Overgrown Pest MTG Card

Overgrown Pest’s death spawns a token, aiding sacrifice strategies and fueling resource advantage. It boosts green deck tactics via creature count increase, ramping up board presence. The pest interacts well with instant speed spells, offering surprise play advantages.

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Pest
Released	2023-04-21
Set symbol
Set name	March of the Machine
Set code	MOM
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	197
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Eelis Kyttanen

Text of card

When Overgrown Pest enters the battlefield, look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal a land or double-faced card from among them and put that card into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.

If only the biofluctuations students could have seen what became of their prize specimen after its escape.

Cards like Overgrown Pest

In the vast realm of Magic: The Gathering, Overgrown Pest serves as a distinctive creature that offers incremental life gain benefits. Its parallels are evident with cards like Essence Warden, which also rewards you with life whenever another creature enters the battlefield. Unlike Essence Warden, Overgrown Pest specifically requires the creature entering play to be a Pest, offering a narrower yet potentially more thematic benefit in certain decks.

Another related card is Blood Artist, which seizes opportunities for life gain and loss upon the death of creatures. Though Overgrown Pest echoes this death-triggered theme, it leans towards bolstering your life total directly as opposed to affecting both players’ scores and is limited to Pest creatures. Slightly diverging, Thragtusk enters the discussion with its significant presence. It not only provides a lump-sum life boost upon entry but also leaves behind a creature token when it leaves the battlefield, furnishing the board with an additional asset.

Within its ecological niche, Overgrown Pest sustains incremental life gain strategies, enhancing decks that flourish on creature synergy and sustainability. As an engine in dedicated Pest or token decks, it stands out amidst its kindred cards for its unique Pest-related utility.

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Card Pros

Card Advantage: Overgrown Pest provides a reliable source of fodder for sacrifice mechanics. Upon death, it leaves behind a beneficial token which lets you persistently benefit from its departure, nurturing a cycle of resource advantage.

Resource Acceleration: The generated 1/1 green Insect creature token can be a boon for various strategies. It can serve as an extra creature to ramp up your board presence or work with cards that thrive on creature count for accelerated growth.

Instant Speed: Overgrown Pest doesn’t have instant speed itself, but it synergizes well with spells and abilities you may want to cast at instant speed. Sacrificing it when the timing is right can give you an unexpected edge, triggering abilities or effects at crucial moments during a match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Overgrown Pest asks players to part ways with other potential resources. This can be a tough pill to swallow for those who need to maintain card advantage or are notably lacking in hand size.

Specific Mana Cost: With a specific green mana requirement, the card may not seamlessly fit into all deck types. Multi-color decks or those that skew towards another color might find it challenging to consistently meet the mana needs of Overgrown Pest.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Overgrown Pest comes with a mana cost that, although not exorbitant, is on the higher side for creatures of its stature. Considering the field of available creatures, some may offer greater immediate impact or utility at a similar or lower cost, potentially overshadowing the inclusion of Overgrown Pest in many strategies.

Reasons to Include Overgrown Pest in Your Collection

Versatility: Overgrown Pest offers flexible play options for a variety of green-related decks. Its low mana cost makes it an accessible creature early in the game, while its ability to gain life when it dies can be advantageous in prolonged matches.

Combo Potential: This creature has great synergy within counter-focused strategies. When paired with cards that proliferate or manipulate counters, Overgrown Pest’s impact on the board state can be multiplied, offering intriguing gameplay possibilities.

Meta-Relevance: Overgrown Pest can be particularly effective in a meta that leans towards aggressive strategies. Its persistent presence and the life gain on death can help stabilize the board, giving you the edge in attrition battles.

How to beat

Overgrown Pest has emerged as a thorn in the side of many players, with its ability to enhance swarm strategies in Magic: The Gathering. This little creature can be deceivingly tough to manage if it’s allowed to unleash its potential on the battlefield. When it dies, it boasts the tenacity to leave behind a lasting effect by granting its controller a life-gaining token.

To effectively counteract the resilience of Overgrown Pest, consider employing removal spells that exile it, preventing the token generation. Spells like Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile are classic solutions, removing the pest from the game entirely and leaving no room for its death-triggered ability to take effect. Another tactic involves utilizing spells that limit the opponent’s ability to leverage death triggers, such as Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, which negate graveyard-based strategies and effectively neutralize the pest’s persistence.

Ultimately, keeping Overgrown Pest off the board or mitigating its death-trigger effect is key. By integrating strategic removal or graveyard disruption into your deck, you can ensure that Overgrown Pest doesn’t overrun your game plan and instead remains just a minor nuisance.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Overgrown Pest MTG card by a specific set like March of the Machine, 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 Overgrown Pest and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Overgrown Pest has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Timeless	Legal