Torrential Gearhulk MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityMythic
TypeArtifact Creature — Construct
Abilities Flash
Power 5
Toughness 6

Key Takeaways

  1. Grants significant card advantage, casting instants at no cost and potentially drawing extra cards.
  2. Enables resource acceleration, saving mana to utilize elsewhere while still impacting the game.
  3. Adept as a surprise blocker or game-changer with its flash ability offering tactical flexibility.
Flash card art

Guide to Flash card ability

Explore the dynamic Flash ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a feature that allows you to cast spells at lightning speed, often leaving your opponents reeling and your strategy several steps ahead. This versatile ability can turn the tide of a game, providing the element of surprise and tactical advantage. It places a premium on timing and foresight, transforming an ordinary deck into a formidable arsenal of instant threats and responses.

Text of card

Flash When Torrential Gearhulk enters the battlefield, you may cast target instant card from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When Torrential Gearhulk enters the battlefield, its ability to cast an instant card from your graveyard without paying its mana cost can turn the tide by effectively doubling your resources, especially if the retrieved instant has its own card draw ability.

Resource Acceleration: Although not directly providing mana acceleration in the usual sense, the Gearhulk’s ability to free-cast instants can save you considerable mana in a turn, effectively ramping your available resources to deploy other threats or answers from your hand.

Instant Speed: The flash ability of Torrential Gearhulk transforms it into a formidable surprise blocker or an end-of-turn game-changer, allowing you to keep mana untapped during your turn for flexibility and to potentially disrupt your opponent’s strategy when they least expect it.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Torrential Gearhulk can provide a powerful instant-casting ability, it requires you to have an instant in your graveyard. Without a suitable discard or milling strategy, harnessing this card’s full potential might pose a challenge to players.

Specific Mana Cost: With a demand of two blue mana as part of its cost, Torrential Gearhulk fits predominantly into blue-based or blue-heavy decks. This specific mana requirement can restrict deck-building options for players favoring other colors or multi-colored decks with only a splash of blue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The six total mana needed to cast Torrential Gearhulk is significant. Although the payoff can be considerable, the initial investment is high, thus potentially slowing down the tempo of your gameplay in the early to mid-game when faster, lower-cost options might be more beneficial.


Reasons to Include Torrential Gearhulk in Your Collection

Versatility: Torrential Gearhulk offers unparalleled flexibility in blue-based control or combo decks. With the ability to instantly cast spells from your graveyard upon entering the battlefield, this powerful construct adapts to various board states and strategic needs.

Combo Potential: Its ability to cast an instant for free from your graveyard not only provides value but also sets up potential combos with other cards, amplifying the impact of spells you’ve already played. This can lead to unexpected turns and game swings, much to the delight of players who love intricate card interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where control decks are prevalent or slower, value-oriented games are the norm, Torrential Gearhulk shines by offering a significant threat that also recycles resources. Its relevance in the meta is sustained by its capacity to shift the tide of a game while fitting smoothly into various deck archetypes.


How to beat

Torrential Gearhulk stands out in MTG for its powerful ability to cast an instant spell from your graveyard without any mana cost during play. This can swing the momentum of the game by reusing high-impact instants, giving it prominence in control decks. Overcoming this imposing artifact creature requires a strategy that mitigates these advantages.

Effective tactics include utilizing graveyard disruption tools, which can remove key instants before they can be targeted by Torrential Gearhulk’s ability. Cards with exile effects also play a critical role, as they can permanently deal with the Gearhulk itself, bypassing its potential recurrence from effects that might return it to the battlefield. Lastly, employing countermeasures during the casting process of the Gearhulk can prevent it from resolving entirely, thus stifling the derived benefit from its powerful ability.

By focusing on preemptive disruption and targeted removal, players can neutralize the Torrential Gearhulk’s considerable threat. Understanding and countering the mechanics by which it gains advantage is a testament to a player’s strategic depth in MTG.


BurnMana Recommendations

Making the most of your MTG play involves both tactical decisions and understanding the strengths of your cards. Torrential Gearhulk is a versatile card that can dramatically shift the game in your favor. Its power lies in instant-speed interaction and the formidable presence it brings to the battlefield. If you appreciate deep strategy and flexible gameplay, this card is a valuable addition to your blue-centric or control decks. Enhance your MTG experience by learning more about how to maximize the potential of Torrential Gearhulk and adapt strategies to harness its game-changing abilities. Discover new interactions and elevate your deck’s performance by including this mechanical marvel in your collection.


Cards like Torrential Gearhulk

Torrential Gearhulk is a powerhouse among artifact creatures, finding its peers within MTG’s diverse card pool. A comparison can be drawn to Snapcaster Mage, a card revered for its instant-speed interaction by granting past spells flashback. While Snapcaster Mage offers a smaller frame and targets a broader array of spells, Torrential Gearhulk exclusively casts instants but also provides a formidable 5/6 body capable of altering the battlefield.

Delving further, we encounter the likes of Goblin Dark-Dwellers, which shares the Gearhulk’s reanimation of spells from the graveyard. Although it limits to sorceries with a mana cost of three or less, the additional option of menace gives it a tactical edge in combat scenarios. However, the instant speed and sheer power of Torrential Gearhulk make it a formidable force when it flashes onto the battlefield, changing the dynamic of the game.

The impact of Torrential Gearhulk on gameplay is significant, as it combines the ability to turn the tide with its instant spell-casting alongside presenting a substantial threat on its own. Its versatility and power level make it a staple in formats where controlling the flow of the game is paramount.

Snapcaster Mage - MTG Card versions
Goblin Dark-Dwellers - MTG Card versions
Snapcaster Mage - Innistrad (ISD)
Goblin Dark-Dwellers - Oath of the Gatewatch Promos (POGW)

Cards similar to Torrential Gearhulk by color, type and mana cost

Cyberdrive Awakener - MTG Card versions
The Temporal Anchor - MTG Card versions
Kappa Cannoneer - MTG Card versions
Sharding Sphinx - MTG Card versions
Steelclad Serpent - MTG Card versions
Warzone Duplicator - MTG Card versions
Auton Soldier - MTG Card versions
Cyberdrive Awakener - Neon Dynasty Commander (NEC)
The Temporal Anchor - The Brothers' War (BRO)
Kappa Cannoneer - Murders at Karlov Manor Commander (MKC)
Sharding Sphinx - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Steelclad Serpent - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Warzone Duplicator - Alchemy: The Brothers' War (YBRO)
Auton Soldier - Doctor Who (WHO)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Torrential Gearhulk MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh and Kaladesh Inventions, 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 Torrential Gearhulk and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Torrential Gearhulk Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2016-09-30 and 2023-08-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-09-30KaladeshKLD 672015normalblackSvetlin Velinov
22016-09-30Kaladesh InventionsMPS 22015normalblackJakub Kasper
32016-09-30Kaladesh PromosPKLD 67s2015normalblackSvetlin Velinov
42020-11-12Kaladesh RemasteredKLR 702015normalblackSvetlin Velinov
52023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 1282015normalblackSvetlin Velinov
62023-08-04Commander MastersCMM 5012015normalblackSvetlin Velinov

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Torrential Gearhulk has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-09-20 If the card has in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
2016-09-20 If you cast a card “without paying its mana cost,” you can't choose to cast it for any alternative costs, such as emerge costs. You can, however, pay additional costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, such as that of Incendiary Sabotage, you must pay those to cast the card.
2016-09-20 If you cast the card, you do so as part of the resolution of Torrential Gearhulk's triggered ability. You can't wait to cast it later in the turn. Timing restrictions (such as “Cast
-his card] only during combat”) still apply.

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