Plague Beetle MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Insect
Abilities Swampwalk
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Low casting cost and board presence make Plague Beetle a tactical starter for black mana deck enthusiasts.
  2. Its one-mana cost affords flexibility, coupling board development with instant-speed play potential.
  3. Plague Beetle’s skulk ability ensures it’s a consistent early-game contender against high-powered creatures.

Text of card

Swampwalk (If defending player controls a swamp, this creature is unblockable.)

It is the harbinger of disease, not the carrier.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Plague Beetle may not directly lead to card draw, its low casting cost and synergy with other cards can indirectly contribute to maintaining card advantage. It can swiftly occupy the board and apply pressure, forcing your opponent to deal with it and potentially opening up avenues for card advantage through other means.

Resource Acceleration: Plague Beetle can be a key piece in black mana decks focused on resource acceleration. Although it doesn’t generate additional mana or treasure tokens, its mere presence can encourage a game state that favors your strategic setup for ramping up your resources quickly.

Instant Speed: While Plague Beetle itself isn’t an instant, its one-mana cost allows you to keep mana open for instant-speed interactions on your opponent’s turn. This flexibility ensures that you can continue to develop your board presence while still holding back resources for crucial reactive plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While the Plague Beetle doesn’t ask for a card to be discarded, it could lead to such a situation indirectly. If you’re trying to make room for it in a tightly constructed deck, another potentially more useful card might have to be sacrificed, which can feel like a discard.

Specific Mana Cost: Plague Beetle requires a specific color (black) to cast, which can be a limitation for non-monochromatic or multicolored decks that may not always have the necessary mana available. This could potentially disrupt your game plan or curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its relatively low cost, when considering the card’s overall impact and abilities, Plague Beetle’s cost efficiency could be questioned. There are other one-drops that might provide more value or versatility within the same mana range, which can lead players to choose alternatives over the Beetle in deck building.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Plague Beetle’s status as a low-cost creature makes it a suitable choice for aggressive Black decks aiming to establish board presence from the first turns of the game. Its simple requirement of one Black mana means it can easily fit into mono-Black or multicolor strategies.

Combo Potential: With synergies in decks that capitalize on sacrificial mechanics or the need to maintain a creature count, Plague Beetle can serve a key role. Paired with cards that benefit from death triggers or creature counts, this modest insect can quickly become an important cog in a more complex machine.

Meta-Relevance: Given its resilience to sorcery-speed removal due to Skulk, the Plague Beetle can remain a nuisance on the battlefield. Its ability to dodge certain removal spells makes it a savvy addition, especially if the current meta is dense with sorcery-based control.


How to beat

Plague Beetle is a modest creature card that can be found stealthily creeping through the dim corners of the MTG universe. With just one black mana to cast, this unassuming insect offers a simple, yet effective starting play for those employing a black-based deck. Despite its low cost and 1/1 stats, it has the distinctive ability to be unblockable by creatures with power 2 or more, slipping past larger defenses with ease.

To outmaneuver this tiny nuisance, it’s essential for players to employ stratagems that don’t rely on power blocks. Removal spells that can specifically target creatures regardless of their power, such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile, can effortlessly swat the beetle from the battlefield. Spells that decrease a creature’s toughness to zero are equally effective, as well as overarching board wipes like Wrath of God that don’t discriminate based on size or abilities. Additionally, one could deploy low-cost creatures with a power of 1 or less to halt its approach, fortifying the defense through numerical superiority.

Ultimately, while the Plague Beetle can be an early-game aggravation, it can be readily dealt with through a diverse set of strategies, ensuring that players keep their defenses adaptable and ready to address these skittering threats.


Cards like Plague Beetle

Plague Beetle is an understated yet potentially impactful creature card in Magic: The Gathering. Though it seems humble with its 1/1 stats and single black mana cost, this creature stands tall alongside similar cards in the category of one-drops. Sanguophage, for instance, offers larger beginning stats at the cost of a potentially damaging upkeep effect, a trade-off some players might find less preferable when looking to maintain life points.

We also find Foul Imp in comparative discussion, another black creature with an introductory cost of two life points alongside its mana cost. While Foul Imp starts off stronger with 2/2 stats, Plague Beetle snuck its way into some players’ decks because it doesn’t dent their life total. Then there’s Vampire Lacerator, renowned for its aggressive 2/2 body for a single mana, but with a stipulation that can drain life if your opponent’s health isn’t low enough, making Plague Beetle a less risky early-game play.

Assessing these alternatives highlights the careful balance of benefits and caveats in Magic: The Gathering’s one-mana creature cards. Plague Beetle offers a simple, straightforward option for decks, avoiding the extra conditions its counterparts carry, which can be strategic in certain play styles.

Foul Imp - MTG Card versions
Vampire Lacerator - MTG Card versions
Foul Imp - Stronghold (STH)
Vampire Lacerator - Zendikar (ZEN)

Cards similar to Plague Beetle by color, type and mana cost

Stone-Throwing Devils - MTG Card versions
Will-o'-the-Wisp - MTG Card versions
Vampire Bats - MTG Card versions
Bog Rats - MTG Card versions
Insidious Bookworms - MTG Card versions
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Muck Rats - MTG Card versions
Vebulid - MTG Card versions
Zodiac Rat - MTG Card versions
Urborg Skeleton - MTG Card versions
Carrion Rats - MTG Card versions
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - MTG Card versions
Champion of the Perished - MTG Card versions
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Bile Urchin - MTG Card versions
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Rimebound Dead - MTG Card versions
Festering Goblin - MTG Card versions
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Knucklebone Witch - MTG Card versions
Stone-Throwing Devils - Arabian Nights (ARN)
Will-o'-the-Wisp - Foreign Black Border (FBB)
Vampire Bats - Renaissance (REN)
Bog Rats - Chronicles (CHR)
Insidious Bookworms - Alliances (ALL)
Sewer Rats - Mirage (MIR)
Muck Rats - Portal Second Age (P02)
Vebulid - Urza's Saga (USG)
Zodiac Rat - Portal Three Kingdoms (PTK)
Urborg Skeleton - Invasion (INV)
Carrion Rats - Hachette UK (PHUK)
Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight - Magic Online Promos (PRM)
Champion of the Perished - Innistrad: Double Feature (DBL)
Dark Supplicant - Legions (LGN)
Bile Urchin - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Nezumi Shadow-Watcher - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Rimebound Dead - Coldsnap (CSP)
Festering Goblin - Modern Masters (MMA)
Sleeper Agent - Tenth Edition (10E)
Knucklebone Witch - Lorwyn (LRW)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Plague Beetle MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Legacy 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 Plague Beetle and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Plague Beetle Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 1999-02-15 and 2007-07-13. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-02-15Urza's LegacyULG 641997normalblackTom Fleming
22001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 1551997normalwhiteMatt Cavotta
32001-04-11Seventh Edition7ED 155★1997normalblackMatt Cavotta
42003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 1542003normalwhiteMatt Cavotta
52003-07-28Eighth Edition8ED 154★2003normalblackMatt Cavotta
62005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 1542003normalwhiteTom Fleming
72005-07-29Ninth Edition9ED 154★2003normalblackTom Fleming
82007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 168★2003normalblackTom Fleming
92007-07-13Tenth Edition10E 1682003normalblackTom Fleming

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Plague Beetle has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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