Somberwald Alpha MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Somberwald Alpha lets you maintain pressure on your opponent while building your own board presence. Each creature you control that gets blocked grants you a card, ensuring that you continuously replenish your hand and keep options open.

Resource Acceleration: It’s a powerhouse in boosting your creature’s potency in combat. Every time a creature is turned sideways in an attack, you have the potential to force your opponent’s hand early, allowing your other creatures to sneak through defenses or become more menacing through its ability to grant a bonus to attacking creatures.

Instant Speed: Though the Somberwald Alpha itself is not an instant, its ability to give a creature +1/+1 and trample until end of turn can be activated at instant speed. This allows you to adapt mid-combat, possibly turning the tide by surprising an unprepared opponent during the heat of battle.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Holding onto Somberwald Alpha in your hand could mean having to bid farewell to another valuable card if certain gameplay mechanics force a discard, weakening your overall hand.

Specific Mana Cost: Deck building can be constrained as Somberwald Alpha demands a specific blend of mana types, potentially limiting its integration into multi-colored decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Pricier mana-wise than similar creatures, Somberwald Alpha can impact your game tempo, especially when faster options may fit into your strategy more seamlessly.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Somberwald Alpha brings a flexibility to your green decks that can be pivotal in combat. Its ability to give your creatures a boost during a fight and assist with trample makes it a candidate for various deck archetypes, enhancing your board presence in creature-based strategies.

Combo Potential: This card finds synergy with effects that care about power increases or when you need to ensure that combat damage goes through blockers, making it a key piece in combos that benefit from such interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors creature-heavy decks or where ground stalls are common, Somberwald Alpha holds its ground. It not only makes each creature a more formidable attacker but can also turn the tide in creature combat, keeping your creatures relevant as the game progresses.

How to beat Somberwald Alpha

Somberwald Alpha may seem daunting with its ability to bolster attacking creatures, especially in a deck geared towards creature synergy. Yet, like any MTG card, it has its Achilles’ heel. Consider counterspells – keeping one handy can nip the problem in the bud before it hits the battlefield. Blue spells like Negate or Essence Scatter are great for this. Removal is also key. Cards like Doom Blade or Path to Exile can dispatch Somberwald Alpha quickly and efficiently, negating the bonuses it confers to other creatures.

Adjusting your playstyle can also make a difference. Playing around the Alpha’s buff ability by not engaging in unfavorable blocks can save your creatures for a more opportune moment. Board wipes such as Wrath of God or Damnation clear the path, eliminating the Alpha along with any creatures that may have benefitted from its presence. Lastly, keep an eye out for timing. Interrupt the Alpha’s power-play during your opponent’s turn, and you can easily turn the tide of the game. Employing these strategies smartly can ensure that Somberwald Alpha is less a threat and more a minor hiccup in your path to victory.