Rabid Elephant MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	5
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elephant
Released	2001-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Odyssey
Set code	ODY
Power	3
Toughness	4
Number	263
Frame	1997
Layout	normal
Border	black
Illustred by	Dave Dorman

Key Takeaways

Rabid Elephant ensures card advantage by potentially enabling beneficial draw effects during combat.
This creature’s board presence accelerates your resources, deterring opponents from attacking early on.
Instant speed spells complement well with the presence of Rabid Elephant, threatening adversaries strategically.

Text of card

Whenever Rabid Elephant becomes blocked, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn for each creature blocking it.

When in doubt, stomp.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Holding Rabid Elephant in your hand presents a reliable way to ensure that you’re not caught short on cards. The elephant’s ability to potentially trample over opponents’ defenses can enable direct hits, leading to beneficial draw effects or other card-generating perks, depending on your deck’s synergy.

Resource Acceleration: This robust creature can accelerate your resources by providing substantial board presence. Most robust creatures like the Rabid Elephant can deter opponents from attacking, allowing you to confidently build up your mana base and other resources without fear of losing life points too quickly.

Instant Speed: While the Rabid Elephant itself may not be an instant, it pairs well with instant speed spells in your roster. Being able to respond to your opponent’s moves while the elephant threatens on the battlefield is a strategic advantage, making your instant speed spells all the more impactful.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Rabid Elephant card necessitates the discarding of another card from your hand to activate certain abilities. This can prove disadvantageous, particularly if your hand lacks disposable cards and each one is crucial for your gameplay strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: A deck builder must take into account that this card requires a specific combination of mana types to be cast. Its inclusion might necessitate adjustments in your mana base which could impact the deck’s overall consistency and might restrict the card to decks that can reliably produce the required mana colors.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When considering the card’s total cost and effect, it becomes evident that it commands a sizeable amount of mana resources. This factor may lead players to evaluate whether the output justifies such an investment, especially when contrasted with other cards that could potentially provide a similar effect or better board presence for less mana.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Rabid Elephant shines in various deck builds given its ability to serve both as a considerable creature threat and an interesting enhancement to any green-centric ramp or beatdown strategy.

Combo Potential: This card can form lethal combos in decks that capitalize on creature-based synergies. It possesses untapped potential when paired with cards that benefit from high-powered creatures or vast mana pools.

Meta-Relevance: In a game state that favors quick board development and resilience against removal, Rabid Elephant proves its worth. Its significance grows in metas where green decks or creature-heavy tactics predominate.

How to beat

Rabid Elephant presents a distinct challenge with its robust presence on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. This formidable creature boasts not only a considerable toughness but also an ability that can catch any MTG player off guard. Typically, overcoming such a creature requires strategic planning and efficient use of removal spells.

Managing to remove the Rabid Elephant from play often hinges on spells that can bypass its toughness. Board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation are effective tools, as they don’t target individual creatures and thus ignore effects that may protect the Elephant. Single-target removal such as Path to Exile or Murder are also invaluable, as they can cleanly and immediately address the threat at a relatively low cost.

Additionally, countering the spell outright when the Rabid Elephant is cast can be an excellent preemptive strategy. By ensuring the creature never touches the board, cards like Counterspell or Mana Leak keep the game in your control. In conclusion, while the Rabid Elephant can be a daunting card to face, well-crafted strategies, specifically those that include versatile removal and counters, can successfully navigate and overcome this MTG challenge.

Similar Cards to Rabid Elephant

Exploring the vast repository of green creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Rabid Elephant presents an intriguing option for players keen on triggering card draw through creature combat. This card bears resemblance to the likes of Ohran Viper, which also grants the ability to draw a card upon dealing damage to a player. While Ohran Viper offers a deathtouch ability, increasing its defensive utility, Rabid Elephant compensates with a heftier body, standing tall in the face of smaller threats.

Another related creature is Masked Admirers, which doesn’t require combat for its card draw. Upon entering the battlefield or dying, it allows its controller to draw a card. The Admirers have a built-in recursion ability as well, making it more versatile than the Rabid Elephant in certain situations. Still, the Elephant’s lower casting cost could edge out for players looking to accelerate their gameplay. Then, comparing it to Regal Force, which draws cards equal to the number of green creatures you control upon entering the battlefield, Rabid Elephant offers more sustained draw potential across multiple turns.

All things considered, while Rabid Elephant may not stand out as the most powerful draw engine, its simplistic approach of dealing combat damage to draw pairs well in a creature-focused strategy, providing consistent value in green decks within Magic: The Gathering.

Cards similar to Rabid Elephant by color, type and mana cost

Tel-Jilad Lifebreather - MTG Card versions

Thicket Basilisk - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)

Ironroot Treefolk - Intl. Collectors' Edition (CEI)

Durkwood Boars - Rivals Quick Start Set (RQS)

Spring-Leaf Avenger - Magic Online Promos (PRM)

Tel-Jilad Lifebreather - Fifth Dawn (5DN)

Indrik Stomphowler - Commander 2015 (C15)

Golgari Grave-Troll - Ravnica: City of Guilds (RAV)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Rabid Elephant MTG card by a specific set like Odyssey, 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 Rabid Elephant and other MTG cards: