Bull Elephant MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Elephant
Power 4
Toughness 4

Key Takeaways

  1. Bull Elephant trades with multiple creatures, indirectly boosting card advantage and maintaining board control.
  2. Returning Forests to hand when cast, it activates landfall, enhancing land-based strategies.
  3. Though powerful, its discard and specific mana requirements may limit deck versatility.

Text of card

When Bull Elephant enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you return two Forests you control to their owner's hand.

Four gray trees and a long, coiling snake. What am I? —Zhalfirin riddle


Card Pros

Card Advantage: When evaluating Bull Elephant, it’s important to note that it can provide indirect card advantage. As a sizable creature, it can often trade with multiple smaller creatures your opponent controls, effectively helping you maintain board presence and possibly out-resource your opponent without necessarily drawing extra cards.

Resource Acceleration: This card offers a different kind of resource acceleration. By requiring you to return two untapped Forests you control to your hand as part of its casting cost, it allows you to replay lands to trigger Landfall abilities or other effects that activate when lands enter the battlefield, essentially accelerating your access to potential benefits tied to land plays.

Instant Speed: While Bull Elephant does not operate at instant speed, its presence can influence your opponent’s playstyle, potentially forcing them to hold back instant-speed removal or play more conservatively due to its formidable presence as a 4/4 creature on the battlefield.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Bull Elephant mandates that you discard two cards as a part of its casting cost. This can deplete your hand rapidly, reducing your options for future turns, and could be particularly detrimental if you are not running a deck that benefits from or mitigates graveyard strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost requiring three green mana, Bull Elephant can strain the mana base of multicolored decks. This intense color commitment can make it challenging to play other spells or can lead to a color-screwed situation if the necessary resources aren’t available.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Sporting a casting cost of four mana, including the specific triple green requirement, Bull Elephant’s mana efficiency is questionable. Other creatures at similar or lower cost may offer better stats or additional abilities. This could lead to it being overlooked in favor of creatures that provide more value or strategic advantage considering the mana investment.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Bull Elephant can be smoothly integrated into Green-based ramp or stompy decks that thrive on casting large creatures early in the game.

Combo Potential: With its substantial power and toughness, Bull Elephant can synergize well with decks that capitalize on creature-based synergies or sacrifice mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where aggressive green strategies are prevalent or in a meta with many low-to-the-ground creature decks, Bull Elephant can serve as a formidable blocker or an early game threat.


How to Beat Bull Elephant

Understanding the battlefield is key when facing off against the might of Bull Elephant in Magic: The Gathering. This powerhouse brings hefty stats to the table, a challenging obstacle for many players. However, there are strategic plays that can tilt the encounter in your favor. Cards that impose sacrifice like Diabolic Edict, or enchantments that neutralize abilities such as Pacifism effectively render the Elephant’s presence far less intimidating. Alternately, taking advantage of its four toughness, spells like Lightning Bolt, which delivers three damage, can be combined with other direct damage spells or effects to take it down outright.

Bull Elephant’s need to return two forests to a player’s hand upon summoning is an exploitable disadvantage. Ramp up aggression when these lands are bounced back to hand, seizing the opportunity to outpace your opponent’s mana development. Employing land destruction or land denial strategies also compounds the cost of playing the creature, further tipping the scales. By preparing your deck with such tactics, you stand a solid chance at rendering the Bull Elephant a minimal threat.


Cards like Bull Elephant

In the vibrant ecosystem of creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Bull Elephant stands tall. This massive beast parallels other hefty creatures like Stampeding Rhino. Though both intimidate with their substantial power, the Rhino doesn’t demand the return of two Forests to your hand upon entering the battlefield, a unique twist that makes Bull Elephant a remarkable card for managing land resources.

Comparing other giants of the game, we encounter the likes of Thundering Spineback, providing value not only in its formidable presence but also in bolstering other Dinosaurs. While the Spineback excels at supporting tribal strategies, Bull Elephant shines in decks focusing on land dynamics and reuse. Furthermore, the Baloth Woodcrasher capitalizes on landfall triggers, swelling in size whenever a land enters under your control—a different angle of land interaction than Bull Elephant, yet equally potent in a dedicated land-based strategy.

Scrutinizing these creature cards unveils the variety of roles such titans can play in Magic: The Gathering. Bull Elephant remains a unique choice for players valuing land manipulation with the brawn to back it up.

Stampeding Rhino - MTG Card versions
Thundering Spineback - MTG Card versions
Baloth Woodcrasher - MTG Card versions
Stampeding Rhino - Magic 2010 (M10)
Thundering Spineback - Ixalan (XLN)
Baloth Woodcrasher - Zendikar (ZEN)

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

Giant Spider - MTG Card versions
Marsh Viper - MTG Card versions
Scarwood Bandits - MTG Card versions
Carnivorous Plant - MTG Card versions
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Aurochs - MTG Card versions
Lhurgoyf - MTG Card versions
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Erithizon - MTG Card versions
Saber Ants - MTG Card versions
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Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - MTG Card versions
Fungusaur - MTG Card versions
Viridian Lorebearers - MTG Card versions
Monkey Monkey Monkey - MTG Card versions
Giant Spider - Tenth Edition (10E)
Marsh Viper - The Dark (DRK)
Scarwood Bandits - The Dark (DRK)
Carnivorous Plant - Fourth Edition Foreign Black Border (4BB)
Erhnam Djinn - Pro Tour Collector Set (PTC)
War Mammoth - Introductory Two-Player Set (ITP)
Aurochs - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Lhurgoyf - World Championship Decks 1997 (WC97)
Jackalope Herd - Exodus (EXO)
Rootwater Alligator - Exodus (EXO)
Golden Bear - Portal Second Age (P02)
Argothian Swine - Urza's Saga (USG)
Elvish Piper - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Erithizon - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Saber Ants - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Skyshroud Cutter - Nemesis (NEM)
Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Fungusaur - Eighth Edition (8ED)
Viridian Lorebearers - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Monkey Monkey Monkey - Unhinged (UNH)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Bull Elephant MTG card by a specific set like Multiverse Gift Box and Visions, 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 Bull Elephant and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Bull Elephant Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1996-11-01 and 1997-02-03. Illustrated by Steve White.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11996-11-01Multiverse Gift BoxMGB 91997normalblackSteve White
21997-02-03VisionsVIS 1011997normalblackSteve White

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Bull Elephant has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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