Funnel-Web Recluse MTG Card
2021-06-18 - Number 161
2021-08-26 - Number 573
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 5 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Spider |
| Abilities | Investigate,Morbid,Reach |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 5 |
Key Takeaways
- Funnel-Web Recluse offers players strategic combat advantages and potential board control.
- The card demands careful play with its madness cost and precise mana needs.
- Its flexibility and meta relevance make it a worthy contender in creature-based strategies.
Text of card
Reach Morbid — When Funnel-Web Recluse enters the battlefield, if a creature died this turn, investigate. (Create a Clue token. It's an artifact with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
It thrives on a steady diet of hastily disposed-of evidence.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Playing Funnel-Web Recluse can potentially deter opponents from attacking, providing strategic advantage while you build up your hand and field.
Resource Acceleration: When combined with cards that synergize with spider tribal themes, Funnel-Web Recluse can accelerate your board presence, cementing your control over the game.
Instant Speed: As a reactive card, Funnel-Web Recluse thrives at instant speed, allowing you to surprise your opponent by flashing it in as a blocker or to benefit from its reach ability when most needed.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Funnel-Web Recluse requires you to discard a card as part of its madness cost. While this can synergize with certain strategies, it may also lead to a disadvantageous decrease in hand size, especially if your deck isn’t built to capitalize on discarding.
Specific Mana Cost: This spider ally demands a precise mana investment, including both green and black mana. This can restrict its playability primarily to decks that can reliably produce both colors, potentially excluding it from more color-flexible strategies.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its four mana requirement, Funnel-Web Recluse can be considered costly for its stats and abilities. In a game where efficiency can be crucial to victory, there may be alternative creatures or cards that provide greater value or more impactful abilities for the same or lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include Funnel-Web Recluse in Your Collection
Versatility: Funnel-Web Recluse can adapt to a variety of deck styles, thriving in environments where recurring creatures from the graveyard is a key strategy. Its ability to return on its own accord makes it a resilient piece in decks that aim to maintain a presence on the board.
Combo Potential: This creature’s synergies with spider tribal themes or mechanics that care about creatures dying can lead to powerful combinations. Its interaction with cards that capitalize on death triggers or that benefit from creatures with reach adds unique layers to game strategies.
Meta-Relevance: In a game state dominated by flying threats, the Funnel-Web Recluse offers a reliable defensive option. Its potential to deter opponents from attacking with airborne forces helps in maintaining parity on the battlefield and makes it a practical inclusion in certain meta scenarios.
How to beat Funnel-Web Recluse
Understanding your opponent is key in any game of Magic: The Gathering, and Funnel-Web Recluse presents unique challenges on the battlefield. This arachnid can catch players off guard with its reach ability, making it a capable defender against flying creatures which often go unchecked. Additionally, it features the morbid ability, which can turn this seemingly harmless spider into a significant threat if a creature died under your watch that turn.
To outmaneuver Funnel-Web Recluse, it’s wise to limit creature combat and removal activities to your own turn. This way, you prevent the Recluse from gaining unexpected strength during your offensive. Employing removal spells that bypass its reach is beneficial too. Cards like Shock or other instant-speed direct damage spells can take out the recluse without triggering its morbid ability since it will be your turn. Lastly, consider using evasive tactics to circumvent this eight-legged defender, focusing on winning through alternative board states or avoiding combat with it entirely.
In essence, playing smart and controlling the flow of combat can effectively neutralize the Recluse’s potential, leaving your path to victory clear.
Cards like Funnel-Web Recluse
Funnel-Web Recluse carves out its niche in Magic: The Gathering’s roster of spider creatures. With its unique mechanics, it draws parallels to cards like Sporecap Spider. Both inhabit the same mana cost and toughness, yet the Recluse outpaces its kin with a higher power and the flexibility of reach only when it has a +1/+1 counter.
Another comparison can be made with Canopy Spider, trading in one toughness for the reach ability intrinsically. Yet, Funnel-Web Recluse has the potential for greater longevity in the game, provided the right synergy is in play to accumulate those vital counters. It is the capacity for growth that separates the Recluse from the static nature of cards like Canopy Spider.
In deck environments that bolster creature growth through counters, Funnel-Web Recluse can evolve beyond its initial limitations. This adaptability, unlike the fixed abilities of its arachnid relatives in the game, grants it a predatory edge in battle and in itself is enough reason for players to consider weaving it into their strategic web.
Cards similar to Funnel-Web Recluse by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Funnel-Web Recluse MTG card by a specific set like Modern Horizons 2 and Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, 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 Funnel-Web Recluse 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
See Magic products
Printings
The Funnel-Web Recluse Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2021-06-18 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Milivoj Ćeran.
| # | Release | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021-06-18 | Modern Horizons 2 | MH2 | 161 | 2015 | normal | black | Milivoj Ćeran | |
| 2 | 2021-08-26 | Jumpstart: Historic Horizons | J21 | 573 | 2015 | normal | black | Milivoj Ćeran |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Funnel-Web Recluse has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Funnel-Web Recluse card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2021-06-18 | The token is named Clue and has the artifact subtype Clue. Clue isn't a creature type. |
| 2021-06-18 | The tokens are normal artifacts. For example, one can be sacrificed to activate the ability of Breya's Apprentice and one can be the target of Break Ties. |
| 2021-06-18 | You can't sacrifice a Clue to activate its own ability and also to activate another ability that requires sacrificing a Clue (or any artifact) as a cost, such as that of Lonis, Cryptozoologist. |
