Mountain Bandit MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	1
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Soldier Rogue
Abilities	Haste
Released	1999-05-01
Set symbol
Set name	Portal Three Kingdoms
Set code	PTK
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	117
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	White
Illustred by	Xu Xiaoming

Key Takeaways

Mountain Bandit accelerates resources, enhancing your mana pool with Treasure tokens for swifter plays.
Card advantage is yours; plunder opponents’ libraries, tapping into crucial insights and strategies.
Act at instant speed, disrupting foes’ plans while progressing your own tactics efficiently.

Text of card

Mountain Bandit is unaffected by summoning sickness.

Penniless and far from home, many former Yellow Scarves and other soldiers became bandits to survive.

Card Pros

Resource Acceleration: Mountain Bandit provides a swift boost to your mana pool by generating Treasure tokens. This can dramatically speed up your gameplay, allowing you to cast more spells or utilize activated abilities much sooner than your opponents.

Card Advantage: By including this elusive rogue in your deck, you gain the upper hand through its ability to plunder cards from the top of your opponent’s library, providing valuable insight or new opportunities as you outmaneuver the other player.

Instant Speed: With the versatility of acting at instant speed, Mountain Bandit enables you to wait for the most opportune moment to disrupt your opponent’s plans without sacrificing the advancement of your own strategy during your turn.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One downside of Mountain Bandit is its mechanic that obligates players to discard a card. This can hamper your hand, especially in the early game when each card’s potential is priceless.

Specific Mana Cost: Mountain Bandit’s mana cost requires red, which ties it firmly to red decks or those that can afford a splash of color, potentially excluding it from numerous other deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a mana cost that might be deemed steep for its abilities, Mountain Bandit competes with other options that could provide more impact or versatility for the same or lower investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Mountain Bandit adds a layer of adaptability to your deck with its potential for quick attacks and mana curve optimization. It can seamlessly slot into aggressive strategies while also serving as an early blocker.

Combo Potential: Mountain Bandit’s raid ability can act as a catalyst in decks that capitalize on creature-based synergies, enabling various on-enter-the-battlefield effects or supporting raid mechanics.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where quick board presence is key, Mountain Bandit’s swift entry can help maintain tempo against control decks or establish early game dominance, making it a prudent choice for your collection.

How to beat

Mountain Bandit is a card that can present a challenge due to its potential for quick and consistent damage. However, to efficiently overcome it, players should consider including removal spells in their decks that can deal with creatures without much mana cost. Cards like Fatal Push or Shock can be particularly effective since they can dispatch the bandit before its controller can utilize its full potential.

Another strategy to outmaneuver Mountain Bandit involves playing creatures with higher toughness early in the game. This way, the bandit’s attacks can be easily blocked and nullified. In addition, enchantments that reduce the power of opponent’s creatures or artifacts that establish a defense mechanism can be crucial for keeping the Mountain Bandit at bay.

Proper timing is also critical. Wait for the bandit to be declared as an attacker before playing your removal. This ensures that your opponent cannot replay another one post-combat due to summoning sickness. With a solid combination of early defense and smart removal, the threat posed by Mountain Bandit can be mitigated, allowing you to maintain control of the game.

Cards like Mountain Bandit

Mountain Bandit carves its niche into the realm of creature cards within Magic: The Gathering by offering a nimble and tactical option for players. It can be likened to other cards such as Goblin Guide, which also offers a swift hit to the opponent due to its haste ability. Nonetheless, Mountain Bandit has the unique ability to evade blockers, much like the prowess of Shadow creatures, allowing for consistent damage despite a board full of potential defenders.

Another card that shares strategic similarities is the Robber of the Rich. With haste and reach, Robber of the Rich can also attack early, but it comes with an additional Robin Hood effect, potentially exiling cards from your opponent’s deck. Though both cards champion a steal mechanic, Mountain Bandit focuses on bypassing the defensive line rather than drawing extra resources from the opponent.

In surveying the landscape of swift and disruptive creatures, Mountain Bandit holds its ground. It’s a solid choice for aggressive strategies looking to push the pace and chip away at an opponent’s life total with unblockable attacks, making it a valuable piece in any MTG player’s arsenal.

Cards similar to Mountain Bandit by color, type and mana cost

Goblin Balloon Brigade - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Raiders - MTG Card versions

Mons's Goblin Waiters - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Mountain Bandit MTG card by a specific set like Portal Three Kingdoms, 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 Mountain Bandit and other MTG cards: