Harald, King of Skemfar MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityUncommon
TypeLegendary Creature — Elf Warrior
Abilities Menace
Power 3
Toughness 2

Key Takeaways

  1. Harald excels in generating card advantage by fetching Elf or Tyvar cards directly from your library.
  2. Offers quick access to pivotal Elf cards, facilitating early board dominance and resource acceleration.
  3. Though not instant speed himself, Harald enables disruptive plays by synergizing with instant-speed Elf cards.

Text of card

Menace (This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.) When Harald, King of Skemfar enters the battlefield, look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal an Elf, Warrior, or Tyvar card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Harald, King of Skemfar excels in generating card advantage through its ability to fetch a Elf or Tyvar card from the top of your library, thereby increasing your options and potential for strategic plays.

Resource Acceleration: By providing direct access to influential Elf cards, Harald acts as a form of resource acceleration, ensuring you can deploy key creatures more quickly and efficiently than relying on draw alone. This can lead to a dominant board presence early in the game.

Instant Speed: While Harald himself does not operate at instant speed, he synergizes well with other cards in the Elf tribe that do. This interaction can be exploited to disrupt your opponents’ plans, creating opportunities to cast spells at critical moments without sacrificing the development of your own board state.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Harald, King of Skemfar demands that you part with another Elf card from your hand to activate its boast ability. This could put you at a disadvantage by depleting your hand, especially in the crucial early to mid-game where maintaining card advantage is key.

Specific Mana Cost: This legendary elf warrior comes with a split mana cost that includes green and black, making it less versatile for inclusion in decks that do not cater to both colors. This restricts deck-building options and may not align with the strategies of mono-green or other color combinations.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Harald sits at a higher bracket for early-game plays. When compared to other cards with similar abilities or stats, it may not constitute the most mana-efficient option, potentially impacting your game tempo negatively.


Reasons to Include Harald King of Skemfar in Your Collection

Versatility: Harald King of Skemfar offers a dynamic presence on the battlefield, adept at leading both Elf and Warrior tribal decks. His ability to search out key creatures adds consistency and flexibility, making him a solid inclusion for various green-black strategies.

Combo Potential: Harald’s ability to look at the top five cards and reel in an Elf or Tyvar Kell enhances combo opportunities. He can easily slot into synergistic strategies that rely on creature-based synergies or tribal buffs, and can be a critical component in building a dominant presence.

Meta-Relevance: As the metagame shifts, cards that can adapt become increasingly valuable. Harald’s capacity to fetch relevant creatures in response to the evolving game environment keeps your deck responsive and competitive, ensuring you always have an edge over your opponents.


How to Beat Harald, King of Skemfar

Harald, King of Skemfar is a robust leader on the battlefield, known for uniting Elves and bolstering their power. This card’s strength lies in its ability to search your library for an Elf, Warrior, or Tyvar card to add to your hand, setting up potential game-winning plays. Mastering the art of disruption is key to undermining Harald’s influence.

Utilizing removal spells that can target Harald before his ability triggers is an efficient strategy. Spells like Fatal Push or Path to Exile offer swift and economical means to deal with him early on. Moreover, countering him on cast with something as accessible as Essence Scatter can prevent his ability altogether. Engaging in creature combat is also an option; however, Harald’s respectable stats and potential for instant-speed tricks via cards like Snakeskin Veil can complicate direct clashes.

To truly neutralize Harald’s tactical advantage, prioritize removal and counterspells that fit into your overall strategy without diverting too much from your game plan. Addressing him swiftly ensures that Harald does not get the opportunity to tip the scales in your opponent’s favor, keeping you on a level playing field or even giving you the upper hand.


BurnMana Recommendations

Understanding the intricacies of Harald, King of Skemfar, can certainly up your MTG skill set. This card’s unique abilities weave together card advantage, accelerated resource access, and tribal synergies that can shape the outcome of a match. Whether you aim to harness the might of Elves in your deck or seek to withstand Harald’s strategic prowess on the other side of the board, knowledge is power. Dive deep into the mechanics, explore synergistic card interactions, and adapt your tactics to maintain a competitive edge. Elevate your MTG experience by discovering more strategies and optimizing your collection with us.


Cards like Harald, King of Skemfar

Harald, King of Skemfar, carves a unique position in the realm of Magic: The Gathering’s lore-rich elf tribal cards. With abilities centered around deck manipulation and creature tutoring, Harald is often placed in conversation with other notable elves such as Elvish Harbinger. Both serve the purpose of fetching key pieces to cement an elf strategy, yet Harald offers the additional boon of potentially putting a superfluous card into your hand, a move not mirrored by the Harbinger.

Other relatives in Harald’s card family include Fauna Shaman, with its formidable creature-tutoring capability, enabling precision sculpting of your hand to respond to the evolving gameboard. Unlike the Shaman, Harald’s onetime trigger upon entering the battlefield requires less mana investment upfront. On the trajectory of card advantage, Harald’s kinship with Fierce Empath is evident, both bringing creature cards to your hand with certain conditions, with Harald targeting elf cards and providing a potential second card advantage.

Ultimately, analysis of Harald’s place in elf-themed builds exposes a card that allies deck thinning with the traditional green strategy of creature tutoring. This duality marks Harald as a cornerstone in decks that are eager for both an elf presence and a refined path to victory.

Elvish Harbinger - MTG Card versions
Fauna Shaman - MTG Card versions
Fierce Empath - MTG Card versions
Elvish Harbinger - Lorwyn (LRW)
Fauna Shaman - Magic 2011 (M11)
Fierce Empath - Scourge (SCG)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Harald, King of Skemfar MTG card by a specific set like Media Inserts and Magic Online Promos, 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 Harald, King of Skemfar and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Harald, King of Skemfar Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11995-01-02Media InsertsPMEI 482015normalblackGrzegorz Rutkowski
22002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 883882015normalblackCollin Estrada
32021-02-05KaldheimKHM 2122015normalblackGrzegorz Rutkowski
42021-02-05KaldheimKHM 3232015normalblackCollin Estrada

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Harald, King of Skemfar has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

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