Phyrexian Negator MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Phyrexian Horror
Abilities Trample
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Phyrexian Negator demands attention, skewing opponents’ removal strategies and preserving your board.
  2. Efficient mana cost for a 5/5 creature streamlines your board presence, pressuring opponents quickly.
  3. Although potent, its damage trigger can be a costly Achilles’ heel in the face of direct attacks.

Text of card

Trample Whenever Phyrexian Negator is dealt damage, sacrifice a permanent for each 1 damage dealt to it.

They exist to cease.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Phyrexian Negator offers a different kind of card advantage as it becomes a forced target for removal, often causing opponents to spend crucial resources to deal with it, leaving other threats you control safer on the board.

Resource Acceleration: This fearsome creature boasts a substantial power level relative to its casting cost. With an efficient 3 mana for a 5/5 body, it accelerates your board presence significantly, pressuring opponents early in the game.

Instant Speed: While Phyrexian Negator itself is not an instant, the looming threat can impact opponents’ decisions at instant speed. They must consider the Negator’s power, potentially altering their tactics and misallocating resources prematurely, which can be leveraged to your advantage.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One significant drawback comes with Phyrexian Negator’s trigger; when it suffers damage, you must sacrifice that many permanents. This can severely deplete your resources, especially in the face of direct damage spells or during combat.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature carries a heavy weight in black mana cost, three black mana to be precise. This restricts flexibility as it mandates a dedicated or heavy black mana base to cast it consistently — a limitation in multicolored or lightly black-splashed decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sporting a casting cost that borders on the higher end for its power level, there are alternatives in the game that could potentially offer a better cost-to-benefit ratio without the steep permanent sacrifice drawback.


Reasons to Include Phyrexian Negator in Your Collection

Versatility: Phyrexian Negator thrives across various playstyles, fitting seamlessly into aggressive decks that capitalize on early-game pressure, as well as in control decks that can protect it and use its formidable power as a game-ending threat.

Combo Potential: This creature’s ability to force sacrifices when it takes damage opens strategic possibilities, including leveraging it with cards or effects that minimize or reassign damage, turning its downside into an advantage.

Meta-Relevance: Given its power and low casting cost, Phyrexian Negator remains relevant in metas where fast, high-impact creatures are essential, providing a significant edge in races against other aggressive decks.


How to beat

The Phyrexian Negator stands as a daunting adversary on the battlefield, boasting a formidable presence that can rapidly tilt a game in its wielder’s favor. Renowned among those who indulge in the depths of Magic: The Gathering, this creature card presents a challenge with its solid stats and cost-efficient nature. A simple 5/5 for three mana, it can undoubtedly apply pressure early in the match.

To cleverly navigate around this threat, savvy players often resort to targeting strategies or utilizing damage-control mechanisms. Simple solutions, like directing any amount of damage to the Negator, force the controller to sacrifice permanent cards, thus deftly turning the card’s own might against it. Cards that deal damage across the board or that can target creatures without causing a life loss to the player can be particularly effective counters to this aggressive entity. Cards like Lightning Bolt or Shatterstorm can readily undermine the Negators imposing stance. Moreover, being mindful of your own battlefield and keeping disposable permanents at a minimum can significantly reduce the Negator’s impact and maintain your control over the game’s trajectory.

In essence, while the Phyrexian Negator may at first seem like an overwhelming force, strategic play and a well-constructed deck can ensure that this dreaded creature becomes a liability to your opponent rather than a threat to your victory.


BurnMana Recommendations

The art of mastering MTG gameplay intertwines with understanding the strengths and limits of various cards like the Phyrexian Negator. Its menace on the battlefield is matched by the complexity it brings to the game, making it a subject of analysis for both budding and veteran players. Ideal for aggressive tactics and a testament to cost-efficiency, this card often changes the tide of a match. Dive deeper with us to fully grasp the nuances of this formidable creature, discover innovative strategies, and refine your deck. Enhance your knowledge, elevate your game, and maintain board dominance with our expert insights.


Cards like Phyrexian Negator

Phyrexian Negator stands out in MTG as a notorious creature with a brutal drawback that can be a double-edged sword. It shares the stage with other high-risk cards like Desecration Demon, which also offers an imposing presence for a relatively small mana investment. Both cards create tension by offering an advantage to the opponent to mitigate their power on the battlefield. Unlike the Negator, the Demon allows opponents to sacrifice a creature to tap it and put a +1/+1 counter on it rather than forcing the owner to sacrifice permanents.

Another peer in high-impact creatures is Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil, which carries a significant mana cost while delivering a potentially game-ending ability. However, it lacks the immediate board presence that Phyrexian Negator provides. Then there’s Phyrexian Obliterator, a fearsome creature within the Phyrexian lineage that like the Negator, demands a heavy black mana investment but turns the tables by punishing the opponent for dealing damage to it.

Although each of these cards carries inherent risks and rewards, Phyrexian Negator stands unique in its capacity to both accelerate a game to victory or lead to a staggering loss, highlighting its polarizing role in the MTG universe.

Desecration Demon - MTG Card versions
Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Obliterator - MTG Card versions
Desecration Demon - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Infernal Spawn of Infernal Spawn of Evil - Unhinged (UNH)
Phyrexian Obliterator - New Phyrexia (NPH)

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Mindstab Thrull - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Mischievous Poltergeist - Classic Sixth Edition (6ED)
Strongarm Thug - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Razortooth Rats - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Ghastly Remains - Legions (LGN)
Lord of the Undead - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Deepwood Ghoul - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Dross Prowler - Mirrodin (MRD)
Nim Abomination - Darksteel (DST)
Vesper Ghoul - Salvat 2005 (PSAL)
Hypnotic Specter - Magic Player Rewards 2006 (P06)
Dusk Imp - Tenth Edition (10E)
Severed Legion - Tenth Edition (10E)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Phyrexian Negator MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny and World Championship Decks 1999, 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 Phyrexian Negator and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Phyrexian Negator Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 1999-06-07 and 2010-03-19. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-06-07Urza's DestinyUDS 651997normalblackJohn Zeleznik
21999-08-04World Championship Decks 1999WC99 js651997normalgoldJohn Zeleznik
31999-08-04World Championship Decks 1999WC99 js65sb1997normalgoldJohn Zeleznik
42002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 361442003normalblackJohn Zeleznik
52004-01-01Judge Gift Cards 2004G04 42003normalblackJohn Zeleznik
62010-03-19Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the CoalitionDDE 12003normalblackJim Murray

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Phyrexian Negator has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 Sacrificing this card does not prevent you from having to make the other sacrifices.

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