Elvish Scrapper MTG Card

Onslaught (ONS)
2002-10-07 - Number 258

Eighth Edition (8ED)
2003-07-28 - Number 245

Eighth Edition (8ED)
2003-07-28 - Number 245★

Card sets	Released in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Elf
Power	1
Toughness	1

Key Takeaways

Efficiently disrupting artifacts, Elvish Scrapper can hamper opponent’s strategies and gain tactical edges.
Activating at instant speed gives players flexibility and surprise value against opponent’s artifacts.
Despite activation costs, the card’s utility in artifact-heavy metas makes it a valuable asset.

Text of card

o G, oc T, Sacrifice Elvish Scrapper: Destroy target artifact.

"The stories tell of a distant time when machines overran the forests, destroying everything that lived. That time will not come again."

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Elvish Scrapper doesn’t directly draw you cards, its ability to target and destroy artifacts can indirectly lead to card advantage by dealing with key components of your opponent’s strategy. Especially in formats where artifacts are prevalent, removing them can cripple an opponent’s board presence.

Resource Acceleration: The low cost of Elvish Scrapper makes it an efficient play early in the game. This allows players to keep mana open for other spells, enabling a smooth curve and resource acceleration into more impactful plays later on.

Instant Speed: Although not an instant itself, Elvish Scrapper’s activated ability can be used at instant speed. This flexibility lets you wait until the most opportune moment to disrupt your opponent’s plans, potentially during their turn to maximize the element of surprise and tempo advantage.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Elvish Scrapper’s ability to destroy artifacts necessitates a sacrifice, which can be a downside when your hand or battlefield presence is already diminished. Deciding to discard a card might be a tough choice when you are trying to maintain card advantage.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires green mana for both its casting and activated abilities. This can be restrictive because it fits primarily into green-centric decks, making it less flexible for decks that run multiple colors or have a different base hue.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: When evaluating the mana investment against its potential impact, the Elvish Scrapper falls behind. For its activated ability, the associated costs might seem steep, especially when compared to other low-cost artifact removal options available in MTG.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Elvish Scrapper can be a useful addition in decks that encounter an abundance of artifacts. This green creature allows players to efficiently manage and dismantle opposing artifact strategies, aligning well with green’s nature of dealing with non-creature permanents.

Combo Potential: Its ability to destroy target artifact for a single green mana not only clears the way for your attacks but can also work in tandem with effects that benefit from artifact removal or sacrifice mechanics, lending itself to intricate and rewarding combo plays.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where artifacts are ever-present, featuring prominent decks that rely on them, Elvish Scrapper provides an inexpensive and repeatable answer, ensuring your deck remains competitive and prepared to disrupt key pieces of your opponent’s strategy.

How to beat

The Elvish Scrapper is a niche card that offers specific utility in dismantling artifacts, making it a very situation-dependent card in MTG. To effectively counter this card, it is essential to recognize the context in which the Elvish Scrapper shines—against artifact-heavy decks. One straightforward strategy is to limit the number of valuable artifacts in your deck if you’re facing an opponent with potential access to the Scrapper. This minimizes the impact the card can have.

Alternatively, you may opt to employ removal spells that can target creatures, thereby eliminating the Elvish Scrapper before it can adversely affect your board presence. Instant speed removal such as Fatal Push or Path to Exile offers a swift response to the Scrapper’s activation. Additionally, since the Elvish Scrapper’s ability requires a tap activation, creature tapping responses or summoning sickness exploitation are effective tactics. Ensuring that your artifacts have hexproof is another layer of defense, leaving the Scrapper with no legal targets to exercise its ability.

In essence, by understanding the Scrapper’s strengths and weaknesses, you can mitigate its potential and maintain the upper hand with versatile deck building and strategic gameplay.

Cards like Elvish Scrapper

The presence of utility creatures in decks can often be a game-changer, and Elvish Scrapper is a card that embodies this aspect within MTG. A relative comparison could be made with cards like Viridian Zealot. Although Zealot requires an activation cost to destroy an artifact, it compensates by carrying a death-triggered ability, providing an additional benefit upon its demise.

Further analysis brings Caustic Caterpillar into perspective. This creature, much like the Scrapper, has the ability to handle artifacts, but instead presents a converted mana cost geared towards green mana spending strategies. Nevertheless, it presents an activation cost, which differs from Elvish Scrapper’s free sacrifice mechanic. Then we have Qasali Pridemage, which offers not only artifact control but also enchantment removal at no mana cost for activation. It does, however, require a sacrifice and adjoins to the board with an exalted bonus, distinguishing itself in terms of versatility and potential attacking strength.

When dissecting the characteristics of such creatures, Elvish Scrapper holds its ground within the realm of green artifact controls, recognized for its efficient and cost-effective removal, an essential for decks targeting the quick neutralization of opponents’ artifacts.

Cards similar to Elvish Scrapper by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Elvish Scrapper MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught and Eighth 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 Elvish Scrapper and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Elvish Scrapper Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2002-10-07 and 2003-07-28. Illustrated by Edward P. Beard, Jr..

#	Released	Name	Code	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2002-10-07	Onslaught	ONS	258	1997	Normal	Black	Edward P. Beard, Jr.
2	2003-07-28	Eighth Edition	8ED	245	2003	Normal	White	Edward P. Beard, Jr.
3	2003-07-28	Eighth Edition	8ED	245★	2003	Normal	Black	Edward P. Beard, Jr.