Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern MTG Card
2021-02-05 - Number 307
2021-02-05 - Number 112
2021-02-05 - Number 112s
2002-06-24 - Number 88290
2021-02-05 - Number 27
| Card sets | Released in 5 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Legendary Creature — God |
| Abilities | Menace |
| Power | 4 |
| Toughness | 5 |
Key Takeaways
- Tergrid excels in card advantage through opponents’ sacrifices and discards, enhancing your board state.
- Resource acceleration is key with Tergrid, claiming opponents’ cards and shifting game momentum.
- Integrating instant speed disruption spells with Tergrid’s passive effect surprises opponents, securing your lead.
Text of card
Menace Whenever an opponent sacrifices a nontoken permanent or discards a permanent card, you may put that card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Tergrid, God of Fright shines when it comes to gaining card advantage. With its ability to force opponents to sacrifice their creatures or discard cards, you effectively strip resources from them while potentially padding your own board and hand. This black-aligned legendary creature turns any point of attrition into a win-win situation.
Resource Acceleration: Integrating Tergrid in your deck accelerates your resource gain as you not only hinder your opponents’ progress but also claim their discarded or sacrificed permanents for yourself. This unique form of acceleration can rapidly shift the game’s momentum in your favor.
Instant Speed: While Tergrid itself doesn’t have abilities that operate at instant speed, it synergizes exceptionally well with instant speed disruption spells. Casting spells that force your opponent to discard or sacrifice at instant speed during their turn can unexpectedly fill your battlefield with their resources, thanks to Tergrid’s passive effect.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: For the power that Tergrid, God of Fright promises, one aspect to be wary of is her reliance on opponent’s discards to fully utilize her potential. This can sometimes be difficult to achieve without the right setup or when facing opponents with low hand counts.
Specific Mana Cost: Tergrid comes with a specific mana requirement that leans heavily towards black mana. This can present a challenge when trying to incorporate her into multicolored decks, particularly those that require a more balanced mana base.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana value of five, Tergrid’s costs can be steep, especially in formats where speed is crucial. Considering that her ability is formidable, ensuring that you reach the required mana can delay your game plan against faster strategies.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Tergrid, God of Fright thrives in various playstyles, fitting seamlessly into control, reanimator, and discard-focused decks. Its flexibility stems from being both a threatening creature and a powerful artifact, offering dual utility on the battlefield.
Combo Potential: This card is a linchpin in numerous combos, capable of turning opponents’ losses into your gain, whether through discarded cards or sacrificed permanents. Its potent synergy with cards that force opponents to discard or sacrifice makes it a formidable combo engine.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state that favors resource denial and disruption strategies, Tergrid stands out. This card’s ability to capitalize on opponents’ setbacks keeps it relevant and often puts you ahead in matches where attrition is key.
How to beat
Tergrid, God of Fright is a formidable card in MTG that can severely disrupt gameplay by forcing opponents to sacrifice creatures and permanents, potentially turning the tide of a match. To counter this powerful card, players need to consider strategies that limit their own sacrifices and manage the battlefield effectively. Board control spells, such as Wraths that can clear the board before Tergrid gains any advantage, are worthwhile. Employing graveyard hate cards like Relic of Progenitus to remove cards before Tergrid can reanimate them is another viable tactic.
Also, instant-speed removal or bounce spells are crucial the moment Tergrid hits the table to ensure it doesn’t take over the game. Cards like Swords to Plowshares can exile Tergrid, sidestepping her ability completely. Additionally, ensuring a robust hand size and limiting discard can curb Tergrid’s influence. Holding onto cards that counteract sacrifice effects, like Sigarda, Host of Herons, can provide an enduring edge throughout the game. Finally, direct player protection through hexproof or shroud—such as from Leyline of Sanctity—can be used effectively to safeguard against Tergrid’s oppressive power.
Understanding the importance of timing and the right spells to use can turn a game around when facing Tergrid, God of Fright. While the card presents a major threat, wise choices and strategic planning can mitigate its impact and keep players in control of the match.
Cards like Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern
Tergrid, God of Fright stands out in MTG with its potent ability to control the game by leveraging opponents’ sacrifices and discards. When compared to Sheoldred, Whispering One, both creatures exert pressure on opponents through resource denial. However, Sheoldred’s reanimation ability contrasts with Tergrid’s unique trait of granting ownership of any permanents the opponent discards or sacrifices. Liliana, Heretical Healer offers a somewhat similar experience, with a transformation into a planeswalker that can reanimate creatures – yet it lacks Tergrid’s immediate, board-wide impact.
Geth, Lord of the Vault shares the theme of exploiting opponents’ graveyards but focuses more on reanimating artifacts or creatures directly. Tergrid, on the other hand, broadens the scope, capitalizing on any discarded or sacrificed permanent, not just those in the graveyard. Lastly, we have It That Betrays, a creature that can also take control of opponents’ permanents when they’re sacrificed but comes with a heftier mana cost and lacks the versatility of Tergrid being both a creature and a legendary artifact – Tergrid’s Lantern – on its flip side.
Weighing these comparisons, Tergrid, God of Fright delivers a unique combination of control and advantage in gameplay, redefining the meta for theft and sacrifice strategies within the realms of MTG.
Cards similar to Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Kaldheim, 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 Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern 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
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Printings
The Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2021-02-05 and 2021-02-05. Illustrated by 2 different artists.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic Online Promos | PRM | 88290 | 2015 | modal_dfc | black | Richard Luong | ||
| 2 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 307 | 2015 | modal_dfc | black | Richard Luong | |
| 3 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim | KHM | 112 | 2015 | modal_dfc | black | Yongjae Choi | |
| 4 | Kaldheim Art Series | AKHM | 27 | 2015 | art_series | borderless | Yongjae Choi | ||
| 5 | 2021-02-05 | Kaldheim Promos | PKHM | 112s | 2015 | modal_dfc | black | Yongjae Choi |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-02-05 | A modal double-faced card can’t be transformed or be put onto the battlefield transformed. Ignore any instruction to transform a modal double-faced card or to put one onto the battlefield transformed. |
| 2021-02-05 | A permanent card is an artifact, creature, enchantment, land, or planeswalker card. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect allows you to play a land or cast a spell from among a group of cards, you may play or cast a modal double-faced card with any face that fits the criteria of that effect. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect allows you to play a specific modal double-faced card, you may cast it as a spell or play it as a land, as determined by which face you choose to play. If an effect allows you to cast (rather than “play”) a specific modal double-faced card, you can’t play it as a land. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect instructs a player to choose a card name, the name of either face may be chosen. If that effect or a linked ability refers to a spell with the chosen name being cast and/or a land with the chosen name being played, it considers only the chosen name, not the other face’s name. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an effect puts a double-faced card onto the battlefield, it enters with its front face up. If that front face can’t be put onto the battlefield, it doesn’t enter the battlefield. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an opponent sacrifices a nontoken permanent or discards a permanent card as part of paying the cost of a spell or ability, Tergrid’s ability will trigger and goes on the stack on top of that spell or ability. Tergrid’s ability will resolve before that spell or ability. |
| 2021-02-05 | If an opponent sacrifices a nontoken permanent, it doesn’t matter which graveyard it goes to. Tergrid’s ability will trigger. |
| 2021-02-05 | If the card leaves the graveyard before Tergrid’s ability resolves, you can’t put it onto the battlefield, even if it returns to the graveyard before the ability resolves. |
| 2021-02-05 | If you put an Aura onto the battlefield using Tergrid’s ability, you choose what the Aura will enchant just before it enters the battlefield. An Aura put onto the battlefield this way doesn’t target the player or permanent it will enchant, so permanents or players with hexproof may be chosen; however, the chosen recipient must be able to legally be enchanted by the Aura, so a player or permanent with protection from one of the Aura’s qualities can’t be chosen this way. If there’s nothing legal for the Aura to enchant, it stays in the graveyard. |
| 2021-02-05 | In the Commander variant, a double-faced card’s color identity is determined by the mana costs and mana symbols in the rules text of both faces combined. If either face has a color indicator or basic land type, those are also considered. |
| 2021-02-05 | The converted mana cost of a modal double-faced card is based on the characteristics of the face that’s being considered. On the stack and battlefield, consider whichever face is up. In all other zones, consider only the front face. This is different than how the converted mana cost of a transforming double-faced card is determined. |
| 2021-02-05 | The player targeted by the first ability of Tergrid’s Lantern can choose to lose 3 life even if they have nonland permanents to sacrifice or cards to discard. They can’t choose to sacrifice a nonland permanent if they don’t control any, nor can they choose to discard a card if they have none in hand. |
| 2021-02-05 | There is a single triangle icon in the top left corner of the front face. There is a double triangle icon in the top left corner of the back face. |
| 2021-02-05 | To determine whether it is legal to play a modal double-faced card, consider only the characteristics of the face you’re playing and ignore the other face’s characteristics. |
