Hooded Brawler MTG Card
2017-04-28 - Number 173
2019-11-07 - Number 1236
2020-08-13 - Number 194
2020-09-26 - Number AKH-173
| Card sets | Released in 4 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Naga Warrior |
| Abilities | Exert |
| Power | 3 |
| Toughness | 2 |
Key Takeaways
- Exerting Hooded Brawler offers potent offense while retaining defensive options, useful for maintaining board control.
- This card fits well in green-centric decks, enhancing creature-based strategies with its versatile power.
- Quick responses and strategic removal are essential to effectively counteract Hooded Brawler’s attack prowess.
Text of card
You may exert Hooded Brawler as it attacks. When you do, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn. (An exerted creature won't untap during your next untap step.)
Nagas wielding twin daggers excel at the fighting technique known as the Bite of Rhonas.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: Hooded Brawler provides a strong presence on the battlefield that can quickly turn into card advantage when equipped with certain synergies or enchantments that draw cards upon dealing combat damage.
Resource Acceleration: While the Hooded Brawler itself does not directly generate additional resources, its formidable power at a low cost can expedite victory, effectively shortening the game and reducing the opponent’s time to accumulate resources.
Instant Speed: The prowess of Hooded Brawler lies in its ability to exert for extra damage without tapping, allowing for a robust offense while still having blockers ready. Although not an instant, the capacity to exert gives a similar tactical flexibility typically found in instant speed interactions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Hooded Brawler requires you to exert it as part of an attack, resulting in the creature not untapping during your next untap step. This can be seen as a discard of tempo, potentially leaving you vulnerable to counterattacks.
Specific Mana Cost: With a mana requirement of two green and one of any color, Hooded Brawler demands a commitment to green mana sources, possibly limiting the card’s inclusion to mono-green or two-color decks aligned with green.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For three mana, Hooded Brawler’s base stats are on par for its cost. However, numerous other creatures at this cost provide additional abilities without the need to exert, offering more immediate or flexible utility on the battlefield.
Reasons to Include Hooded Brawler in Your Collection
Versatility: Hooded Brawler fits snugly into a variety of decks, particularly those looking to capitalize on green’s strength in creature-based strategies. Its prowess in both offense and defense makes it a flexible pick.
Combo Potential: With its exert ability, Hooded Brawler can be a crucial piece in combos that benefit from high-powered creatures or those that untap creatures, letting you get more bang for your buck each turn.
Meta-Relevance: In a game where board presence is key, a card like Hooded Brawler that can swing in as a significant threat or serve as a formidable blocker can be extremely advantageous, adapting well to the evolving gameplay landscape.
How to beat
Hooded Brawler is a creature known for its effectiveness in the realm of MTG, particularly when it exerts as it attacks, strengthening its offensive capability significantly for that turn. Tackling this adversary requires a strategic approach. Ensuring you have blockers that can survive the increased damage or removal spells to clear the creature before it becomes a repeated threat is key.
Keeping a versatile removal suite in your deck can be your safety net against creatures like Hooded Brawler. Instant-speed interaction allows you to handle the creature before it can exert and deal its bolstered damage. Board control spells that can handle multiple threats simultaneously are also effective, as they can mitigate the risk posed by Hooded Brawler as well as other on-board challenges.
In essence, supremacy on the battlefield against Hooded Brawler hinges on maintaining control and being prepared. Boasting both preventive and reactive measures in your deck composition will ensure creatures like Hooded Brawler don’t overrun you, enabling a tactical advantage and paving the way for your victory.
Cards like Hooded Brawler
Hooded Brawler is an intriguing creature to consider in the roster of green creatures within Magic: The Gathering. It enters the battlefield with a modest stat line, but when exerted, it becomes a formidable force, much like other creatures such as Gust Walker. While Gust Walker also gains a substantial buff when exerted, Hooded Brawler takes advantage of the green color’s inclination towards strength, surpassing it with a higher power increase.
Comparably, Bitterblade Warrior offers another parallel, presenting the exert option as well, but it focuses on a different approach, granting deathtouch instead of a power boost. Although both are two-man cost creatures, Hooded Brawler is eminent for its capacity to rapidly escalate its combat damage potential. Examining Nef-Crop Entangler, another creature with exert, we see an ability to gain trample in addition to power, offering a slightly different edge in combat situations.
Assessing these comparisons, Hooded Brawler stands out as a strong offensive choice in its mana cost bracket, particularly in aggressive strategies where exerting creatures for maximum impact is key to overwhelming opposition.
Cards similar to Hooded Brawler by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Hooded Brawler MTG card by a specific set like Amonkhet and Mystery Booster, 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 Hooded Brawler 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 MTG Products
Printings
The Hooded Brawler Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2020-08-13. Illustrated by Daarken.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017-04-28 | Amonkhet | AKH | 173 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daarken | |
| 2 | 2019-11-07 | Mystery Booster | MB1 | 1236 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daarken | |
| 3 | 2020-08-13 | Amonkhet Remastered | AKR | 194 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daarken | |
| 4 | The List | PLST | AKH-173 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Daarken |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Hooded Brawler has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Hooded Brawler card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2017-04-18 | All cards in the Amonkhet set that let you exert a creature let you do so as you declare it as an attacking creature, as do some of the cards in the Hour of Devastation set. You can’t do so later in combat, and creatures put onto the battlefield attacking can’t be exerted. Any abilities that trigger on exerting an attacking creature will resolve before blockers are declared. |
| 2017-04-18 | If an exerted creature is already untapped during your next untap step (most likely because it had vigilance or an effect untapped it), exert’s effect preventing it from untapping expires without having done anything. |
| 2017-04-18 | If you gain control of another player’s creature until end of turn and exert it, it will untap during that player’s untap step. |
| 2017-04-18 | You can’t exert a creature unless an effect allows you to do so. Similar effects that “tap and freeze” a creature (such as that of Decision Paralysis) don’t exert that creature. |
