Slag Fiend MTG Card

New Phyrexia (NPH)
2011-05-13 - Number 95

The List (PLST)
2020-09-26 - Number NPH-95

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Phyrexian Construct
Power	*
Toughness	*

Key Takeaways

Slag Fiend turns your graveyard into a power resource, utilizing artifact abundance.
Its low casting cost and potential for rapid growth make for early game advantages.
The card’s dependency on artifacts and red mana adds strategic deck-building considerations.

Text of card

Slag Fiend's power and toughness are each equal to the number of artifact cards in all graveyards.

"Seal the furnace vents. Admit no others. We'll tend our forges without their tainted ways." —Decree of Urabrask

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Slag Fiend may not directly allow you to draw cards, it thrives on the abundance of artifacts in your graveyard. This means each artifact landers becomes potential power for your Slag Fiend, effectively turning your graveyard into a resource.

Resource Acceleration: Slag Fiend’s cost efficiency can lead to a form of resource acceleration. With its casting cost hinging on just a single red mana, it becomes a formidable creature much earlier in the game relative to other creatures with a similar power level, leveraging the number of artifacts you’ve placed in the graveyard.

Instant Speed: While Slag Fiend isn’t an instant itself, its ability to grow instantly as you sacrifice artifacts or as they are put into the graveyard during your turn offers a dynamic form of interaction. This instant growth during combat or in response to removals can surprise an opponent, potentially swinging the game in your favor.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Slag Fiend’s power depends on the number of artifact cards in your graveyard. This condition compels players to discard valuable artifact resources, potentially undermining your overall board presence and strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Slag Fiend’s reliance on a red mana cost can restrict its incorporation into multi-colored decks, potentially preventing its play in formats where color flexibility is crucial.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not excessively costly, Slag Fiend’s initial investment might not provide immediate benefits, especially when the graveyard is not sufficiently stocked with artifacts. This may result in a disappointing return on mana invested, particularly in the earlier stages of a game.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Slag Fiend’s power scales with the number of artifacts in your graveyard, making it a flexible addition to artifact-centric decks or those utilizing self-mill strategies. Its low cost allows it to be a formidable creature early in the game.

Combo Potential: In combination with cards that rapidly fill your graveyard with artifacts, Slag Fiend can rapidly become a massive threat. This synergy is particularly effective in decks that sacrifice artifacts for various effects, turning used resources into raw power.

Meta-Relevance: Given the prevalence of artifact strategies across multiple formats, Slag Fiend can function as a meta call. In an environment where artifacts are commonly used, Slag Fiend serves not only as a creature but also as a tool for utilizing the artifacts in your graveyard that opponents might render useless.

How to Beat Slag Fiend

Dealing with a Slag Fiend requires understanding its mechanics. This creature’s power and toughness are equal to the number of artifact cards in all graveyards. Consequently, artifact removal is paramount when facing a deck featuring the Slag Fiend. Efficient cards to consider are Shatter, which can destroy any artifact, or Relic of Progenitus, enabling you to exile all cards from a player’s graveyard and significantly shrink the Fiend’s size.

Another tactical choice could be graveyard shuffling effects. Classic examples like Bojuka Bog can exile a graveyard in an instant, minimizing the threat of the Fiend. Timing is crucial, as you would want to wait for your opponent to commit artifacts to the graveyard before activating these effects. Alternatively, substituting your own artifacts for non-artifact spells will reduce the Slag Fiend’s inherent strength, limiting its potential power and toughness growth on your side of the board.

In short, a strategy focused on artifact control and graveyard manipulation can effectively counteract a Slag Fiend’s burgeoning threat, keeping the game in your favor and maintaining a clear board state.

Cards like Slag Fiend

Slag Fiend enters the Magic: The Gathering arena as an intriguing option for artifact-centered decks, thriving on the graveyard much like its predecessor, Arcbound Ravager. While Arcbound Ravager allows you to sacrifice artifacts to grow stronger, Slag Fiend’s power and toughness are inherently tied to the number of artifacts in all graveyards, offering a potentially massive creature for minimal mana investment.

Another comparable card is Scrapyard Recombiner, which serves a modular role but also searches for construct cards, setting up future plays. However, it doesn’t provide the immediate board presence that Slag Fiend can when artifacts have already stocked the graveyard. There’s also Pia’s Revolution, a dynamic enchantment that turns your artifact losses into either a return to hand or direct damage. While Pia’s Revolution offers repeated utility, it cannot become a game-ending threat on its own, unlike the potential of a well-timed Slag Fiend.

Taking stock of similar strategies, Slag Fiend shines through as a unique combination of cost efficiency and raw power, capable of turning the artifact remnants of both players into a formidable force on the battlefield – a valuable asset for any MTG player running a deck rich in artifacts.

Scrapyard Recombiner - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Slag Fiend by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Slag Fiend MTG card by a specific set like New Phyrexia and The List, 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 Slag Fiend and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Slag Fiend Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2011-05-13 and 2011-05-13. Illustrated by Mike Bierek.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2011-05-13	New Phyrexia	NPH		95	2003	Normal	Black	Mike Bierek
2	~~2020-09-26~~	The List	PLST		NPH-95	2003	Normal	Black	Mike Bierek

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Slag Fiend has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

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