Necrogoyf MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 8 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Lhurgoyf
Abilities Madness
Power *
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Necrogoyf gains size from opponent’s graveyard, enabling card efficiency on your side.
  2. Its power fluctuates at instant speed, surprising opponents during combat phases.
  3. Mana constraints and high casting cost can limit Necrogoyf’s deck compatibility.

Text of card

Necrogoyf's power is equal to the number of creature cards in all graveyards. At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player discards a card. Madness (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Necrogoyf offers a unique avenue for card advantage by potentially growing larger with each card in your opponent’s graveyard, thereby requiring fewer cards from your hand to manage threats on the board.

Resource Acceleration: As a creature that benefits from the number of creature cards in all graveyards, Necrogoyf can indirectly contribute to resource acceleration by encouraging a gameplay style focused on putting more cards into graveyards swiftly, potentially unlocking synergies with other graveyard-based mechanics.

Instant Speed: While Necrogoyf itself isn’t an instant, its power and toughness can change at instant speed based upon the cards that enter the graveyard during either player’s turn. This can surprise an opponent during combat, potentially making it a formidable blocker or attacker that adjusts its power dynamically.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Necrogoyf’s reliance on discarded card types to gain power can be a setback in gameplay where your hand is already depleted, effectively bottlenecking its potential strength.

Specific Mana Cost: Harnessing Necrogoyf’s abilities requires a strict mana assembly that includes both black and green, which may not seamlessly fit into decks that aren’t tailored to this color combination.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Investing four mana to cast Necrogoyf can be demanding, especially when matched against other creatures with immediate board impact, making it a more ponderous play in faster-paced matches.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Necrogoyf thrives across various deck archetypes due to its scaling power and toughness, which can adapt to the ever-changing graveyard contents throughout the game.

Combo Potential: This card’s synergistic qualities shine when coupled with graveyard-filling strategies, boosting its stats expeditiously and becoming a formidable threat on the board.

Meta-Relevance: Given that graveyard interaction is a common strategy in current meta, Necrogoyf becomes significantly relevant as both a potent offensive force and a way to keep opponents’ graveyard strategies in check.


How to beat

Necrogoyf is a challenging creature card that can be a real thorn in your side if you’re playing against it in Magic: The Gathering. With a power and toughness that grow with the number of creature cards in all graveyards, this Lhurgoyf can quickly become overbearing. To overcome this undead menace, consider cards that exile creatures from the graveyard, thereby limiting its power growth. Cards like Bojuka Bog or Relic of Progenitus can effectively neuter the Necrogoyf’s strength by purging those graveyards.

Additionally, you would do well by using removal spells that exile rather than destroy. Utter End or Path to Exile can send the Necrogoyf packing without a trace, bypassing its might augmentation from graveyard accumulation. Moreover, adjusting your strategy to reduce the number of creatures engaged in combat can also slow down the growth of the Necrogoyf. Lean on noncreature spells and abilities to keep the board clear and your opponent’s Necrogoyf less intimidating. Keep your graveyard lean, your removals swift, and the Necrogoyf will become much more manageable.


Cards like Necrogoyf

Necrogoyf stands out in the lineage of Lhurgoyf creatures in MTG, which have been fan favorites for their growing power based on graveyard content. Slightly reminiscent of the iconic Tarmogoyf, Necrogoyf also thrives on the number of card types in all graveyards, becoming a formidable force as the game progresses. Unlike Tarmogoyf, it comes with a unique twist – it causes a player to discard a card when it dies.

Considering Mortivore as another parallel, we see a creature that gains strength in alignment with the number of creature cards in graveyards, a more specific condition compared to Necrogoyf’s broader approach. Mortivore’s regenerative ability contrasts with Necrogoyf’s discard effect, showcasing different strategic uses. Splinterfright is another comparable card, yet it self-mills to bulk up, a different mechanism for size increment, but shares the trait of growing more potent over time, akin to Necrogoyf.

Each of these cards presents its own strategic nuances and potential for synergy in a deck, making Necrogoyf a particularly interesting choice for players who appreciate the dance between graveyard manipulation and creature power.

Tarmogoyf - MTG Card versions
Mortivore - MTG Card versions
Splinterfright - MTG Card versions
Tarmogoyf - MTG Card versions
Mortivore - MTG Card versions
Splinterfright - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Necrogoyf MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Modern Horizons 2 Art Series, 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 Necrogoyf and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Necrogoyf Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2021-06-18 and 2021-08-26. Illustrated by Nicholas Gregory.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 912592015NormalBlackNicholas Gregory
22021-06-18Modern Horizons 2 Art SeriesAMH2 312015Art seriesBorderlessNicholas Gregory
32021-06-18Modern Horizons 2MH2 932015NormalBlackNicholas Gregory
42021-06-18Modern Horizons 2 Art SeriesAMH2 31s2015Art seriesBorderlessNicholas Gregory
52021-06-18Modern Horizons 2MH2 3981997NormalBlackNicholas Gregory
62021-06-18Modern Horizons 2MH2 4512015NormalBlackNicholas Gregory
72021-06-19Modern Horizons 2 PromosPMH2 93s2015NormalBlackNicholas Gregory
82021-08-26Jumpstart: Historic HorizonsJ21 3632015NormalBlackNicholas Gregory

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Necrogoyf has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
GladiatorLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Necrogoyf 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 A card with madness that's discarded counts as having been discarded even though it's put into exile rather than a graveyard. If it was discarded to pay a cost, that cost is still paid. Abilities that trigger when a card is discarded will still trigger.
2021-06-18 A spell cast for its madness cost is put onto the stack like any other spell. It can be countered, copied, and so on. As it resolves, it's put onto the battlefield if it's a permanent card or into its owner's graveyard if it's an instant or sorcery card.
2021-06-18 Cards are discarded in a Magic game only from a player's hand. Effects that put cards into a player's graveyard from anywhere else do not cause those cards to be discarded.
2021-06-18 Casting a spell with madness ignores the timing rules based on the card's card type. For example, you can cast a sorcery with madness if you discard it during an opponent's turn.
2021-06-18 If you choose not to cast a card with madness when the madness triggered ability resolves, it's put into your graveyard. Madness doesn't give you another chance to cast it later.
2021-06-18 If you discard a card with madness to pay the cost of a spell or activated ability, that card's madness triggered ability (and the spell that card becomes, if you choose to cast it) will resolve before the spell or ability the discard paid for.
2021-06-18 If you discard a card with madness while a spell or ability is resolving, it moves immediately to exile. Continue resolving that spell or ability, noting that the card you discarded is not in your graveyard at this time. Its madness triggered ability will be placed onto the stack once that spell or ability has completely resolved.
2021-06-18 Madness works independently of why you're discarding the card. You could discard it to pay a cost, because a spell or ability tells you to, or because you have too many cards in your hand during your cleanup step. You can't discard a card with madness just because you want to, though.
2021-06-18 To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost (such as a madness cost) you're paying, add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. The mana value of the spell is determined by only its mana cost, no matter what the total cost to cast that spell was.

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