Maggot Carrier MTG Card
2001-02-05 - Number 45
2003-07-28 - Number 142
2003-07-28 - Number 142★
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 1 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Zombie |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Key Takeaways
- Offers card advantage by forcing opponents to lose cards, disrupting their strategy efficiently.
- Excels at enabling rapid board presence, crucial for overwhelming opposing defenses early.
- Requires careful mana management and may clash with some deck strategies due to casting costs.
Text of card
When Maggot Carrier comes into play, each player loses 1 life.
"The mere sight of our undead allies sickens me. What unholy bargain have you struck?" —Grizzlegom, to Agnate
Card Pros
Card Advantage: When it comes to maintaining a steady flow of options in your hand, the Maggot Carrier shines by providing an immediate benefit upon entering the battlefield. Although this card itself doesn’t allow you to draw cards directly, it effectively forces a card out of your opponent’s hand, disrupting their strategy and maintaining pressure on their resources.
Resource Acceleration: While Maggot Carrier doesn’t produce additional mana or tokens, its low cost can accelerate your board presence. Deploying multiple creatures quickly can be crucial, and including this card can be part of a strategy that overwhelms your opponent early in the game.
Instant Speed: Maggot Carrier excels as a creature that can be summoned any time mana is available. Its effect is not at instant speed, but the card thrives in decks that capitalize on surprise and timing. It’s the perfect addition to a strategy that keeps the opponent guessing and forces them to adapt to a constantly changing board state.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Maggot Carrier effect requires the discard of a card, posing a setback when your hand is already stretched thin.
Specific Mana Cost: With a need for both black and colorless mana, this card demands a precise mana base, thus not fitting seamlessly into every deck archetype.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The casting cost for Maggot Carrier may not align with the tempo of some strategies, especially when lower cost creatures offer similar or greater impact on the game state.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: Maggot Carrier offers a unique play experience with its ability to impact life totals as soon as it hits the battlefield. This can be particularly useful in decks that aim to quickly reduce an opponent’s life or establish early board presence.
Combo Potential: With the right setup, this card can be integral to several combos. It aligns well with strategies that capitalize on creatures entering or leaving the battlefield or those that manipulate life totals to trigger various effects.
Meta-Relevance: Given the right environment, especially in formats where early game pressure is vital, Maggot Carrier can disrupt the pace for your opponents. It slides into decks centered around creature-based tactics or those that benefit from the additional life point manipulation.
How to beat
Maggot Carrier serves a niche role in MTG, entering the battlefield with an impact that could be both a gift and a curse. This card forces each player to lose 1 life—a straightforward yet effective ability that can influence the board’s balance. The key to triumph over a card like Maggot Carrier is understanding the timing and context of its deployment. If you can anticipate its arrival, effects that negate or remove creatures upon their entry can mitigate its life-sapping feature.
Life gain strategies bolster your position against such cards, offering a buffer that softens the blow to your life total. Employing creatures with ‘enter the battlefield’ healing abilities or quick spells that increase your life can provide a cushion against the pestilent debut of Maggot Carrier. Direct removal spells remain a player’s faithful companion, ready to clear the field of this pesky insect before its effect can duplicate, especially in black, which offers a myriad of swift and efficient removal options.
Ultimately, the art of outliving Maggot Carrier lies in prompt reactions and maintaining life total vigilance. With careful management and appropriate counters, turning the tide against this life-draining creature can be well within reach for savvy MTG players.
Cards like Maggot Carrier
Maggot Carrier enters the playing field as an intriguing creature card, offering a unique effect upon arrival. In the realm of creature-based strategies, it’s reminiscent of cards like Festering Goblin, which also provides a minus-one minus-one counter to a target creature upon its death. Maggot Carrier, however, impacts life totals directly the moment it hits the battlefield, giving it a distinctive edge in certain strategies that aim to lower life totals quickly.
Comparing its impact to Viscera Seer, another low-cost creature, Maggot Carrier stands out. While Viscera Seer is an excellent sac outlet that sculpts your draws through its scry ability, it lacks the immediate board influence Maggot Carrier has. Then we have Blood Artist, a creature that can potentially affect life totals as well through its ability to drain life whenever any creature dies. Blood Artist requires an engine of creatures dying to match the instant effect of Maggot Carrier, but can ultimately result in a greater life swing over the course of a game.
Ultimately, Maggot Carrier finds its niche in MTG as a quick and direct pinch to an opponent’s life, aligning well with strategies that prize immediate effects over long-term board development.
Cards similar to Maggot Carrier by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Maggot Carrier MTG card by a specific set like Planeshift 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 Maggot Carrier and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Maggot Carrier Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2001-02-05 and 2003-07-28. Illustrated by Ron Spencer.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2001-02-05 | Planeshift | PLS | 45 | 1997 | Normal | Black | Ron Spencer | |
| 2 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 142 | 2003 | Normal | White | Ron Spencer | |
| 3 | 2003-07-28 | Eighth Edition | 8ED | 142★ | 2003 | Normal | Black | Ron Spencer |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Maggot Carrier has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Premodern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
