Wirewood Savage MTG Card

Onslaught (ONS)
2002-10-07 - Number 304

Wirewood Savage - Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. Liliana (GVL)

Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. Liliana (GVL)
2014-12-05 - Number 6

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Elf
Power	2
Toughness	2

Key Takeaways

Wirewood Savage empowers Beast decks with a reliable card-drawing engine.
Specificity in creature type can limit its application in diverse decks.
Despite its mana cost, the ongoing card advantage can be a game-changer.

Text of card

Whenever a Beast comes into play, you may draw a card.

"She is truly Wirewood's child now." —Elvish refugee

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Wirewood Savage offers consistent drawing power, particularly in decks that heavily feature creatures with the Beast type. Each time you play a Beast, Wirewood Savage allows you to draw a card, effectively replenishing your hand and maintaining a steady stream of resources.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly producing mana or tokens, the card advantage provided by Wirewood Savage can indirectly accelerate your available resources. By drawing into more Beasts or land cards, it supports your deck’s development and can help catapult you ahead of your opponent.

Instant Speed: Even though Wirewood Savage itself is not an instant, it can still synergize with instant-speed spells. The ability to draw from playing Beasts can give you more options at instant speed on subsequent turns, allowing you to adapt quickly to the evolving game state with the right spell or creature in hand.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Wirewood Savage doesn’t directly ask players to discard cards to benefit from its effect, the need to have creatures with a specific trait—being a Beast—means there’s an implicit card requirement. If your hand lacks these types of creatures, the Savage’s ability is effectively neutered.

Specific Mana Cost: Wirewood Savage requires a precise mana arrangement to cast—two generic and one green. For multicolored decks or those with an unstable mana base, meeting this requirement can sometimes be challenging, limiting its inclusion to mainly green-focused decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing three mana might seem fair at a glance, but when you consider that Wirewood Savage’s ability is contingent on playing other Beasts, it becomes clear that its cost is steep. It doesn’t impact the board immediately upon entering, and waiting to derive value from its trigger can be too slow in many game scenarios.

Reasons to Include Wirewood Savage in Your Collection

Versatility: Wirewood Savage is a card that can effortlessly slide into elf-themed or creature-heavy decks. Its ability to draw a card whenever a Beast enters the battlefield allows for constant hand replenishment, making it an asset for strategies that deploy numerous creatures.

Combo Potential: In decks that are designed to frequently cast Beast creatures, or amongst combos that generate Beast tokens, Wirewood Savage becomes a reliable engine for drawing additional cards. This synergy helps maintain pressure on your opponent by not letting your hand size dwindle.

Meta-Relevance: Meta games that lean towards creature-based strategies amplify Wirewood Savage’s value. Its continuous draw mechanism keeps the tempo in your favor, even more, when the current meta favors longer games where card advantage becomes critical.

How to beat

Wirewood Savage occupies a unique niche in the MTG realm, thriving in decks centered around creature play. Harnessing its potential allows players to draw a card whenever a Beast enters the battlefield under their control. This effect can quickly escalate, turning your troop of Beasts into an engine for card advantage. To disrupt such a strategy, direct removal spells are your most effective tool. Cards like Doom Blade or Path to Exile can dispatch the Wirewood Savage before it generates too much value for your opponent.

Interrupting tribal synergy is another strategic avenue. Cards that change creature types, like Amoeboid Changeling, can prevent Wirewood Savage from triggering its ability by temporarily stripping away the Beast classification. Counterspells play a crucial role too. Timely interventions with Mana Leak or Counterspell ensure that the Savage never touches the battlefield. Similarly, board wipes such as Wrath of God can reset the playing field, nullifying any card advantage gained through creature-based tactics. By understanding these strategies, you’ll be equipped to handle Wirewood Savage effectively in any match-up.

Ultimately, as creatures form the crux of the MTG experience, knowing when and how to manage threats like Wirewood Savage can be the difference between a win and a loss, keeping your opponent’s card draw in check and maintaining an even playing field.

Cards like Wirewood Savage

Wirewood Savage is a unique creature card that has found its place in decks centered around creatures, particularly those with a beastly twist. Its closest counterpart could perhaps be Kavu Lair, which, like Wirewood Savage, offers a card draw mechanic whenever a power 4 or greater creature enters the battlefield. Despite the difference in creature types, both cards share the ability to provide a consistent card advantage in creature-heavy decks.

Looking at a card like Garruk’s Packleader, we observe a similar ability to draw a card. Yet, the Packleader stipulates the creature entering must have power 3 or greater, posing a restriction that can be both advantageous or limiting, depending on the deck composition. Meanwhile, Elemental Bond cuts the required creature power to 3 as well, presenting a slightly wider window of opportunity for triggering its effect. Wirewood Savage, with its emphasis on the beast type, caters to a more niche audience, fortifying tribal synergy.

Breaking down these options suggests that Wirewood Savage is an invaluable asset for beast-enhanced decks, fitting smoothly into strategies that rely heavily on this imposing creature type, while seamlessly bolstering hand resources in MTG.

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Wirewood Savage MTG card by a specific set like Onslaught and Duel Decks Anthology: Garruk vs. Liliana, 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 Wirewood Savage and other MTG cards: