrade can handle the front side, provided it’s your turn. Moreover, board wipes like Day of Judgment or Wrath of God prove devastating by clearing the board regardless of its form. Another tactical approach involves employing enchantments like Pacifism or Bound in Gold, effectively nullifying its combat abilities without needing to remove it from the battlefield.
Employing these strategies can keep the game under control when facing the versatile power of this werewolf. By preparing with the right cards and being mindful of the timing, you can diffuse the threat of Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher, maintaining the upper hand in your Magic: The Gathering matches.
Cards like Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher
The realm of Magic: The Gathering sees the Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher making its mark within the context of transforming creature cards. When pitted against its peers, we observe Ludevic’s Test Subject // Ludevic’s Abomination sharing the concept of transformation. However, Burly Breaker starts off as a burly 6/6 creature before it adopts its nightbound Dire-Strain Demolisher identity, directly posing a formidable threat without requiring any additional mana to transform. This contrasts with Ludevic’s Test Subject that necessitates a mana investment to evolve.
Characters like Bloodline Keeper // Lord of Lineage also follow the transformative trend. Despite the keeper’s ability to churn out tokens, it doesn’t offer the immediate board presence that Burly Breaker does when it flips into its 7/7 trampler, Dire-Strain Demolisher, highlighting a natural fit for decks seeking to assert dominance with sheer power. Werewolf Pack Leader also makes a compelling comparison, with its own form of transformation into a 4/4 creature with abilities, yet lacking the raw power and trample that the Demolisher variant brings to the tableau.
Overall, when comparing brute force and ease of transformation, Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher stands out as a reliable heavy-hitter able to make a substantial impact on the gameboard of Magic: The Gathering with less conditional requirements than similar transforming entities.
Cards similar to Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, 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 Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
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Printings
The Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-09-24 | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | MID | 299 | 2015 | transform | black | Sami Makkonen | |
| 2 | 2021-09-24 | Innistrad: Midnight Hunt | MID | 174 | 2015 | transform | black | Justine Cruz | |
| 3 | 2022-01-28 | Innistrad: Double Feature | DBL | 174 | 2015 | transform | black | Justine Cruz |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Standard | Legal |
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Future | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Burly Breaker // Dire-Strain Demolisher card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-09-24 | Before a player untaps their permanents during the untap step, the game checks to see if the day/night designation should change. |
| 2021-09-24 | Day and night are designations that the game itself can have. The game starts as neither. Once the game becomes day (or less commonly, night), the game will be exactly one of them—day or night—going back and forth for the rest of the game. |
| 2021-09-24 | Double-faced permanents with daybound transform to their nightbound faces as it becomes night. Similarly, double-faced permanents with nightbound transform to their daybound faces as it becomes day. This happens immediately and is not a state-based action. It happens any time it becomes day or night, not just during the untap step. |
| 2021-09-24 | For more information about Day and Night and the Daybound and Nightbound abilities, please see the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Mechanics atricle (https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/innistrad-midnight-hunt-mechanics-2021-09-02). |
| 2021-09-24 | If it is day, and the active player of the previous turn cast no spells during their turn, it becomes night. |
| 2021-09-24 | If it is night, and the active player of the previous turn cast two or more spells during their turn, it becomes day. |
| 2021-09-24 | If it is night, permanents with daybound that enter the battlefield without being cast will enter with their nightbound faces up. |
| 2021-09-24 | If it's neither day nor night, and a creature with daybound and a creature with nightbound somehow appear on the battlefield at the same time, it becomes day. The creature with nightbound will transform. |
| 2021-09-24 | If you cast a spell with daybound during night, that spell will be front face up (that is, daybound face up) on the stack. However, it will enter the battlefield with its back face up (that is, with its nightbound face up). It won't enter with its daybound face up and then transform. |
| 2021-09-24 | Permanents with daybound and nightbound can't transform via any means other than their daybound and nightbound abilities. Notably, older cards such as Moonmist that instruct a player to transform permanents don't affect permanents with daybound or nightbound. |
