Blurred Mongoose MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Mongoose |
| Abilities | Shroud |
| Released | 2000-10-02 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Invasion |
| Set code | INV |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 183 |
| Frame | 1997 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Heather Hudson |
Key Takeaways
- Shroud ability ensures Blurred Mongoose evades most control measures, enhancing its battlefield longevity.
- Low casting cost makes it a swift, pressuring force without heavy mana investment, offering strategic advantage.
- While limited in discard synergy and specific mana needs, it’s a resilient inclusion in the right decks.
Text of card
Blurred Mongoose can't be countered. Blurred Mongoose can't be the target of spells or abilities.
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Blurred Mongoose offers a unique form of card advantage as it can be a consistent threat that’s difficult to remove, staying on the board through most control measures thanks to its shroud ability.
Resource Acceleration: With its low casting cost, this card acts as an accelerator on the battlefield, allowing you to deploy threats early and maintain pressure without using significant mana resources. This can lead to more efficient turns as you expend less to achieve a commanding presence.
Instant Speed: While the mongoose itself is not an instant, its inherent protection from being targeted favors an instant-speed-heavy deck, letting you play spells on your opponent’s turn while the mongoose remains a relentless attacker unscathed by instant speed removal.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One aspect of Blurred Mongoose that might deter players is the absence of any discard effects, which could synergize with graveyard strategies. This lack of interaction may hold back its inclusion in decks designed around discard synergies, as the Mongoose offers no direct benefit for being discarded or for discarding other cards.
Specific Mana Cost: Blurred Mongoose comes with a specific mana cost that includes both green mana symbols. This requirement can limit deck-building flexibility, as players need to ensure a sufficient green mana base. It contributes to the challenge of incorporating the Mongoose into multi-color decks that may not prioritize green mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: In comparison to other one- or two-mana creatures, Blurred Mongoose has a two-mana cost, which can be considered high for its base stats. In environments where tempo is critical, the card’s cost could be a factor that influences deck efficiency, especially when there are numerous other options for low-cost creatures with potentially greater impact or utility.
Reasons to Include Blurred Mongoose in Your Collection
Versatility: Blurred Mongoose offers a resilient threat that can fit into various deck strategies. Its immunity to spells and abilities makes it a consistent player on the battlefield against a range of opponents.
Combo Potential: While not a traditional combo enabler, Blurred Mongoose’s inherent protection allows for strategic plays, enabling it to safely support and benefit from synergy-based decks focused on creature-based interactions.
Meta-Relevance: Given its protection, Blurred Mongoose continues to be a relevant choice in certain metagames, particularly where targeted removal is prevalent. It thrives in environments where evading removal spells is paramount to maintaining a presence on the board.
How to beat
Blurred Mongoose, historically a formidable creature in Magic: The Gathering, presents a unique challenge with its inherent ability to dodge targeted spells and abilities. This elusive ability allows it to remain a persistent threat on the battlefield, impervious to conventional removal spells. To effectively counteract this card, players should focus on utilizing board wipes or global effects that do not target individual creatures.
Mass removal spells such as Damnation, Day of Judgment, or Supreme Verdict can circumvent the Mongoose’s protection, as these effects do not require targeting and thus eliminate all creatures regardless of abilities. Additionally, leveraging effects that change the rules of engagement like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, which can weaken creatures across the board, effectively counters the resilience of smaller creatures like Blurred Mongoose.
Ultimately, players must adapt to a strategy that does not rely on targeting the Mongoose directly. Instead, focusing on altering the battlefield environment or utilizing spells and abilities that impact all creatures equally can provide a successful means of managing and ultimately defeating the Blurred Mongoose in a match.
Cards like Blurred Mongoose
Blurred Mongoose holds a unique place in the realm of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering. Its innate resistance to targeted spells with its “cannot be countered” and “shroud” abilities sets it apart. When considering creatures like Gladecover Scout, which only has the hexproof ability, Blurred Mongoose provides more comprehensive protection by also being uncounterable. Another contender is Invisible Stalker, which boasts both hexproof and unblockable traits. While it provides an assured way to deal damage, it doesn’t have the immunity to counterspells that protects Blurred Mongoose right from the stack.
Additionally, we find cards like Thrun, the Last Troll, a creature familiar for its resilience. Thrun shares the uncounterable trait with Blurred Mongoose and adds regeneration to the mix. But what Thrun offers in durability, it sacrifices in speed and mana efficiency when compared to the lightweight two-mana mongoose. Overall, when evaluating creatures with protective capabilities, Blurred Mongoose emerges as a cost-effective and elusive asset, apt for evading removals and sneaking past the opponent’s defenses.
The combination of being both uncounterable and shrouded allows Blurred Mongoose to carve out its own niche, providing players with a strategic advantage in safeguarding their board presence against targeted disruption.
Cards similar to Blurred Mongoose by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Blurred Mongoose MTG card by a specific set like Invasion, 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 Blurred Mongoose 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
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Blurred Mongoose has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Blurred Mongoose card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2004-10-04 | Counterspells can be cast that target it, but when they resolve they simply don’t counter it since it can’t be countered. |
| 2004-10-04 | It can be targeted while on the stack. Shroud only works while it is on the battlefield. |
