Wild Elephant MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elephant
Abilities	Trample
Released	1996-10-08
Set symbol
Set name	Mirage
Set code	MIR
Power	3
Toughness	3
Number	254
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Junior Tomlin

Key Takeaways

Wild Elephant pressures opponents, offering subtle card advantage and shaping game flow.
Requires card discard for abilities, posing a potential setback in tight games.
Excels in decks that thrive on creature synergies and combat-centric strategies.

Text of card

Trample

"I will tell my father's stories . . . . How the elephants trampled the leopard cub, and its father, though he knew, killed nine goats instead." —"Love Song of Night and Day"

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Having Wild Elephant in your deck can offer subtle card advantage by pressuring your opponent to use their removal spells on it, effectively maintaining card parity while shaping the flow of the game.

Resource Acceleration: While Wild Elephant itself doesn’t directly offer resource acceleration, deploying this creature early can force your opponent into a defensive stance, indirectly accelerating your board state as you develop other threats without opposition.

Instant Speed: Though Wild Elephant is a creature card, its synergy with instant-speed tricks enhances its value. For example, playing combat tricks or creature buffs at instant speed can make Wild Elephant a formidable attacker or blocker.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One of the drawbacks of the Wild Elephant card is the necessity to discard another card from your hand in order to benefit from its abilities. This cost can set you back, especially if your hand already lacks card options and you’re forced to lose a potentially valuable asset.

Specific Mana Cost: Wild Elephant comes with a demand for a green mana in its casting cost. This requirement restricts it to green-centric or multi-color decks that can produce green mana, potentially making it a nonviable option for decks that do not run green.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating the cost-benefit ratio of the Wild Elephant card, its casting cost may come across as steep for the stats and abilities it presents. Savvy players might seek out more cost-effective creatures or other cards that provide greater utility or power for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Wild Elephant is a flexible addition to any collection, offering a substantial body that works well in creature-focused green decks and those emphasizing creature synergies or needing efficient threats.

Combo Potential: Thanks to its trample ability, Wild Elephant can be a key player in decks that capitalize on boosts to power, and it pairs effectively with cards that enhance or utilize its size and evasive capability.

Meta-Relevance: In a game where combat-centric strategies prevail or green stompy archetypes are thriving, having Wild Elephant on your side means possessing a card that harmonizes well with the tempo and demands of such an environment.

How to beat

Wild Elephant follows in the footsteps of resilient creatures in Magic: The Gathering, offering players a combat challenge due to its resilient nature. Its stats make it a formidable opponent, especially when its trample ability allows it to deal excess damage to a player while smashing through smaller blockers. To overcome this tusker, it’s critical to manage the battlefield effectively.

One strategy is to employ removal spells. Cards like Doom Blade or Path to Exile can cleanly handle the elephant before it becomes a larger issue. Another approach is to play creatures with higher toughness or those that have death-touch, ensuring that any assault from the creature would be suicidal. Board wipes such as Wrath of God are also highly effective—clearing the field and giving you a fresh start. Moreover, spotting the elephant in the wilds of your opponent’s plan, countering it with a Spell Pierce or Mana Leak can nip the problem in the bud, ensuring the Wild Elephant never stomps onto the playing field. Sideboard choices such as additional removal or board control spells can fortify your game plan against such threats in subsequent rounds.

Ultimately, preparing your deck with a versatile toolkit to handle various creature threats will elevate your MTG play, and dealing with Wild Elephant becomes a straightforward task.

Cards like Wild Elephant

Wild Elephant steps into the bustling plains of creature spells within Magic: The Gathering as a solid option for players looking to leverage size in their green decks. If we look at similar cards such as Grizzly Bears, we notice that both creatures carry the same mana cost for a 2/2 body. What sets Wild Elephant apart is its potential might due to the renowned Threshold ability, empowering it to become larger when the number of cards in a player’s graveyard meets the requirement.

Another kin in strategy is Baloth Gorger, a creature that also grows under certain conditions, offering a dynamic tactical advantage. While Baloth Gorger requires an additional mana investment to kick it into a higher gear, Wild Elephant gets its boost passively, depending solely on the graveyard’s threshold status. Albino Troll offers a different twist, with its regenerating ability creating resilience on the battlefield. However, it trades the possibility of growth for consistency in defense.

When analyzing the choices green players have, Wild Elephant proves to be a valued member of any deck that can benefit from its potential size increase. Its Threshold ability distinguishes it within the roster of similar creature options, providing a threat that opponents cannot ignore once its conditions are met.

Cards similar to Wild Elephant by color, type and mana cost

Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - MTG Card versions

Viridian Lorebearers - MTG Card versions

Monkey Monkey Monkey - MTG Card versions

Matsu-Tribe Birdstalker - MTG Card versions

Order of the Sacred Bell - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wild Elephant 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 Wild Elephant and other MTG cards: