Ancient Silverback MTG Card

Ancient Silverback - Urza's Destiny (UDS)

Urza's Destiny (UDS)
1999-06-07 - Number 101

Ancient Silverback - Seventh Edition (7ED)

Seventh Edition (7ED)
2001-04-11 - Number 230

Seventh Edition (7ED)
2001-04-11 - Number 230★

Ancient Silverback - Ninth Edition (9ED)

Ninth Edition (9ED)
2005-07-29 - Number 230

Ninth Edition (9ED)
2005-07-29 - Number 230★

Magic 2015 (M15)
2014-07-18 - Number 168

Card sets	Released in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	6
Rarity	Rare
Type	Creature — Ape
Power	6
Toughness	5

Key Takeaways

Card advantage through regeneration makes the Ancient Silverback a long-lasting threat against opponents.
Regeneration at instant speed offers tactical flexibility and surprising in-game resilience.
Versatility and meta-relevance make it a solid addition to green-focused MTG decks.

Text of card

oo G Regenerate Ancient Silverback.

The Phyrexian killing machines couldn't have known the seriousness of their mistake in wounding the ape—they'd never seen it angry.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While the Ancient Silverback doesn’t directly allow you to draw cards, its resilience can indirectly lead to card advantage. Its ability to regenerate itself for a mere green mana ensures that it can be a recurring threat on the board, potentially requiring multiple cards from your opponent to be dealt with permanently.

Resource Acceleration: The Ancient Silverback itself may not accelerate your resource production, but its solid presence on the battlefield necessitates a response from your opponents. This may distract them and delay their own resource acceleration, while you can build up your mana base and other resources uninterrupted.

Instant Speed: Although the Ancient Silverback is a creature and not an instant, its regeneration ability can be used at instant speed, providing tactical flexibility. You can protect the Ancient Silverback from threats during your opponent’s turn or at a moment’s notice, right before damage is dealt, making it a durable blocker or a relentless attacker that’s hard to put down.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Ancient Silverback requires a precise blend of mana, demanding not just green but also an additional sum to cast. This can pose a hurdle for decks playing multiple colors, potentially stalling strategy execution at critical moments.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: At six mana to summon this formidable ape, players may find the mana investment hefty. Considering the pace of the current gameplay environment, resources might be more strategically allocated to other creatures or spells offering immediate board influence. Additionally, the six-mana slot is highly competitive, with numerous alternatives that could give either more raw power or versatile abilities.

Discard Requirement: While not a direct aspect of the card, the abilities of Ancient Silverback may be underwhelming when compared to newer cards with no discard requirement. Present-day creatures offer multifaceted benefits without sacrificing valuable hand assets, which is a subtle but significant consideration for deck building.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Ancient Silverback’s regeneration ability makes it a resilient choice for green decks needing durable threats. Its ability to avoid being destroyed by damage or most removal spells allows it to maintain a consistent board presence.

Combo Potential: In decks designed around creature survival and combat, Ancient Silverback’s regenerative capacity enables it to synergize well with various green cards or mechanics like fight or lure effects, providing ongoing value and board control.

Meta-Relevance: As creature-centric decks remain a staple of many metagames, having a solid, reliable creature like Ancient Silverback can provide an edge against opponents, particularly in environments heavy with targeted removal or in metagames where green is underrepresented.

How to Beat Ancient Silverback

In the realm of MTG, encountering a creature like Ancient Silverback can be quite challenging given its formidable presence and regeneration ability. This green creature, symbolizing the raw power and resilience found in nature decks, requires strategic thinking to overcome effectively.

One key tactic is to utilize spells that force sacrifices, negating the regeneration capability. Cards such as Diabolic Edict or Crackling Doom compel your opponent to choose and sacrifice a creature, which can bypass the Ancient Silverback’s defensive mechanics. Additionally, exile effects like Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares can permanently remove the gorilla from the game, ensuring it won’t be returning to the battlefield anytime soon.

It’s also wise to consider using board wipes that don’t destroy but rather change the state of all creatures. Mass-exile effects or returning creatures to owners’ hands can reset the board, negating the regeneration ability of Ancient Silverback. In conclusion, while it may seem like a daunting task, with the right removal strategies, players can effectively handle this primal threat in their MTG matches.

Cards like Ancient Silverback

Ancient Silverback is a well-known creature card that has cemented its place in the hearts of Magic: The Gathering players who adore brute strength on the battlefield. Its relevance can be measured against other formidable green creatures such as Leatherback Baloth, a mighty beast requiring less mana yet providing a substantial power and toughness boost without any additional abilities. The Ancient Silverback stands out with its strength and the innate ability to regenerate, a tactical advantage that can turn the tide of the game by keeping it on the board through destruction that would typically remove other creatures.

Comparing it to Pelakka Wurm, another green stalwart, the differences become more nuanced. Pelakka Wurm not only brings considerable heft to the table but also grants life upon entering the battlefield and a card draw when it dies, trading regenerative longevity for immediate value. Scaled Wurm, though lacking any abilities, matches the Silverback in mana cost but outranks it slightly in sheer size, demonstrating the spectrum of green’s creature design focus: from resilience to raw power.

In essence, assessing Ancient Silverback alongside its contemporaries showcases the diverse strategies within green creatures in Magic: The Gathering, and why it remains a popular choice for players looking to apply persistent pressure with creature survivability.

Cards similar to Ancient Silverback by color, type and mana cost

Verdeloth the Ancient - MTG Card versions

Nemata, Grove Guardian - MTG Card versions

Kodama of the East Tree - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ancient Silverback MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny and Seventh Edition, 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 Ancient Silverback and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ancient Silverback Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 1999-06-07 and 2014-07-18. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	1999-06-07	Urza's Destiny	UDS	101	1997	Normal	Black	Paolo Parente
2	2001-04-11	Seventh Edition	7ED	230	1997	Normal	White	Scott M. Fischer
3	2001-04-11	Seventh Edition	7ED	230★	1997	Normal	Black	Scott M. Fischer
4	2005-07-29	Ninth Edition	9ED	230	2003	Normal	White	Scott M. Fischer
5	2005-07-29	Ninth Edition	9ED	230★	2003	Normal	Black	Scott M. Fischer
6	2014-07-18	Magic 2015	M15	168	2015	Normal	Black	Scott M. Fischer