Gargantuan Gorilla MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Ape
Power 7
Toughness 7

Key Takeaways

  1. Gargantuan Gorilla offers board control via its creature terminating ability, influencing the game’s resource dynamics.
  2. While it accelerates green strategies, its strict forest card discard and specific mana cost limit its versatility.
  3. Considered for its combo potential and meta relevance, this card adds a strategic edge in creature-centric decks.

Text of card

During your upkeep, sacrifice a forest, or bury Gargantuan Gorilla and Gargantuan Gorilla deals 7 damage to you. If you sacrifice a snow-covered forest in this way, Gargantuan Gorilla gains trample until end of turn. oc T: Gargantuan Gorilla deals an amount of damage equal to its power to any other target creature. That creature deals an amount of damage equal to its power to Gargantuan Gorilla.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Gargantuan Gorilla is a powerhouse that can potentially provide card advantage through its sheer board presence. Its ability to terminate an opponent’s creature every turn can deplete their resources and tilt the balance in your favor, making it a daunting threat that requires an answer.

Resource Acceleration: This card operates as a significant resource accelerator in decks that capitalize on big creatures. It can serve as a formidable force that accelerates your win condition simply by necessitating multiple resources from your opponents to handle it.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, the Gargantuan Gorilla’s intimidating effect can influence opponents to play at instant speed, conserving spells or abilities to address it right away. This could potentially disrupt their strategy, providing you with a subtle form of tempo advantage as they must alter their game plan to contend with the Gorilla’s presence.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Gargantuan Gorilla’s activation necessitates discarding a forest card, which could be a costly price to pay in a game where every card in hand is valuable. If you’re at a point where your hand is depleted or you’re holding crucial non-forest cards, this requirement can hinder your game plan significantly.

Specific Mana Cost: The mana required to summon Gargantuan Gorilla is not only substantial but also specific, with a heavy emphasis on green mana. This specificity may restrict the card’s integration into multi-colored decks, potentially making it a cumbersome card to play unless you’re dedicated to a mono-green strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: In the ever-evolving world of MTG, a card’s efficiency is key to its playability. Considering its mana cost, Gargantuan Gorilla competes directly with other high-impact cards that might provide greater advantage or versatility for the same or less investment, limiting its desirability in competitive scenes.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Gargantuan Gorilla is flexible enough to shine in decks harnessing green’s natural affinity for large creatures. It functions well both as a standalone threat and as part of a ramp strategy, supporting your board with formidable presence.

Combo Potential: This card holds potential for combos in decks that can manipulate creature power or benefit from sacrificing permanents, offering dynamic play options and surprising your opponents with unexpected synergy.

Meta-Relevance: Gargantuan Gorilla has its place in meta where green-heavy decks prevail. Its ability to act as both offensive and defensive asset keeps it relevant, especially in metas teeming with creatures that can be targeted by its triggered ability.


How to beat

The Gargantuan Gorilla card in Magic: The Gathering presents a unique challenge due to its sheer power and abilities geared towards domination on the battlefield. One of the most effective strategies to counter this formidable creature is through the use of removal spells. Cards like Path to Exile or Doom Blade can swiftly eliminate the gorilla from play, rendering its advantages moot. Additionally, players can thwart the Gargantuan Gorilla by manipulating combat phases with spells like Pacifism, which neutralizes its ability to attack and, consequently, its threat level.

Control tactics are also quite potent against the Gargantuan Gorilla. Cards that alter or take control of the creature such as Control Magic can turn the tables, using the opponent’s strength against them. Moreover, since the gorilla requires forests to be effective, land destruction or land manipulation spells can severely hamstring this colossal primate’s impact, potentially leaving your adversary without the necessary resources to fuel it. Ultimately, by implementing these strategies, you can ensure that the might of the Gargantuan Gorilla is significantly mitigated in your MTG games.


Cards like Gargantuan Gorilla

Within the vast repository of creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Gargantuan Gorilla holds a distinctive place. Just as this mighty ape thrives in a forest-heavy deck, other behemoths like Arbor Colossus offer formidable power and toughness ratings. Both summon the raw force of nature, yet the Gorilla’s potential to deal damage to both creatures and players sets it apart, paralleling its requirement for a forest sacrifice.

Considering other green titans, Pelakka Wurm emerges as a notable comparison. While it has a life-gaining entrance effect instead of the destructive ability of our Gorilla, it reinforces the player’s stability in a duel. Then there’s Thorn Elemental, a creature capable of dealing damage directly to players, bypassing creatures much like the Gargantuan Gorilla in certain scenarios. However, Thorn Elemental lacks the variable damage output that can be both a risk and reward with the Gorilla.

To conclude, while there are other creatures that might share some similarities in green’s creature pool, Gargantuan Gorilla’s unique ability to affect multiple targets with its strength when supported appropriately makes it a distinctive option in Magic: The Gathering, demanding strategic play around forests and careful risk assessment.

Arbor Colossus - MTG Card versions
Pelakka Wurm - MTG Card versions
Thorn Elemental - MTG Card versions
Arbor Colossus - Theros (THS)
Pelakka Wurm - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Thorn Elemental - Urza's Destiny (UDS)

Cards similar to Gargantuan Gorilla by color, type and mana cost

Thorn Elemental - MTG Card versions
Penumbra Wurm - MTG Card versions
Stone-Tongue Basilisk - MTG Card versions
Thriss, Nantuko Primus - MTG Card versions
Beanstalk Giant // Fertile Footsteps - MTG Card versions
Somberwald Beastmaster - MTG Card versions
Cultivator Colossus - MTG Card versions
Garruk's Horde - MTG Card versions
Krosan Tusker - MTG Card versions
Avenger of Zendikar - MTG Card versions
Hundroog - MTG Card versions
Enormous Baloth - MTG Card versions
Ancient Ooze - MTG Card versions
Cytospawn Shambler - MTG Card versions
Panglacial Wurm - MTG Card versions
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer - MTG Card versions
Duskdale Wurm - MTG Card versions
Pelakka Wurm - MTG Card versions
Engulfing Slagwurm - MTG Card versions
Kalonian Behemoth - MTG Card versions
Thorn Elemental - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Penumbra Wurm - Ultimate Masters (UMA)
Stone-Tongue Basilisk - Odyssey Promos (PODY)
Thriss, Nantuko Primus - Judgment (JUD)
Beanstalk Giant // Fertile Footsteps - Throne of Eldraine (ELD)
Somberwald Beastmaster - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Cultivator Colossus - Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)
Garruk's Horde - Welcome Deck 2017 (W17)
Krosan Tusker - The List (PLST)
Avenger of Zendikar - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Hundroog - Legions (LGN)
Enormous Baloth - Tenth Edition (10E)
Ancient Ooze - Scourge (SCG)
Cytospawn Shambler - Dissension (DIS)
Panglacial Wurm - The List (PLST)
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer - Archenemy (ARC)
Duskdale Wurm - Iconic Masters (IMA)
Pelakka Wurm - Rise of the Eldrazi (ROE)
Engulfing Slagwurm - Scars of Mirrodin (SOM)
Kalonian Behemoth - Salvat 2011 (PS11)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Gargantuan Gorilla MTG card by a specific set like Alliances and Masters Edition, 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 Gargantuan Gorilla and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Gargantuan Gorilla Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1996-06-10 and 2007-09-10. Illustrated by Greg Simanson.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11996-06-10AlliancesALL 911993normalblackGreg Simanson
22007-09-10Masters EditionME1 1191997normalblackGreg Simanson

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Gargantuan Gorilla has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2004-10-04 Giving either creature first strike does not affect the ability.
2004-10-04 If this leaves the battlefield before its activated ability resolves, it will still deal damage to the targeted creature. On the other hand, if the targeted creature leaves the battlefield before the ability resolves, the ability won’t resolve and no damage will be dealt.

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