Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Human Werewolf
Abilities Daybound,Transform
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Generates card advantage through damage dealt by Wolf or Werewolf creatures, optimizing hand resources.
  2. Enables resource acceleration when casting Wolf or Werewolf spells under night conditions, offering strategic benefits.
  3. Transformation into Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge, allows for instantaneous board impact, bypassing sorcery speed restrictions.

Text of card

Whenever a Wolf or Werewolf you control deals combat damage to a player, draw a card. At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control three or more Wolves and/or Werewolves, it becomes night. Then transform any number of Human Werewolves you control. Daybound


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Tovolar Dire Overlord comes with a powerful ability to draw cards. Each turn, whenever a Wolf or Werewolf you control deals damage to an opponent, you draw a card. This keeps your hand replenished, sustaining your offensive momentum throughout the game.

Resource Acceleration: In addition to drawing cards, Tovolar facilitates resource acceleration by allowing the casting of Wolf or Werewolf spells at night, which can represent a significant advantage by getting your threats on the board faster and taking opponents by surprise.

Instant Speed: While Tovolar Dire Overlord does not inherently have instant speed capabilities, its transformation into Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge, activates at the beginning of your upkeep if you control three or more Wolves and/or Werewolves, enabling an immediate impact on the board state without waiting for the sorcery speed limitations of your own turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Players must meet the werewolf-themed condition by discarding to transform Tovolar Dire Overlord, which can be counterproductive when hand size is pivotal.

Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost demands both red and green mana, restricting deck-building options to those colors or requiring a mana base that can consistently produce both.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, including one red and one green, Tovolar Dire Overlord’s initial form is more mana-intensive compared to other commanders that might offer earlier board presence or utility.


Reasons to Include Tovolar Dire Overlord in Your Collection

Versatility: Tovolar Dire Overlord thrives in various deck archetypes that capitalize on werewolves or creature-based strategies. Its ability to transform during your turn provides flexibility and a dynamic approach to gameplay.

Combo Potential: Tovolar’s ability to draw cards whenever a wolf or werewolf you control deals damage opens the door for numerous combo interactions. Pairing it with cards that create wolf tokens or increase damage potential can lead to a powerful synergy and card advantage.

Meta-Relevance: With an ever-shifting MTG meta, Tovolar offers consistency in a creature-focused deck. Its prominence in a werewolf tribal deck, paired with its ability to pressure opponents and draw additional cards, makes it a compelling choice in the current environment.


How to Beat Tovolar Dire Overlord

Tovolar Dire Overlord is a fearsome adversary for players in the MTG landscape. As a legendary werewolf, Tovolar represents a major threat, capable of transforming into Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge, when the day turns to night. This duality makes the card a versatile opponent, as it bolsters other werewolves and allows for card draw each time a wolf or werewolf deals damage.

Defeating Tovolar requires strategic plays that neutralize its transformation ability. This could mean ensuring that at least two spells are cast during your own turn, which prevents Tovolar from flipping into its more dominant nightbound form. Instant-speed removal spells like “Doom Blade” or “Path to Exile” can effectively deal with Tovolar before its transformation becomes an issue. Additionally, playing cards that restrict creature abilities or prevent them from attacking, like “Ghostly Prison” or “Silent Arbiter”, can stifle Tovolar’s influence on the game.

Overall, the key is anticipating the shift from day to night and having a response ready. Proactive removal, control elements, and maintaining the daybound state will vastly improve your chances against the might of Tovolar Dire Overlord in any MTG game.


BurnMana Recommendations

Perfect your werewolf-pack playstyle with Tovolar Dire Overlord at the helm. Its card draw ability ensures you never run out of gas, while resource acceleration lets you outpace the competition. But be aware of its mana requirements and prepare to transform it at the right moment. Enhancing your collection? Tovolar’s dynamic play and combo potential are invaluable for any MTG werewolf aficionado. Adapt strategies against Tovolar by controlling the day-night cycle and using instant-speed removal. Craving more tactical insights or seeking that deck-building edge? Dive deeper with us and discover how to harness the full power of Tovolar in your MTG endeavors.


Cards like Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge

Tovolar Dire Overlord stands out in the realm of werewolf tribal leaders in Magic: The Gathering. A card that comes to mind when considering Tovolar’s company is Ulrich of the Krallenhorde. Ulrich offers the same creature type synergy for werewolf and wolf creatures, bolstering their might when he transforms. However, unlike Tovolar, Ulrich doesn’t possess the ability to draw cards or directly affect the transform mechanism for werewolves.

Another comparable card is Arlinn Kord, a Planeswalker adept at generating wolf creature tokens and boosting creatures’ power. While Arlinn cannot directly transform werewolves, her versatility in affecting the board and empowering creatures presents a different tact for werewolf decks.

Immerwolf also merits mention as it prevents your other werewolves from transforming back into their human forms, ensuring that power-ups and enhancements stay in play. Yet, what sets Tovolar Dire Overlord apart is his Daybound/Nightbound mechanic and the ability to draw cards whenever your wolves fight or deal damage, a critical function for maintaining card advantage and momentum in a game.

Immerwolf - MTG Card versions
Immerwolf - Dark Ascension (DKA)

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Centaur Archer - Ice Age (ICE)
Giant Trap Door Spider - Masters Edition II (ME2)
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Viashino Grappler - Invasion (INV)
Hunting Kavu - Invasion (INV)
Lithatog - Odyssey (ODY)
Svella, Ice Shaper - Kaldheim (KHM)
Boggart Ram-Gang - Premium Deck Series: Fire and Lightning (PD2)
Feral Animist - Dragon's Maze (DGM)
Burning-Tree Shaman - RNA Guild Kit (GK2)
Wilderness Elemental - Coldsnap (CSP)
Tattermunge Duo - Shadowmoor (SHM)
Godtracker of Jund - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Vithian Renegades - Alara Reborn (ARB)
Daybreak Ranger // Nightfall Predator - Innistrad (ISD)
Immerwolf - Shadows of the Past (SIS)
Fanatic of Xenagos - Born of the Gods (BNG)
Ulrich's Kindred - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Promos, 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 Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 3112015transformblackMichael Walsh
22021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight Hunt PromosPMID 246s2015transformblackChris Rahn
32021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 2462015transformblackChris Rahn
42022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 2462015transformblackChris Rahn

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge has restrictions

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

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
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 a creature you control that's a Wolf and a Werewolf deals combat damage to a player, the first ability triggers only once.
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.
2021-09-24 The first ability of each of Tovolar's faces triggers once for each Wolf or Werewolf you control that deals combat damage to a player. For example, if you attack with three Wolf creatures and they all deal combat damage to a player, the ability triggers three times.
2021-09-24 The second ability of Tovolar, Dire Overlord seems a little strange because Tovolar and other Human Werewolf creatures in this set transform when it becomes night anyway. Tovolar, however, isn't content to transform Werewolf creatures from just one set. This ability will allow you to transform Human Werewolf creatures from previous visits to Innistrad as well.

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