Breathstealer MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Nightstalker
Released	1996-10-08
Set symbol
Set name	Mirage
Set code	MIR
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	109
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Cliff Nielsen

Key Takeaways

It enables card advantage and graveyard strategy, expanding your play options significantly.
Demands careful hand management due to its discard requirement, affecting resource availability.
Can be a strategic asset, enhancing deck versatility and combo potential in the right meta.

Text of card

oo B +1/-1 until end of turn

"As a child, I slept with a cloth over my face, to hide from the spirits that might pull the air from my lungs." —Mosi, Femeref weaver

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Breathstealer not only serves as a potent threat on the board but also encourages thoughtful graveyard interactions, effectively extending your resource pool. By potentially returning to the battlefield or enabling synergies with graveyard mechanics, Breathstealer can offer sustained card advantage through its unique abilities.

Resource Acceleration: In strategies built around life payments and cycling creatures, Breathstealer’s presence can accelerate your game plan. While it doesn’t directly produce mana or tokens, leveraging its abilities can lead to a quicker deployment of your strategy, ensuring you stay ahead in the resource race.

Instant Speed: Operating effectively at instant speed, Breathstealer’s abilities can catch opponents off-guard, disrupting their strategies during critical phases of the game. This speed grants flexibility, allowing for more strategic and reactive play while maintaining pressure on the opponent.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The strategy around Breathstealer requires players to often discard a card, which can put them at a disadvantage when their hand is already running low. This depletion of resources can hinder the player’s ability to react to opponents’ threats adequately.

Specific Mana Cost: Breathstealer’s casting cost demands both black and colorless mana, which could restrict its inclusion to certain types of decks, primarily those focused on the swamps and the powers they bring, possibly limiting the card’s versatility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: To field Breathstealer, a player has to invest a total of four mana, which is sizeable for its return in gameplay. When considering its power and abilities, there might be more cost-effective creatures available to occupy that mana slot within a deck’s curve.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Breathstealer’s capacity to be included in a variety of strategies makes it a useful card for MTG enthusiasts. Its low cost and ability to impact the game early on means it can easily fit into most black decks or those with a multi-color base that leverages black mana.

Combo Potential: This card can potentially work wonders in tandem with other cards that capitalize on creature death or life loss triggers. Use Breathstealer to enhance graveyard-based tactics, or in conjunction with sacrifice effects for added benefit.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creatures are key, Breathstealer can be a strategic asset. Its ability to debuff opponents’ creatures can shift the momentum of a game, especially in a meta with small to mid-sized creatures dominating the board.

How to beat

Breathstealer is a creature card that can pose a subtle but lethal threat on the battlefield. With its ability to potentially weaken an opponent’s creatures, Breathstealer’s presence in a match requires strategic planning to overcome. The key to defeating this card lies in preventing it from using its deathtouch ability, which can take down even the mightiest of creatures, regardless of their power and toughness.

To nullify the threat of Breathstealer, consider using removal spells that can bypass its deathtouch attribute by not engaging it in combat. Spells like “Murder” or “Path to Exile” can remove it directly from the field without triggering its deadly effect. Furthermore, take advantage of its relatively low toughness by employing cheap damage spells or effects that do not involve combat damage, such as “Shock” or “Lightning Bolt”. Utilizing spells that grant hexproof or indestructible to your creatures can also protect them from Breathstealer’s lethal touch.

Ultimately, staying one step ahead and possessing the right answers to deal with Breathstealer effectively is crucial. By using non-combat-based removals and providing protection to your creatures, you can maintain control of the game and neutralize the threat that Breathstealer presents in MTG matches.

Cards like Breathstealer

Delving into the depths of MTG strategies, Breathstealer emerges as a unique creature with its ability to make each combat a calculated risk for your opponent. The ability reminiscent of cards like Basal Sliver does not precisely mirror it as Breathstealer’s utility is tied to combat, whereas Basal Sliver serves as a mana acceleration tool. Both, however, share the trait of sacrificing creatures for a greater benefit.

Another card that shares a kinship in effect with Breathstealer is Vampire Aristocrat. While both cards can harness their own kind for power, Vampire Aristocrat offers a more immediate payoff with a stat boost, as Breathstealer’s impact unfolds during the end phase. Meanwhile, Flesh-Eater Imp provides a similar sacrifice outlet but sweetens the deal with infect, allowing for a strategy that can win games without focusing on traditional damage.

In essence, while there are creatures with sacrifice mechanics, Breathstealer holds its niche. It’s not just about the immediate gain but conveying a persistent threat on the battlefield. The end phase debilitation against opponents secures Breathstealer a spot in decks focused on attrition and incremental advantages.

Cards similar to Breathstealer by color, type and mana cost

Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Breathstealer MTG card by a specific set like Mirage, 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 Breathstealer and other MTG cards: