Ruthless Knave MTG Card


Ruthless Knave - Ixalan
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Orc Pirate
Abilities Treasure
Released2017-09-29
Set symbol
Set nameIxalan
Set codeXLN
Power 3
Toughness 2
Number119
Frame2015
LayoutNormal
BorderBlack
Illustred byAaron Miller

Key Takeaways

  1. Provides card advantage by transforming creatures into treasure tokens or additional card draws.
  2. Enhances mana resources and accelerates gameplay through its unique treasure-generating ability.
  3. Offers responsive play with instant-speed activation, crucial for disrupting opponent strategies.

Text of card

, Sacrifice a creature: Create two colorless Treasure artifact tokens with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool." Sacrifice three Treasures: Draw a card.

"This scum is barely worth the trouble."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ruthless Knave presents a strategic advantage by letting you turn creatures into essential resources. This can help you keep up momentum and pressure on your opponent, especially in a game where every drawn card counts.

Resource Acceleration: This shadowy character assists in ramping up your mana pool. By sacrificing creatures, you not only pave the way for more powerful plays but also maneuver through your deck with ease, giving you access to a wider range of spells and abilities earlier in the match.

Instant Speed: Flexibility is the key when it comes to deploying your tactics, and Ruthless Knave can be utilized at instant speed, allowing you to react to the state of the board at a moment’s notice. This nimbleness is invaluable when timing is crucial for turning the tide of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: To fully utilize Ruthless Knave’s ability, players must sacrifice another creature, which may not always be a viable option, especially if you’re running low on creatures or rely on them for defense.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both black and generic mana, Ruthless Knave necessitates a specific mana setup which could restrict the decks it fits into, particularly in multi-colored decks that may struggle with mana consistency.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Ruthless Knave is on the higher side for its utility. Considering other cards in the same mana range might provide immediate impact or more versatile abilities, Ruthless Knave could be deemed inefficient in many scenarios.


Reasons to Include Ruthless Knave in Your Collection

Versatility: Ruthless Knave is a solid inclusion in any MTG deck focusing on sacrificing creatures for profit. With the ability to turn creatures into Treasure, it offers various strategic options and synergies.

Combo Potential: This card’s combo potential shines when paired with cards that benefit from creatures dying, such as those with the “revolt” mechanic or abilities that trigger upon a death event. It’s an efficient way to generate extra value from creatures you’re sacrificing.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where control decks try to stifle creature-based strategies, Ruthless Knave helps by providing an alternative use for your creatures, turning them into other resources. Its ability to churn out Treasure tokens can keep you afloat when facing sweepers or removal-heavy opponents.


How to Beat Ruthless Knave

Ruthless Knave presents a strategic challenge for MTG players with its Orc Pirate identity and its ability to turn creatures into treasure. Outmaneuvering this card involves disrupting the combo potential that it brings to the table. Creature removal like Fatal Push or Cast Down can effectively remove Ruthless Knave before it snowballs and overwhelms you with its generated treasures. Additionally, exiling effects or graveyard hate cards can prevent any reanimation shenanigans, ensuring that once the knave is gone, it stays gone.

Moreover, countering strategies that rely on the treasures for mana acceleration or sacrifice-based effects can be pivotal. Cards such as Stony Silence or Karn, the Great Creator limit the usability of treasure tokens, weakening the overall strategy. Thus, incorporating specific answers or tailoring your removal suite to handle cards like Ruthless Knave can significantly bolster your chances against decks that house this mischievous pirate.

Managing to keep Ruthless Knave off the board or neutralizing its token-generating capabilities will often tip the scales in your favor, keeping the piratical treachery at bay and smoothing the path to victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

To master the art of MTG, consider every card’s potential and how it fits into your overarching strategy. Ruthless Knave offers dynamic play options, whether fueling your spells with extra mana or transforming creatures into new opportunities. Take a moment to reflect on your playstyle and the composition of your deck. Does the adaptable nature of Ruthless Knave complement your game plan? Could its treasure-generating ability tip the scales in a close battle? We encourage you to delve deeper into the strategies that maximize this card’s potential. Discover more insights and refine your deck to ascend in your next MTG encounter.


Cards like Ruthless Knave

Ruthless Knave presents an interesting choice for players looking to leverage creature abilities within their Magic: The Gathering decks. It shines when compared to cards like Pitiless Plunderer, which offers a similar benefit of generating Treasure tokens upon a creature’s demise. While Pitiless Plunderer provides a Treasure token every time another creature you control dies, Ruthless Knave requires three mana and a sacrifice, giving back two Treasure tokens or the chance to draw a card.

Considering cards with a sacrifice theme, Ravenous Harpy serves as another parallel, allowing creature sacrifices for incremental power boosts. Again, Ruthless Knave diverts from this path by focusing on material gains rather than creature strength. Costly Plunder delve into this theme as well, permitting players to sacrifice a creature or artifact to draw cards, yet it lacks the repeatable nature of Ruthless Knave’s ability.

Ultimately, Ruthless Knave slots into decks concerned with token generation and card advantage, standing out with the flexibility to amass Treasure tokens or convert them into card draw, providing a strategic edge for resourceful MTG players.

Pitiless Plunderer - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Harpy - MTG Card versions
Costly Plunder - MTG Card versions
Pitiless Plunderer - MTG Card versions
Ravenous Harpy - MTG Card versions
Costly Plunder - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ruthless Knave MTG card by a specific set like Ixalan, 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 Ruthless Knave and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ruthless Knave has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2017-09-29 The Treasures you sacrifice to activate Ruthless Knave’s last ability can’t also be sacrificed for mana.
2017-09-29 You can sacrifice Ruthless Knave to pay the cost for its first ability.

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