Rhet-Crop Spearmaster MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost3
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Human Warrior
Abilities Exert
Power 3
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Spearmaster’s double strike exert ability can turn the tide by outmatching key creatures and controlling the board.
  2. Integrates well with aggressive strategies, increasing deck tempo and opponent life total pressure from early turns.
  3. Instant speed synergy optimizes tactical decisions, enhancing combat potential during your turn.

Text of card

You may exert Rhet-Crop Spearmaster as it attacks. When you do, it gets +1/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn. (An exerted creature won't untap during your next untap step.)

"In the afterlife, I'll have no need of sleep. And until then, I have no time for it!"


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Rhet-Crop Spearmaster itself does not directly provide card draw, its exert ability to gain double strike until end of turn can lead to advantageous combat outcomes. Eliminating key creatures of an opponent while maintaining board presence can indirectly influence card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: The Rhet-Crop Spearmaster fits within decks that aim to develop a strong board rapidly. Though it doesn’t provide mana or treasure tokens, it serves as a strong early game beater, accelerating the tempo of creature-based strategies and pressuring the opponent’s life total from the initial turns.

Instant Speed: While Rhet-Crop Spearmaster is a creature cast only at sorcery speed, its exert mechanic has synergy with other instant speed interactions. By choosing when to exert for maximum effect, it allows for tactical decisions that can adapt to the flow of the game, thus optimizing its combat potential during your turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Although Rhet-Crop Spearmaster does not have a discard requirement, players must consider the opportunity cost of choosing this card over others that provide card advantage or have synergistic interactions without such a trade-off.

Specific Mana Cost: Rhet-Crop Spearmaster requires two generic and one white mana to be cast. This white mana requirement allows for less flexibility in mana bases, predominantly favoring mono-white or white-heavy decks with limited color diversity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: For its base stats of 3/1, Rhet-Crop Spearmaster’s mana cost may be perceived as steep, given that the card’s exert ability is only beneficial when initiating an attack, and thus, comparably, there are creatures at a similar cost that offer more consistent or versatile benefits.


Reasons to Include Rhet-Crop Spearmaster in Your Collection

Versatility: The Rhet-Crop Spearmaster is a flexible card, capable of fitting into a variety of aggressive strategies with its solid stats and exert mechanic. It shines in both limited and constructed formats where quick and powerful strikes are needed.

Combo Potential: Rhet-Crop Spearmaster pairs well with cards that benefit from tapping and untapping creatures, or those that reward players for dealing combat damage. Its exert ability can be exploited to maximize these synergies.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where early pressure is key to overcoming opponents, Rhet-Crop Spearmaster’s quick offensive capability makes it particularly effective and a worthwhile inclusion in any deck aiming to dominate the early game.


How to beat

Rhet-Crop Spearmaster is a formidable creature that can make an impact in the early to mid-game stages of MTG. With its 3/1 stat line, it can deal significant damage and, its exert ability allows it to gain double strike until end of turn, potentially dealing a heavy blow to an opponent’s life total. The key to beating Rhet-Crop Spearmaster lies in understanding its limitations. Firstly, its one toughness makes it vulnerable to any sort of damage, including cheap removal spells or blockers with at least one power. Another tactic is to use instant-speed interaction to eliminate it during your opponent’s attack before they can exert it, thereby nullifying its double strike potential.

Creating a board presence with multiple creatures can also render the Spearmaster less effective, discouraging attacks due to unfavorable trades. If exerted, it won’t untap during its controller’s next untap step, leaving an opening for a counterattack. Additionally, be mindful of combat tricks or buffs your opponent may have, which could protect or enhance their Spearmaster. By staying one step ahead and managing your resources wisely, you can overcome the threat of the Rhet-Crop Spearmaster and maintain control of the battlefield.


Cards like Rhet-Crop Spearmaster

Rhet-Crop Spearmaster is a versatile creature card in Magic: The Gathering worth comparing to its peers. A standout feature is its exert ability, which can be a game-changer in combat by granting it double strike until the end of turn. Quite similar in spirit is the Gust Walker, an exemplar of exert mechanics. Although Gust Walker gains flying instead of double strike, the essence of tactical versatility remains.

Emboldened by such prowess, Rhet-Crop Spearmaster presents a tactical choice to MTG players, akin to the skybound Ahn-Crop Crasher. The Crasher, though, flexes its muscles by hindering opposing creatures from blocking when it exerts—not directly boosting its combat damage, unlike our Spearmaster. Another analogue comes in the form of the elite Skirmisher, which upon exertion, is able to graze through blockers by becoming indestructible.

Evaluating the Spearmaster within its ecosystem reveals its strength in aggressive strategies, adeptly weaving through the battlefield with a concept used across various MTG sets. With each card offering its distinct advantage in specific battle scenarios, Rhet-Crop Spearmaster remains a commendable choice for players looking to strike fiercely and decisively.

Gust Walker - MTG Card versions
Ahn-Crop Crasher - MTG Card versions
Gust Walker - Amonkhet (AKH)
Ahn-Crop Crasher - Amonkhet (AKH)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rhet-Crop Spearmaster 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 Rhet-Crop Spearmaster and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Rhet-Crop Spearmaster Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2017-04-28 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Dan Scott.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12017-04-28AmonkhetAKH 262015normalblackDan Scott
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 2122015normalblackDan Scott
32020-09-26The ListPLST AKH-262015normalblackDan Scott

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Rhet-Crop Spearmaster has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Rhet-Crop Spearmaster card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
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.

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