Earsplitting Rats MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Rat
Released	2002-05-27
Set symbol
Set name	Judgment
Set code	JUD
Power	2
Toughness	1
Number	65
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Heather Hudson

Key Takeaways

Earsplitting Rats extends beyond mere board presence by impacting opponents’ hands, altering the state of card advantage.
Strategic card discard can skew resource management, especially when opponents are forced to part with key cards.
Despite certain mana and discard costs, its disruptive potential and versatility make it a multifaceted asset.

Text of card

When Earsplitting Rats comes into play, each player discards a card from his or her hand. Discard a card from your hand: Regenerate Earsplitting Rats.

Rats come in one amount: too many.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Earsplitting Rats presents a dual benefit as it not only adds a creature to your battlefield but also disrupts your opponent’s hand by forcing a discard, effectively tipping the scales of card advantage in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly accelerating resources, this pesky rodent can indirectly affect resource flow by discarding key cards from your opponent’s hand, potentially delaying their strategy and giving you the upper edge in resource management.

Instant Speed: Though Earsplitting Rats operates at sorcery speed, its discard effect can be akin to instant speed disruption when played at a strategic moment, such as after a refill of your opponent’s hand, maximizing the strain on their resources.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Earsplitting Rats demands that a card be tossed from your hand upon entering the battlefield. This effect can come at a high cost, potentially depleting your hand and leaving you at a strategic disadvantage.

Specific Mana Cost: The card calls for a precise combination of one black and two other mana. This can be restrictive, as it necessitates having black mana sources, potentially complicating its integration into multi-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost totaling three mana for a 2/1 creature, this card may not represent the most mana-efficient choice, especially when there are alternatives that may provide a better power-to-mana-cost ratio.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Earsplitting Rats brings flexibility to your MTG gameplay. Its discard ability fits well within multiple deck archetypes, such as reanimator or madness, enhancing strategies that benefit from or capitalize on opponent’s card disadvantage.

Combo Potential: The Rats works extraordinarily well with cards that trigger upon an opponent discarding a card or that gain advantages from having creatures in play. This can set off a chain reaction of effects boosting both your offense and defense.

Meta-Relevance: Given its knack for disrupting hand resources, Earsplitting Rats can be a thorn in the side for combo decks that rely on specific pieces. It’s an excellent choice if you’re facing a meta filled with finely-tuned game plans requiring a complete hand.

How to beat

Earsplitting Rats packs a disruptive punch in Magic: The Gathering, adding strategic depth to discard mechanics. When it hits the battlefield, each player discards a card, a symmetrical effect that can be leveraged. To get the upper hand against Earsplitting Rats, focus on cards and strategies that benefit from discarding. Employ decks that thrive on having a graveyard stocked with resources or include cards designed to grant you an advantage when discarding, such as those with Madness or Flashback abilities.

Think of the Rats as a tool that can inadvertently aid your strategy. Plan ahead by keeping cards in hand that are beneficial to discard or are less impactful when lost. Additionally, use instant-speed removal to deal with the Rats before their ability triggers during your turn, ensuring that you control when and how discarding happens. Creatures with Undying or Persist also soften the blow, as they come back even after hitting the graveyard. Above all, remember that information is power—understanding your deck and anticipating your opponent’s moves are keys to dominating Earsplitting Rats on the battlefield.

Ultimately, adjusting your strategy to account for discard effects can help you turn the tables on this disruptive creature, maintaining card advantage and positional strength in your matches.

Cards like Earsplitting Rats

Earsplitting Rats join the ranks of disruptive creatures in Magic: The Gathering, bringing a unique blend of effects to the table. They draw parallels with Ravenous Rats, which also forces an opponent to discard a card upon entering the battlefield. However, Earsplitting Rats take it up a notch with an added echo cost making them more of a strategic play than the straightforward Ravenous Rats.

Chittering Rats is another sort of pestilence with a slight twist on the discard theme. While it too causes your opponent to discard, its ability ensures that the card they draw next turn is put back on top of their library, effectively stalling progress. Then there are Rotting Rats, which offer a symmetrical discard effect, impacting all players equally but with the added advantage of unearth to bring them back from the graveyard.

The functionality of Earsplitting Rats is thus situated within a varied landscape of discard-based creatures. It offers a continuous and potential recurring impact on opponents’ hand resources, albeit at the cost of paying its echo fee. In the aspects of utility and disruption, Earsplitting Rats certainly occupy an intriguing position tailored for specific deck strategies in MTG.

Cards similar to Earsplitting Rats by color, type and mana cost

Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - MTG Card versions

Demon of Catastrophes - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Earsplitting Rats MTG card by a specific set like Judgment, 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 Earsplitting Rats and other MTG cards: