Nylea, God of the Hunt MTG Card


Enhances creature plays by providing trample, allowing for more aggressive and effective attacks. Instant speed ability adds surprise and versatility, disrupting opponent strategies mid-combat. Demands heavy commitment to green mana, limiting multicolored deck options and flexibility.
Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityMythic
TypeLegendary Enchantment Creature — God
Abilities Indestructible
Power 6
Toughness 6

Text of card

Indestructible As long as your devotion to green is less than five, Nylea isn't a creature. (Each o G in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to green.) Other creatures you control have trample. : Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.


Cards like Nylea, God of the Hunt

Nylea, God of the Hunt is an illustrious card that resonates with players who enjoy leveraging creature-based strategies in Magic: The Gathering. Its closest kin is Rhonas the Indomitable, which also offers the trample ability to other creatures and can be very difficult for opponents to deal with due to its indestructibility. Both cards are deities from different sets and share the indestructible trait, yet Rhonas demands a creature with power 4 or greater to unlock its full potential.

Analogous to Nylea, there’s Xenagos, the Reveler. While Xenagos doesn’t give creatures trample, it’s strikingly similar in bolstering your creature forces by producing an excessive amount of mana, which Nylea can use efficiently to increase the power of your creatures. Additionally, another card that synergizes well with Nylea’s trample-giving ability is Garruk Wildspeaker, as it can untap lands to ramp up mana, similar to how Nylea uses mana to beef up your creatures.

Assessing them side by side, Nylea, God of the Hunt shows its might within the pantheon of MTG cards by providing constant buff and utility, especially in decks that focus on big creatures and combat optimization.

Rhonas the Indomitable - MTG Card versions
Xenagos, the Reveler - MTG Card versions
Garruk Wildspeaker - MTG Card versions
Rhonas the Indomitable - MTG Card versions
Xenagos, the Reveler - MTG Card versions
Garruk Wildspeaker - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Nylea, God of the Hunt. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Nykthos RampNykthos Ramp PioneerNykthos RampPioneer Challenge 64 2024-04-20
Gruul MidrangeGruul Midrange PioneerNykthos RampReCQ - Pioneer - SCG CON Atlanta - Saturday - 1:00 pm (Bronze)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Nylea, God of the Hunt’s presence on the battlefield can lead to significant advantages. Her ability to give your creatures trample ensures that excess damage is not wasted, enabling you to potentially draw more cards if synergized with effects that trigger upon dealing combat damage to a player.

Resource Acceleration: While Nylea herself does not directly accelerate your resources, her static ability to give other creatures trample pairs well with effects that produce mana or other benefits when creatures deal combat damage, thereby indirectly contributing to resource acceleration.

Instant Speed: One of Nylea’s key abilities is her activated ability to give a creature +2/+2 until the end of the turn. This ability functions at instant speed, allowing for strategic combat tricks or sudden power boosts that can be a game-changer during unexpected moments of interaction.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Nylea God of the Hunt demands a consistent stream of creatures for its ability to be advantageous. This could strain your hand, pushing you to discard other valuable cards to keep fueling the battlefield with creatures that can utilize her trample-giving skill.

Specific Mana Cost: Nylea’s casting cost necessitates three green mana, which can be stringent for multicolored decks. This can hamper her inclusion in decks that aren’t heavily green, placing a limitation on deck-building flexibility.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost of four, including three green, Nylea sits on the higher end of the mana curve. In a game where tempo is key, utilizing the mana for Nylea could delay other crucial plays, especially considering that there are other lower-cost cards that can provide trample or similar benefits.


Reasons to Include Nylea, God of the Hunt in Your Collection

Versatility: Nylea, God of the Hunt serves as a compelling force in any creature-focused deck, as her ability to give creatures trample ensures that your board presence is always a threat. Moreover, her indestructible nature makes her resilient to most removal spells, making her a steadfast inclusion in any green deck.

Combo Potential: This deity of Theros unlocks significant combo potential with any cards that thrive on creatures dealing combat damage. By enabling smaller creatures to punch through defenses with trample, Nylea pairs well with strategies emphasizing creature synergy and combat tricks.

Meta-Relevance: With aggro and midrange decks commonly influencing the meta, Nylea’s constant pressure and support for large-scale attacks cater to a proactive game plan, helping you keep pace or outmatch the common strategies of the day.


How to beat

Nylea, God of the Hunt is a commanding presence in Magic: The Gathering, championing strategies that hinge on creature combat. A formidable enchantment creature with the potential to give other creatures trample, Nylea can quickly elevate the lethality of an opponent’s board. Neutralizing Nylea requires a keen understanding of her indestructibility, a trait bestowed by her devotion mechanism that gauges her strength through the number of green mana symbols on the field.

One effective tactic is to reduce the opponent’s devotion to green, thus turning Nylea into a non-creature enchantment, which opens her up to a wider array of removal options. Enchantment removal, such as Revoke Existence or Erase, can unshackle you from her grip once she loses her creature status. Alternatively, in control archetypes, board wipes like Supreme Verdict bypass indestructibility, clearing the way toward victory. Moreover, edict effects that force sacrifices, like Diabolic Edict, can effectively navigate around her defenses when the opponent’s board isn’t too populated.

Ultimately, a strategy combining devotion disruption, selective removal, and broad sweepers will be your shield against the raw power that Nylea, God of the Hunt brings to the battlefield.


BurnMana Recommendations

Bringing Nylea, God of the Hunt into your MTG collection can redefine your gameplay, adding depth and strength to creature-centric tactics. Her ability to empower your forces with trample and a stat boost at critical moments adds a new level of strategic combat interactions. Embrace the synergy between Nylea and creature combat to outmaneuver opponents and maintain superiority on the battlefield. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to incorporate this deity’s might into your arsenal. For those looking to elevate their game, we extend an invitation to explore our insights and tips to utilize Nylea’s full potential and claim victory. Dive into our detailed strategies and build your legacy within the MTG arena alongside Nylea’s indomitable spirit.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Nylea, God of the Hunt MTG card by a specific set like Theros and Secret Lair Drop, 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 Nylea, God of the Hunt and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Nylea, God of the Hunt Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2013-09-27 and 2019-12-02. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12013-09-27TherosTHS 1662003NormalBlackChris Rahn
22019-12-02Secret Lair DropSLD 802015NormalBlackJason A. Engle
32020-09-26The ListPLST THS-1662003NormalBlackChris Rahn

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Nylea, God of the Hunt has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal

Rules and information

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

Date Text
2013-09-15 Hybrid mana symbols, monocolored hybrid mana symbols, and Phyrexian mana symbols do count toward your devotion to their color(s).
2013-09-15 If an activated ability or triggered ability has an effect that depends on your devotion to a color, you count the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents you control as the ability resolves. The permanent with that ability will be counted if it's still on the battlefield at that time.
2013-09-15 Mana symbols in the text boxes of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.
2013-09-15 Numeric mana symbols (, , and so on) in mana costs of permanents you control don't count toward your devotion to any color.
2020-01-24 As a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color will determine whether any replacement effects that affect creatures entering the battlefield apply to that God. Because replacement effects are considered before the God is on the battlefield, the mana symbols in its mana cost won't be counted when determining this.
2020-01-24 Counters put on a God remain on it while it's not a creature, even if they have no effect.
2020-01-24 If a God is attacking or blocking and it stops being a creature, it will be removed from combat. It won't rejoin combat if it resumes being a creature later during that combat.
2020-01-24 If a God stops being a creature, it loses the type creature and the creature type God. It continues to be a legendary enchantment.
2020-01-24 If an effect causes a God to lose all abilities, its ability that causes it to stop being a creature still applies if appropriate.
2020-01-24 The abilities of Gods function as long as they're on the battlefield, regardless of whether they're creatures.
2020-01-24 The type-changing ability that can make a God not be a creature functions only on the battlefield. It's always a creature card in other zones, regardless of your devotion to its color. It's always a creature spell while it's on the stack.
2020-01-24 When a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color (including the mana symbols in the mana cost of the God itself) will determine if a creature entered the battlefield or not for abilities that trigger whenever a creature enters the battlefield.