Wormfang Drake MTG Card
2002-05-27 - Number 57
2023-01-13 - Number 74
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Nightmare Drake |
| Abilities | Flying |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 4 |
Key Takeaways
- Card advantage through reusing creatures is a key feature of Wormfang Drake.
- Specific mana and exile requirements limit the drake’s deck compatibility.
- Strategic play with Wormfang Drake offers multiple combo opportunities.
Text of card
Flying When Wormfang Drake comes into play, sacrifice it unless you remove a creature you control other than Wormfang Drake from the game. When Wormfang Drake leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner's control.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Wormfang Drake offers the potential of a two-for-one by returning a creature to your hand when it enters the battlefield. This allows you to replay creatures with valuable enter-the-battlefield effects, effectively getting more use out of them and maintaining card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: As a three-mana blue creature, Wormfang Drake can quickly enter the battlefield and start attacking or defending. Its ability to bounce a creature back to your hand could potentially clear the way for accelerated plays, giving you the flexibility to redeploy your resources more effectively.
Instant Speed: While Wormfang Drake itself is not an instant, it plays well with instant-speed spells. By returning another creature to your hand, it opens up options for you to optimize your plays during the course of the game. This can include instant-speed tricks or counterspells that you can now hold mana up for, thanks to the space Wormfang Drake provides in your battlefield strategy.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: One drawback of playing Wormfang Drake is that it demands you to exile another blue card from your hand. This prerequisite can deplete your hand, especially if you’re already struggling to maintain card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: This creature comes with a stipulation: its mana cost includes two blue mana. This specific requirement confines its optimal use to mono-blue or blue-heavy decks, possibly excluding it from a broader range of strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Financing three mana for a 3/4 flying creature might seem reasonable, but considering the additional exile condition, there might be other creatures or spells that provide you equal or greater value without the downside.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Wormfang Drake offers a flexible role in decks that engage in graveyard manipulation or require flickering of creatures for added benefits.
Combo Potential: Utilizing the enter and exit the battlefield ability of Wormfang Drake, savvy players can orchestrate combo plays that disrupt opponents or accrue value over time.
Meta-Relevance: In environments where tempo plays and evasive creatures are key, Wormfang Drake’s swift airborne presence and disruptive capabilities can turn the tides in your favor.
How to Beat Wormfang Drake
Wormfang Drake is a creature that shows how Magic: The Gathering can blend power with punishing drawbacks. Encountering this card across the table, players should note its capability to remove one of your lands temporarily. Unlike traditional mana disruption cards, Wormfang Drake’s entrance effect can be a double-edged sword for the caster, offering a strategic opportunity for opponents.
To outplay Wormfang Drake, prioritize maintaining instant-speed removal in your arsenal. By eliminating the drake before the end-of-turn trigger allows the returned land to untap, you can exploit the tempo loss your opponent suffers. Cards like Fatal Push or Path to Exile are perfect for cleanly dealing with this threat. Additionally, since blue creatures are notoriously susceptible to enchantment-based removal, options like Pacifism disrupt its ability to attack or block without the adverse side effect of their land bouncing.
Flexible strategies that benefit from a high creature count, such as those including cards like Rally the Ancestors or Return to the Ranks, can also effectively nullify the disadvantage of Wormfang Drake’s leave-the-battlefield ability. By remaining vigilant and responsive, Magic: The Gathering players can turn the tide against this deceptive drake to their advantage.
Cards like Wormfang Drake
Wormfang Drake is a unique card worth exploring for anyone interested in the nuances of MTG blue creature spells. Upon close comparison, it bears some resemblance to Misthollow Griffin in that both cards can circumvent the traditional limitations of exile. Wormfang Drake’s ability to be played from exile does evoke memories of Misthollow Griffin’s characteristic feature, although the Griffin offers a flying 3/3 body instead of Wormfang Drake’s 3/4. Additionally, Griffin doesn’t require a creature to be exiled when it enters the battlefield, unlike the more disruptive entry condition of Wormfang Drake.
From another perspective, Aven Eternal shares the 3/4 stats with Wormfang Drake, but Aven Eternal brings along a 1/1 white Bird creature token with flying upon its entry to the battlefield. This is less disruptive than Wormfang Drake’s entering the battlefield requirement and potentially lost creature. While the Drake may allow for some strategic plays with its exile synergy, the Aven Eternal’s token generation ability could provide a more immediate board presence.
Players seeking to optimize their blue decks will consider these subtleties. Each card shines in different strategies, but Wormfang Drake, with its ability to manipulate the exile zone, offers intriguing tactical depth for those who can navigate its complex play patterns.
Cards similar to Wormfang Drake by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Wormfang Drake MTG card by a specific set like Judgment and Dominaria Remastered, 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 Wormfang Drake 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
Printings
The Wormfang Drake Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2002-05-27 and 2023-01-13. Illustrated by Thomas M. Baxa.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002-05-27 | Judgment | JUD | 57 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Thomas M. Baxa | |
| 2 | 2023-01-13 | Dominaria Remastered | DMR | 74 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Thomas M. Baxa |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Wormfang Drake has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Wormfang Drake card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2022-12-08 | If Wormfang Drake leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, the “leaves-the-battlefield” ability will trigger and resolve first. It won’t return anything. Then the enters-the-battlefield ability will resolve. If you exile a creature you control, it will be exiled indefinitely. Wormfang Drake won’t return it. |
| 2022-12-08 | If you don’t control any other creatures as the enters-the-battlefield ability resolves, you must sacrifice Wormfang Drake. |
| 2022-12-08 | You choose which creature you control to exile (if any) as the enters-the-battlefield ability resolves. Once you make that choice, no player may take actions until the chosen creature is exiled or Wormfang Drake is sacrificed and the ability has finished resolving. |
