Thriving Ibex MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Goat |
| Released | 2016-09-30 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Kaladesh |
| Set code | KLD |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Number | 31 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Sidharth Chaturvedi |
Key Takeaways
- Thriving Ibex excels in providing increasing card advantage by utilizing energy counters to enhance power.
- Requires strategic hand management due to its discard requirement, posing a potential drawback.
- Demands specific mana but shines in energy-centric decks, contributing to its versatility.
Text of card
When Thriving Ibex enters the battlefield, you get (two energy counters). Whenever Thriving Ibex attacks, you may pay . If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Textiles at the Inventors' Fair feature threads from every corner of Kaladesh.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Thriving Ibex is designed to provide ongoing card advantage as it potentially grows with each energy counter, making it more formidable and pressuring your opponent to respond.
Resource Acceleration: While Thriving Ibex doesn’t directly generate mana or treasure like some other cards, its increasing power can free up resources by requiring fewer cards to maintain a strong presence on the battlefield.
Instant Speed: Thriving Ibex operates at sorcery speed, but its synergy with instant-speed energy-generating spells means you can surprise your opponents by enhancing its power unpredictably during their turns.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: The Thriving Ibex necessitates a strategic approach to gameplay, as you’ll need to discard another card to unlock its full potential. This can be a setback when your hand size is already reduced or when every card you hold is vital for your strategy moving forward.
Specific Mana Cost: Thriving Ibex requires a precise mana configuration to be cast, which means you need to have the right lands or mana-generating spells available. This can result in it being a dead card in your hand in some scenarios, particularly in multicolor decks that may struggle with color fixing.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With the market brimming with creatures that boast impressive abilities for a lower mana investment, the mana cost of Thriving Ibex can place it at a disadvantage. Players may find other creatures more appealing for constructing an efficient curve in their decks.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Thriving Ibex offers a robust choice for decks looking to increase their creature count while being an adaptable piece that meshes smoothly with various strategies involving +1/+1 counters.
Combo Potential: This creature can be an integral part of synergistic plays, enabling the growth of other creatures or powering up mechanics that focus on counter distribution, thus shining in combo-centric decks.
Meta-Relevance: Given its capability to become a formidable blocker or attacker as the game progresses, Thriving Ibex aligns well with slower, more progressive gameplay which is often prevalent in many metas, offering sustained board presence and pressure on opponents.
How to beat
Thriving Ibex can be a resilient threat on the battlefield within the realm of Magic: The Gathering. This card can bolster its staying power through the accumulation of +1/+1 counters, making it a progressively difficult creature to defeat as the game unfolds. Counteracting this creature, however, involves a few thoughtful strategies.
Removal spells are naturally your first line of defense. Direct spot removal options such as Murder or Doom Blade can handle the Ibex no matter its size, bypassing the accrual of counters. For those looking to avoid single-target spells, board wipes like Day of Judgment can clear the board of the Ibex along with other threats.
Enchantment-based controls such as Pacifism, could also prove effective. These can neutralize Thriving Ibex’s growing threat without the need to dispatch it, stunting its contribution to your opponent’s strategy. Keep in mind that timing your responses before the Ibex’s power grows too significant is key to maintaining an upper hand. By implementing these tactics, zoning out the Ibex becomes manageable, securing you against its potential escalation.
Cards like Thriving Ibex
In the realm of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering, Thriving Ibex stands as a unique four-legged entry with its growth potential. It bears similarity to other creatures that grow through various mechanics of resource allocation, such as Thriving Turtle or Thriving Rats. What differentiates Thriving Ibex is the focus on energy counters as a resource for its growth, which allows for versatile strength development during gameplay. The Thriving series shares this common theme of accumulating power in each turn.
Comparable to Thriving Ibex is the likes of Ajani’s Pridemate, a creature that grows by gaining life rather than accumulating energy. The Pridemate can potentially outpace the growth of the Ibex in decks focused on life gain. However, Ajani’s Pridemate demands a specific deck archetype centered around the life-gain strategy, whereas Thriving Ibex requires energy counters, integrating well with other energy-mechanic cards. This synergistic potential is what makes Thriving Ibex a valuable asset in decks built around energy.
Overall, while many creatures can scale in size over the course of a game, Thriving Ibex offers a blend of gradual growth and energy synergy, making it an interesting option for players utilizing energy-based strategies.
Cards similar to Thriving Ibex by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Thriving Ibex MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh, 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 Thriving Ibex 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 Thriving Ibex has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Thriving Ibex card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters are a kind of counter that a player may have. They're not associated with specific permanents. (Other kinds of counters that players may have include poison and experience.) |
| 2017-02-09 | Energy counters aren't mana. They don't go away as steps, phases, and turns end, and effects that add mana “of any type” to your mana pool can't give you energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | If an effect says you get one or more , you get that many energy counters. To pay one or more , you lose that many energy counters. Any effects that interact with counters a player gets, has, or loses can interact with energy counters. |
| 2017-02-09 | Keep careful track of how many energy counters each player has. You may do so by keeping a running count on paper, by using a die, or by any other clear and mutually agreeable method. |
| 2017-02-09 | Some triggered abilities state that you “may pay” a certain amount of . You can't pay that amount multiple times to multiply the effect. You simply choose whether or not to pay that amount of as the ability resolves, and no player may take actions to try to stop the ability's effect after you make your choice. |
| 2017-02-09 | You can't pay more energy counters than you have. |
| 2017-02-09 | is the energy symbol. It represents one energy counter. |
